Research & Writing Assignment:
A bathroom duct or ventilation fan is designed to relive a bathroom of moist air that could cause microbial growth or other issues like accelerated corrosion.
The fans and ducts should be inspected for blockage that could obstruct the vent, and also make sure all vents are exiting the home.
Inspection & Writing Assignment:
Pertaining to roof types, the roof type is determined by calculating the total linear feet of hip-type eaves then calculating the total linear feet of other roof types such as a gable that may be included in the roof design. Finally, calculate the percentage of other type to hip. If the other type of roof is over 10% then the roof is non-hip.
Research & Writing Assignment:
6d vs 8d nails. Essentially the uplift strength of a roof is determined by the nail size and nail pattern. 8d nails are 2.5" vs 6d nails being 2". The length of nails can be measured by the distance they come through the sheathing. 8d nails increase uplift protection by a factor of 2.4.
Inspection & Writing Assignment:
The following pictures shows the roof to wall attachment. In this case single wrap straps were used. You can tell by seeing that the strap is nailed to the side of the rafter with a minimum 2 nails, the wraps over top and is nailed to the opposite side with a minimum of 1 nail.
Research & Writing Assignment:
I read an article on the basics of wind mitigation. It covers all aspects from roof to wall attachment, proper spacing of roof framing members as well as roof sheathing attachment. Roof sheathing needs to show thickness of sheathing, and nail size and spacing.
Inspection & Writing Assignment:
The attached image clearly shows the results from the MT6 Metalliscanner from a mock inspection I completed. This image shows the 6on6 spacing for the roof-deck attachment to plywood sheathing. Additional pictures would show the nails to be 8d nails and the plywood to be 5/8 inch thickness.
Research & Writing Assignment:
https://www.nachi.org/gallery/?level=picture&id=2766
The hyperlinked image shown here depicts an illustration of what is inspected while performing a wind mitigation inspection. All of these items are considered to assist in determining the strength of a home to resist high wind speeds and wind borne debris that is found in hurricanes which is especially important here in the swfl area.
Inspection & Writing Assignment:
This roof is not considered a hip roof due to more than 10% being gable or other styles of roof. Windows in the pictures have been verified that they are not large missile resistant. There seems to be no other window coverings
Research & Writing Assignment:
In 2006 insurance companies in Florida wanted to increase premiums by 45%. With the wind mitigation inspection this can save the homeowner on increased premiums. Also not just in Florida is an inspection a good idea but the other homes that are along the gulf also can get reductions on insurance premiums by being inspected.
Inspection & Writing Assignment:
The subject property is located at; 462 Cypress way e., Naples Florida, 34110. I am a licensed Home Inspector in the state of Florida, Lic. # HI9767. The garage door appears to be original with no tab or sticker of information or dates. It does not qualify as a impact resistant opening. There are no horizontal or vertical supports on the garage door and only 3 mounting brackets for each side of support.
Research & Writing Assignment:
Wind damage has historically cost home owners and insurance companies huge costs that today can be dramatically reduced through wind mitigation. In fact a homeowners insurance premium may contain 70% of the premium on just wind damage! Florida passed a law requiring insurance companies to offer a discount for homes with wind damage protection/improvements. This can be a large discount for homeowners and a tremendous savings for insurance companies and the government. Besides the financial savings, safety and dealing with repairs makes everyones life better!
Inspection & Writing Assignment:
Before taking the wind mitigation class, I was unsure how to classify roof’s with mixed geometry. The equation to determine whether the gable ends were more or less than 10% of the total structure cleared that all up for me. The picture included shows a mostly hip roof, but had a small gable section in the front of the home. Measurements showed the gable ens was clearly less than 10% of the total roof area, so hip roof it is!
Research & Writing Assignment:
While reading the Wind Mitigation article, I saw that according to insurance claim data, a house becomes a total loss once even partial roof loss occurs. This fact alone explains why a wind mitigation is so crucial to insurance providers. Homeowners also benefit from possibly saving money on their insurance, or knowing if they need to make improvements prior to a storm blowing through.
Inspection & Writing Assignment:
At this wind mitigation inspector, I was able to determine the wall to truss connect, wich consist with a single strap that is embedded in the concrete wall and wrap raround with a minimum of three nails and no more then 1/2 gap.
Research & Writing Assignment:
Close attention to detail. When is time to do the no so fun part to climb the latter an enter into the attic to perform your wind mitigation inspection, because is a hostile environment is either super hot or super cold and we want to be out of there as quickly as possibly that we don look in to details like proper nail size or proper metal connecting to the structure, I learned that is important to be prepared and to take time to do it right.
Inspection & Writing Assignment:
The inspection of they garage door identified that the door meets impact resistance / pressure rating. However, the track system only has 5 brackets on both of the tracks. This falls short of the required 6-9 mounting point to be qualified as fully wind rated. The homeowner could not provide any documentation on the garage door or its installation.
Research & Writing Assignment:
When performing a wind mitigation inspoection, the inspector needs to have a good understanding of how rafters / trusses are secured to the structure and what structure brace is being used. The inspector needs to be able to identify the differences between a strap, clip and toe nail. These are items which have to be properly photographed and documented in the report prior to its submission.
Inspection & Writing Assignment:
Attached photo of house with a hip roof with metal covering that meet the FBC product approval which has secondary water resistance. All glazed openings are missile impact rated. The non glazed garage door is impact rated and equipped with large horizontal bracing.
Research & Writing Assignment:
To perform a wind mitigation inspection one should start outside by making pictures while observing roof style, roof covering, doors, windows and window coverings. Next look inside at windows for factory labels to verify rating. Next go into attic and check roof decking nail pattern and type of nails used. Next check rafters for tie down straps. Report everything observed in report.
Inspection & Writing Assignment:
This is a picture of a Clip during a wind mitigation inspection. This picture shows the proper nail pattern needed to be considered a clip and not a Toe-Nail. During the wind mitigation inspection, it is a requirement to provide a minimum of two pictures for documentation.
