The planks on this landings are warped, the beam was covered in tar. The tar is potentially masking a previous decay issue. The spacing and orientation of the hand rail guard is a saftey defect. Handrail guards should not be horizontal, it creates a ladder effect dangerous for children. The guard spacing should not allow a 4 inch diameter sphere to pass.
Electrical Service Panels
by Nick Gromicko
Inspecting electrical service panels can be dangerous. Many potentially defective conditions can occur with electrical service panels. Extreme care should be taken with all electrical inspections. Special care should be taken with panels manufacturered by Zinsco or Federal Pacific Electric (FPE). Zinsco or (FPE) panels have a reputation for being problematic.
Fewer than 40 percent of the estimated 4 million balconies in the united states are safe. Many of the failures occur when the ledger board seperates from the house which causes the balcony to rotate outward. This condition can be made worse by loads that are not distributed equally
Cantilevered decks are allowed, but the maximum area over the cantilever is twenty five percent of the total length. It is also important to inspect the base of the post to make sure that they are not rotted or damaged.
Research and writing assignment: How to Perform Deck Inspections Video Course
David Wayne Schweppe II
9/29/2017
I chose Inspecting a Deck, Illustrated by Nick Gromicko, Founder, International Association of Certified Home Inspectors (InterNACHI) Graphics by InterNACHI’s Lisaira Vega as the article for this courses research and writing assignment because I thought it was particularly suiting to the subject matter. As it turns out this article is almost a word for word study guide for the video course. Reading this article served to reinforce the concepts presented in the video course and has given me the opinion that the periodic inspection of all decks should be a concern for any home owner that has a deck on their property. Since most catastrophic failures happen when the deck is fully loaded it is imperative to monitor the condition and to verify the adequate installation of these structures so any defect are caught before they deteriorate to the point of causing property damage or bodily harm to one or more occupants.
This was a joist under a deck I inspected last week. It was completely rotted all the way through. Quite common to find rot on wood decks in the pacific northwest, but this was bad. Needless to say, I found many other defects with the deck.
I read the article on Inspecting a Deck. A couple things that I found quite interesting were, there is no correlation between deck failure and whether the deck was built with or without a building permit. There is also no correlation between deck failure and whether the deck was built by a homeowner or a professional contractor.
Pictured is a deck 20 inches above grade and although it does not require guard rails since it is below 30 inches the rails have been installed. The guard rails are 36 inches in height. The deck is free standing with two stairs without rails.Rails may be recommended by inspector.
Gallery depicting a deck inspection shows inspector inspecting deck from the ground up. Starting with the footings and wood decay. if structually unsound the deck inspection would stop here with no stepping onto deck. ballaster spacing, graspable handrails, post attachments along with other components would be observed and reported by inspector.
Attached is a photo of decking boards. The boards pictured are secured way too closely together. Deck boards should be spaced with 1/8" space between boards. This allows for water to drain through the deck properly, and will reduce risk of rotting boards over time.
Pet allergens can be an issue for certain individuals including clients. Pet dander can cause allergic reactions such as itching, sneezing, congestion, eye irritation, hives, and more. If pets have previously been in a home, you can help prevent future allergy issues by cleaning the ducts, use very hot water to launder clothes, and use a HEPA vacuum for cleaning.
The above photo depicts a front porch with no handrails on the stairs.Because there are fewer than 4 risers, no handrails are required for these stairs. The installation of handrails would be recommended if these stairs are to be used by individuals that may need additional support to climb stairs.
“InterNACHIs Drone Law Primer for Home Inspectors” by Nick Gromicko and Mark Cohen, Esq.
I chose to read this article because I believe that the use of drones for house inspections will provide a cutting edge advantage for the future of the business. It was very enlightening to see the number of regulations that need to be followed in order to operate a drone for “commercial use”. I would have probably just assumed it was OK to do it without a license or proper insurance. I will certainly approach the topic with more respect and due diligence going forward.
A deck failure is any failure of a deck that could lead to injury, including rail failure, or total deck collapse. There is no international system that tracks deck failures, and each is treated
As an isolated event, rather than a systemic problem.
Because decks appear to be simple to build, many people do not realize that decks are, in fact, structures that need to be designed to adequately resist certain stresses. Like any
Other house or building, a deck must be designed to support the weight of people, loads, and objects.
Deck Collapse, 90% of deck collapse occurred as a result of the separation of the house and the deck ledger board. What I learned in this course is that there are many ways to build a deck safely, taking the time and using the proper building techniques will result in a safe and long lasting deck. Being sure pressure treated lumber is used, the right size lag screws or through bolts are used. Practicing the “hammer rule” to make sure your lag screws or through bolts are secured tightly and properly. Using the formula
(inches = 100 / joist length in feet) so that the spacing of the ledger board fasteners are spaced correctly. Check from the bottom first, if things aren’t right at the bottom, report it and make sure its not used until a licensed contractor has fixed it.
This picture represents a ramp going into a porch, the boards have the required spacing in between them, the balusters have the correct spacing that a 4" sphere could not pass through, along with the end-grain cut at an angle. Although the posts have an end-grain that is level. It is a wooden structure that is a covered entrance to the front of the house. There is less than 5 feet between each post as well.
In this picture we can see that the ledger board is missing flashing on the top and the bottom. Ledger fasteners appear to be placed correctly, minimum of two inches from the top of the board. Proper joist hangers are used, however can not tell if it lacks proper fasteners.
The deck post should be mounted on brackets on concrete foundation. The deck can not exceed 14’ above grade. The bracing of the post should be two feet down and two feet to the interior of the deck. Supports should be on the same side and run perpendicular with the deck joist.
I selected a photo of a wood balcony. The wood balcony in this photo does not contain any support beams. Upon inspecting this balcony, I would verify how this is attached to the structure and make a determination on whether this balcony is safe.
