Inspection & Writing Assignment:
Inspection of egress door exiting from utility room to back porch. The steps meet the width standard but the risers do not meet current standards of allowing only 3/8" difference between risers. Rails are not required per standards but I recommend adding them for safety purposes.
Research & Writing Assignment:
Addresses should clearly visible so emergency rescue personnel, police departments, and fire departments can locate the site of the emergency as rapidly as possible Many municipalities are adopting ordinances to standardize addresses on buildings and have created positions for 911 addressing assignments and issues.
Research & Writing Assignment:
Inspecting Residential Interior Doors
Very little is done during the inspection on interior doors. This is probably because, unlike their exterior cousins, almost no mention is made of them in the prevailing model building codes. There are more than 300,000 door-related injuries. Maybe we should be paying more attention to the doors.
Inspection & Writing Assignment:
Interior side of the door should be openable with no additional tools or knowledge. This one requires a key which would make it difficult to open in a home in a fire that is all filled with smoke. It is a safety issue.
Inspection & Writing Assignment:
Inspection and writing assignment:
This is a picture of a proper handrail. The handrail has a continuously grippable rail. It is right at 36 inches high and terminates into the wall and a newel post at the landing properly. The spindles are correctly spaced and everything was solid at the time of the inspection.
Research & Writing Assignment:
Research and writing assignment:
Stair tread and riser safety is very important in preventing falls. For traditional stairs (non-spiraling or winder stairs) the minimum height for a riser is 4 inches, and the maximum is 7-34 inches. Equally important is that there should not be a difference in all risers of more than 3/8 of an inch for continuity. The tread depth should be a minimum of 10 inches and again should not have a difference of more than 3/8 of an inch for safety. The slope downward of any tread should not be more than 2 percent or inch per 12 inches.
Inspection & Writing Assignment:
This is an image of the main egress for the subject property. There is a 36 inch landing as you exit the home. The door is hinged on one side and has a three foot wide opening and six foot six height which meets the required opening size.
Research & Writing Assignment:
I read the article Ant Inspection by Nick Gromicko and learned that home owners can do some things to not attract ants. Store foods like honey, syrup and pet food in closed containers. Rinse out or remove soft drink containers from the home. Clean grease and remove garbage from the home daily. Correct leaks and other moisture problems the wood ants like. Keep mulch away from wood that attaches to the house. Keep firewood away from the home and elevate it off the ground and do not store it in the garage or any other area in the home.
Inspection & Writing Assignment:
Some egress window wells will have a sump pump system to help shed water from the window well. Window wells can fill with water if not properly constructed. One way to help alleviate this issue is to have a sump pump system or drain tile installed as shown.
Research & Writing Assignment:
Sump pumps and drain tile are systems used to keep water from entering a basement or crawlspace. Sometimes these systems are also installed for window wells. These systems pull water from the soil around a home and pump it out into the street or yard.
Inspection & Writing Assignment:
In This picture is the main egress from the house. It fits all required demention for height and width, and also has a thumb turn deadbolt.
When inspecting the door i noticed that it sticks and was hard to open at times. Upon further inspection i noticed the door wasnt quite square, and some of the bottom trim was missing.
I would Recommend further evaluation of this egress by a professional contractor.
Research & Writing Assignment:
Hand rails should be graspable and a minimum diameter of 1 1/4 inch and a maximum diameter of 2 inches. They should also have a minimum clearance of 1 1/2 inch from the handrail to the wall. The handrail should also be no less the 36inches from the top for the stairs to the handrail.
Inspection & Writing Assignment:
These steps are visually uneven, have height difference in each stair, and broken materials. These stairs do show visually wear and tear. No handrails are present. These stairs have been around ,outside and used for centuries, by the way, the stairs are located on Great Wall of China.
Research & Writing Assignment:
A chair stair lift is a chair on a rail that aid a handicap person to move safety from one level to another level in their home. A Stair lift chair can curved stair lifts feature different lifting capacities and power options.
Inspection & Writing Assignment:
This picture is of a front door egress. It does have the required landing of 36" or greater and is wider than the door. The door meets the height of 6’8" but looking at the picture you can see the opening is short of the required 36". This would need to flagged as a defect.
Research & Writing Assignment:
Stairway inspections can be a lot to remember. I start by walking the stairs and feeling for any variances. While walking the stairs I can feel and check hand rails (34" to 38") and banisters (sphere check 4", 4 3/8", and 6") (200lb at any point in any direction). Once that you have determined the safety of the stairs you can check height (4" to 7 3/4" with no more than a 3/8" variance) and tread depth (min 10").
Inspection & Writing Assignment:
This is a picture of an interior residential staircase that was built following proper egress and handrail guidelines. The stairs are at least 36 inches wide, with the handrails projecting out less than 4-1/2 inches. The handrails are between 34 inches and 38 inches high, and are continuous going all the way up until they terminate at a wall. No further evaluation or correction is needed.
Research & Writing Assignment:
Following motor vehicle accidents, the second most deaths occur each year from slips and falls. In 2004, 1,638 people were reported having died falling down stairs. According to further data from 2017, it is actually closer to 12,000 people who die just in stair related accidents. The people at highest risk for falling are the elderly, handicapped, and young children.
The following are examples of defects or stair abnormalities that should always be watched out for and avoided. Loose handrails and uneven treads or risers can all lead to someone losing their balance and falling down the stairs. Cracks in the floors and treads can make the floor unstable to walk on. Waxed floors, loose carpeting, or moisture/ice build up (on exterior stairs) can result in slippery conditions, making it much easier to slip and fall. Poor lighting can make it hard to see, and any items left on the stairs will become potentially dangerous obstacles.
Incorrectly designed handrails and guards along the stairs can lead to people, especially children, falling over or through the rails to the landing below. Stairs being too steep, having sharp turns, or not having sufficient enough means of egress can make stairs hard to navigate, increasing the likelihood of injuries from falling.
Inspection & Writing Assignment:
This right here is the perfect example of what an egress door looks like. It is essentially an emergency exit that is required to be at least 36 inches in width. The size of the door jam is essentially going to be wider.
Research & Writing Assignment:
I chose to write about the article containing information on Asbestos. Asbestos is very common in older homes. Asbestos is a fiber that can be identified only with a special type of microscope. There are many types of asbestos fibers. They were mainly used as insulation.
