In this photo the home has a wooden deck that is attached to the back side of the home. The deck has direct wood to soil contact all around and visible wood rot. There is a visible gap between the deck and home. In addition, there are not any balusters surrounding the deck to prevent young children from going under the guardrails and falling of the deck. Lastly, the height between risers is greater that 3/8 of an inch.
According to the illustration showing the proper area and clearance specifications for operable windows, there are several key factors to observe for safety. One key factor is that the height of the window from the floor should not exceed 44 inches. This factor important because a small child or adult might have to climb out the window due to an emergency.
This image of the egress door is the front door to a three bedroom apartment. The door is measured and meets all required measurements. This egress door is a six panel door with a door handle and deadboat lock.The door also provides immediate access to the outside of the apartment.
While doing a home inspection check the pitch of the concrete to make sure the concrete is not pitched toward the home. Concrete pitched the wrong way can cause many problems and probably will cost a great deal of money to get repaired.
While doing home inspections pay close attention to all stairs. Stairs designed the wrong way can cause trip and fall hazards. Falling down a flight of stairs would not feel good and could be fatal. Always point this out to your clients.
Please revise this course to have a very practical course. This course is what I would call very un professional, it may have the information but, given the time that the instructor has to read the computer looses I the message, if the instructor does not know the material maybe needs to redo and make it a professional presentation.
Overview: Location, South Florida. Home built in 1980.
Although built 12 years prior to hurricane Andrew, this home’s out swinging door is what the Miami-Dade construction code later required, after 1992. The measurement between the top of the threshold and the front landing, is 5-1/2, higher than usual 1-1/2 standards. The whole development was built with out swinging doors and this threshold to landing measurement. The front landing is 69 wide inside the screened porch framework, and 80 long in the direction of travel up to the inside of the front screen door. The landing continues on the same level right out to and joining with the driveway.
The balusters on this raised floor safety railing have two major defects.
Some of the balusters are designed and built in such a way as to facilitate climbing, and would be a danger to small children.
There are multiple areas between the balusters that are larger than the allowed gap. The allowed space between balusters would not allow a 4 sphere to pass through. Making this a second danger to small children, who could either get their heads stuck, or climb through the guard completely, and fall.
This is a photo of some deck stairs. Rises are 7.5 inch and treads are 11.5 inch, and within the 3/8 inch variance. However, there are five rises and no railing, so that’s in need of correction. The stringers are in contact with the ground and are not made of treated wood, also in need of correction. And the rises do not have any covering which should also be corrected.
I read an article on sump pumps. The article describes the purpose and function of sump pumps, which is to remove water from below the basement grade by means of a pump and a float switch that is set in a sump pit. It described the different types of pumps: submersible, pedestal, and water powered. It also suggested what maintenance should be done and a list of things to check when inspecting.
This is a picture of an egress door. it is 36 inches wide at the door not the jamb. It swings in on an hinged side. It’s landing outside and inside is larger than 3 feet by 3 feet. And finally the step outside is less than 6.5 inches.
Stairway Inspection by Nick Gromicko. This is about inspecting stairways and why it is important to do so. More than 1600 people died from stairway related incidents, and over 250,000 people were injured in the United States alone in 2004. That is plenty of reason to do an excellent job inspecting stairways, and of course educating your clients on their importance as well.
This is an image of a stairway. It is the sole means of egress from the upper level. The stairway meets the 36 inch minimum width requirement. The treads and risers are compliant. The stairs are illuminated and there is a switch at the top and bottom. There is however no handrail. There needs to be a graspable handrail on at least one side.
For this essay I read the Inspection article on inspecting decks and applied it to the egress topic as in this area a deck is often the “landing” outside an egress door.
Most decks in this area are homeowner built. They should be checked carefully for ledger attachment, post size, and distance from the ground if there is an egress window underneath. The stairs should also be checked for tread depth, rise height, and height variance. I have noticed that most decks in this area do not have a graspable handrail on the stairs, if there is one at all. There are a multitude of decks with horizontal(climbable) balusters on the guard with the deck height more than 48 inches above grade.
The picture depicts water penetration at the crawl space. The obvious water residue is on the concrete, white marks indicate water penetration. The dropped insulation also indicates water damage. These are obvious signs to look for when doing an inspection.
Garage inspections are something that home inspectors must do as part of a complete inspection. Inspectors must look for improper alterations, improper bearing points. Trusses cannot be altered in any way without the approval of a structural engineer. Also plywood gussets added at truss connections.
This inspection photo shows an egress door with a dead bolt lock set. The dead bolt opens and closed with a thumb latch so it is in compliance with the egress requirements. No keys, tools or special knowledge are need to open the door.
This writing assignment for the course “Inspecting the Means of Egress Course”, I read the “Emergency Preparedness” article. I thought it would have a section about having all egress pathways from a home tested for functionality and inspected for compliance. However, what I found was a much broader emergency preparedness guide then just getting out of your home. It has a very good list of items one should have at the ready just in case of an emergency, I definitely overlooked a few essential items in my own bug out bag.
The attached photo shows a stairway. It was inspected for safety standards observed by a home inspector. Specifically here, it was inspected for ample illumination. This particular stairway is not only well lit overhead in its space, but it also has individual lighting for each tread and landing.
This stairway, however has no handrail. It is greater than four risers, and therefore should be called and sighted as in need of correction.
Egress inspection- This is a picture of the hallway in this home that measures thirty six inches wide. The front door also is the same width. The back door is thirty six inches as well which is wider than most in the area.