I chose a picture in the gallery titled “Asphalt Shingle Nailing Diagram.” I learned from this picture the proper that the nails should be nailed in and also how not to and that the diameter of the head of the nail needs to be at least 3/8 of an inch.
The garage door balancing and/or lift assist torsion spring was observed to be broken at the time of inspection. Garage doors are typically considered to be the heaviest moving item in a home and this condition is a safety concern. A garage door opener may not be able to lift the door and damage or injury may result. Recommend repair by a qualified garage door contractor.
Article Review: Garage Doors and Openers
Garage doors are typically considered to be the largest and heaviest moving object within a home. The doors and openers experience considerable stress and strain when in operation and regular maintenance is very important for safe operation.
The article titled A Garage Inspection is an eye opener. My first perspective obviously was how on earth was the permit signed off on this work. Youre telling me, there is work like this, waiting for me out there. The liability is major component here. Quoting Kenton, in summary, look carefully. The bearing points, inadequate hangers and improper installation through the drywall where obvious looking up from the floor. But the deck screws and gangnail integrity flaw would require a closer look. The plywood gussets would have thrown me off though. I would have wrote that off as early day application of truss construction. Thanks for the truss lesson.
The essay is about the fire door between garage and the house and fir rated wall. The fire door of this garage was wood with metal clad door, had a door self closer and it was functional. The fire wall was in good condition, No major system safety or function concerns was noted
The essay is about a Man Door to Attached Garage in the inspection gallery image. In this picture fire door should be tight fitting and weatherstripped and has self closer. Also, the house ground finishing level should be at least 6 inch more than garage ground level.
This garage door is in working order. All required warning plaquards are attached and visable. The obstruction sensing eye is located four inches off the ground is functional, as is the automatic reverse function. There is one actuating button by the man door, 5.5’ above the floor.
The “Gas Fired Water-Heater in Garage” digram from the gallery shows an acceptable installation of a water heater in a garage. The water heater is protected from physical damage by sitting on a raised, cement platform. The platform needs to be at least 18" high for a standard water heater to maintain a safe distance between the flame/spark generating parts of the water heater and potential combustible fumes.
This garage door opener checks out; the electric eyes work properly to reverse the door if the beam is obstructed, they are installed no more than 6" above the garage floor, and the door reverses properly if it runs into an object. The spot light bulbs should probably be replaced with regular or outdoor-duty bulbs. The homeowner reports that they were trying to avoid the glare of standard lightbulbs. The weatherstripping at the bottom edge of the door itself in this case needs to be replaced, as daylight is visible at the right-hand corner when the door is closed.
I read “A Garage Inspection” and learned that the age of a building is no indication that bizarre and dangerous structural defects will not be found; at some point the structure of this garage had been modified by someone either careless or incompetent, resulting in danger of imminent failure and collapse. This would be a situation where I would wonder about warning someone other than the prospective homebuyer, as the danger is a threat to the people living in adjacent townhomes (assuming they are attached).
This garage door extension spring does not have a captive cable installed. Should this spring break, it would pose a significant safety hazard that could cause a severe injury or property damage. Recommend that a qualified technician make needed repairs immediately.
Article: Attached Garage Fire Hazards
This article focuses on two things; the prevention of a fire in your garage and how to make your home safer should a fire occur. Tips for preventing fires like storing flammables in small quantities can help, but no plan is foolproof. Taking steps to prevent the spread of a fire should one occur are equally as simple (add a self closing device to your door) and priceless should your family benefit in an emergency.
In this photo there are a few things going on. First and for most we have a water heater in the garage. This water heater should be elevated no less than 18 inches off of the floor. There is water leaking from the water heater so already at this point in the inspection I would have already recommended a qualified professional come repair, replace, and modify the water heater’s elevation as necessary.
For this section I chose to research the images related to fire walls in the garage. During my research I kept thinking about my parents garage. Just from being there so often I can already think of several defects in their garage fire wall. They recently had some plumbing work down for a bathroom located right above the garage. The plumber cut an access hole through the ceiling gypsum board and never repaired it. Now any gases, fumes, or fire has easy access into the home. I would definitely call this out in the inspection because that small hole in the garage ceiling could allow penetration to the entire upstairs if it is not repaired.
This is a picture of the ceiling in the garage. There is living space directly above this. There is a hole cut out which diminishes the fire wall rating. The hole also shows that it is not 5/8" type x gypsum board.
“Carbon monoxide poisoning and detectors”
Carbon monoxide is a very dangerous gas that is colorless and odorless. Carbon monoxide can kill at low concentrations. It is important to have CO detectors outside of all sleeping areas, and near any ignition sources in the home.
Inspecting garage door and door opener. I start with complete visual inspection of door components. If all appears well, I disengage opener and manually operate door to check for balanced operation. I then re-engage opener and check opener operation. Next step I will check door obstruction operation. This will complete the door inspection.
I have entered this essay several times now and it still will not allow me to complete the course and move on to the final examination. I find this highly frustrating and takes away from the value of this course.
Lateral poured concrete foundation cracking on a 2-car detached garage in a condominium complex. The crack itself does not appear to be deep or wide, so I suspect that the foundation settled a bit soon after pouring and has crumbled some since, but I would not suspect ongoing foundation movement. There is evidence that this area has been repaired before judging by the silicone caulking where the sidewalk abuts the foundation wall.
Firestops are used to seal penetrations through a building’s firewall. They can consist of special mortars and flame retardant chemicals that activate in the presence of heat. Contractors who penetrate the firewall to run pipes or ducting should be careful to seal those openings with an approved firestop material to reinstate the integrity of the firewall.