This door meets all the requirements for proper emergency egress except for the fact that it has a deadbolt lock that requires a key to operate it from the inside. This is a safety issue and should be corrected as soon as possible.
Aluminum siding was popular for a number of years in the late 20th century and is still being installed in some areas. In some jurisdictions the AHJ will require proper grounding, but you will need to check with your local AHJ. Aluminum siding can be recognized by denting or by tapping it and listening to the distinctive sound.
This is for the Means of Egress course.
This is the typical basement window found in homes before 1995 and hence probably meets all the standards at the time of building of the room, however it does not meet modern building standards.
a) It does not meet U.S. standards for 20” width or 24” height or 5.7 sq ft area opening
b) It does meet Canadian Ontario standards for min. 15” width and min. 15” height however it does not meet the 3.8 sq ft area opening (it would have to be 3’ high to do that)
c) It may of met the Canadian standard if there was another proper egress window or door in basement and easily accessible from the bedroom, BUT, there was none in this case.
d) The window sill is far above the 44” U.S. from floor requirement and the 5’ Canadian requirement, so it fails on that aspect also.
e) The window does not meet modern Canadian standards on natural lighting availability (which means you would need almost egress size anyway).
f) The easiest way to know the window does not meet modern standards is that there is no way a fireman with coat and equipment on, is going to get through that window
I hope that was the attachment button at the top (yellow square that indicated attachment when doing a mouse-over) next to smiley face, or I will not have successfully added the picture with this.
The following attachment is an egress door from my home, which is the front door. It is 36" wide and 80" tall that opens to the inside with an outside drop within the required 7 3/4" from the top of the threshold.
Photo of egress door opening over the landing. This is in compliance with Florida hurricane construction code. The code requires, new construction, egress doors to open to the outside to give the door opening more structural strength to prevent doors from being blown into the living area that may create lift and take the roof off the structure.
Here is picture of a home I inspected end of Sept that had egress windows but the covers weighed about 40 lbs. In the report I reported them has too heavy to operate and should be replaced
The course has been very informative and I would recommend other inspectors to take it also
Hello,
Here is a picture of the stairwell leading into the basement in my home. you can see from the picture that the handrail is not continuous over the entire length of the stairway, which is not code compliant.
Hello,
In performing the means of egress inspection on my home I found that it had several non compliance or safety issues. Both the stairway leading up to the front entrance of the house and the stairway leading to the basement had risers that were out of tolerance for both the height and the tread width. The headroom above the stairs in the basement was only 6 foot. And finally, although the windows in the bedrooms function properly and allow the proper clearance to escape through, they are all above 6 feet off of the ground, and you would probably need a ladder to safely escape through the bedroom windows.
For the additional reading I chose the article on child proofing windows and stairs. This article gives some suggestions such as safety gates and childproof latches and guards that can be used on windows and stairs while still allowing these areas to comply with codes for the means of egress.
Staircase leading to the second level of dwelling has a continuous handrail. Balusters are properly spaced and are firmly secured. Handrail terminates at newel post. Risers and treads are evenly spaced and are compliant with modern standards.
This is a brick, single family dwelling which was built in 2012. The dwelling is 5213 sf, one-story structure on a slab foundation. There is a two-car attached garage.
The sidewalk, driveway, and rear patio are smooth and even with no visible cracks or other trip hazards. The grade (slope) of landscaping is compliant with modern standards. All downspouts directs the flow of water away from the foundation. Water penetration was not noted on the exterior portion of the inspection. There are four points of entry into the living area. All entry points were found to be in safe working condition at the time of inspection.
A respective amount of interior doors and windows were operated. A bowed window in the formal dining room displayed fogging which may indicate moisture penetration. It is advised that the condition be further evaluated.
Stairs, steps, landings, and ramps were not present at the inspection location.
My article from the library was Collar Ties vs. Rafter Ties. Of course, during my training, I studied the different structural member. This was good reading for me because it has been many years since I studied these two members. It was a great refresher article and one that I am very glad I read. I will go back to this library to read more articles because there was a vast amount of articles I wanted to read.
Cathy Greer
I would have liked to hear about bedroom egress from the upper floors; either the 2nd floor, 3rd floor or more.
Means of egress…last coarse before my state test
This is the means of egress door. Because the door swings over the landing, the height requirement of 1-1/2" is exceeded. Recommend that a qualified contractor advise on any means to correct this.
This is a picture of the front door “Main Egress” of a property. You can see that the door opens outward and there is a 7" drop to the landing. It appears that this door would not be compliant according to the course “inspecting Means of Egress”
This is a main egress door, which meets required standards. We have a landing less than 7.75 in below the highest point of the threshold, and it measures 40x60 inches. The screen door opens over the threshold but this is allowed.
Let’s inspect the egress
gettin there