Essay 1
The attached picture describes the rear deck means of egress inspection. The deck landing from the screen door is in compliance. The deck railing is also in compliance with the height, structural integrity and spacing between balusters.
Today I was looking at pictures of safety. As I am not licensed yet, safety is the most important aspect in anything you do. Whether it’s your footing or where you place certain tools and other items used for inspecting, you will need to make sure it is in a safe area, or so you do not get harmed in any way during the inspection.
Essay 2
Stairway deaths were over 1600 in 2004, which does not include the number of undocumented injuries. Stairway safety is a very important and sometimes overlooked hazard in a residence. In many homes I’ve gone into, the stairs are the “collectors” of items to go upstairs are some point, yet never seem to get there. These items cause hazards which can cause serious injuries weather it’s tripping, slipping or even falling onto during your dissent.
This is very interesting I’m taking this on line course to change careers and looking to towards the future. An also when buying a house seeing what type of roof to have for our home. Learning about the tile roofs a lot of things come to play yes they last a very long time but in Florida with hurricane season right around the corner possible hail, high winds, lots of rain. With a tile roof damage of tiles are likely. Asphalt shingles yes last about 20-40 years but will stand up to hail and high winds. They are not likely to break as easy. So a lot to consider when buying a home. When watching the videos in this last lesson tile roofs might look stylish but can be very expensive to upkeep I feel. I might be wrong but that’s my opinion I feel. I am very excited to learn more about being a Home Inspector.
Thanks
This essay is about an inspection of one of three egress points of a residential dwelling. The egress opens up to the back porch which is not connected to the garage. The door is a standard size door meeting the singled hinged, 3’ wide by 6’8" height requirements. Since the door swung inward, I used Exception No.1 to evaluate the drop to the landing on the exterior of the dwelling. The landing was less than the maximum of 7 1/4" below the threshold. The landing area was wider than the door and met the requirement for forward travel of 36".
I read the article on inspecting residential interior doors. It can be taken from the article that there is a feeling of contradiction among the following as it applies to interior and exterior doors and travel from space to space: IRC 311.1 appears to require a “continuous and unobstructed path of vertical and horizontal egress travel from all portions of the dwelling to the exterior . . .” How does this affect the location, size and configuration of interior doors and hardware in rooms without windows and in hallways? I must agree with the author’s point of view on all points.
“Would a double-keyed deadbolt in a windowless media rooms interior door obstruct the path of horizontal egress? Yes. Would an interior hallway doors header height of 48 inches obstruct the path of vertical egress? You bet. How about an interior door width of 12 inches? Time for a diet.”
The egress door in this home is greater than 36 inches wide and 82 inches tall. This door is operable without the use of any tools.the landing width is over the 36 inch minimum. There is no stairway with the door. This door also meets the requirements of no more than 7 3/4 inches lower than top of threshold. This egress does not require you to go through any garage. The door does not swing over the landing so therefore is an exception to the 1 1/2 inch rule. This egress door is in compliance with all rules for egress doors.
Collar Ties Vs Rafter Ties
Collar ties and rafter ties are both horizontal roof framing member. They each have different purposes. A collar tie is a tension tie in the upper third of the opposing gable rafters. It is intended to resist separation from the ridge beam. Collar ties may not be needed if approved metal connectors were used. Collar ties do not prevent walls from spreading. A rafter tie is a tension tie in the bottom third of the opposing gable rafters. it is intended to resist outward thrust of the rafter under a load. Rafter ties resist the outward thrust that rafters exert on the exterior walls.
I am taking this course to better learn how to determine if a residence has safe means to egress in case of fire or any other emergency. I am sure it will be of great help to remembering critical safety issues
I am taking this course to better learn how to determine if a residence has safe means to egress in case of fire or any other emergency. I am sure it will be of great help in remembering critical safety issues
Looking at some stairway pictures in the gallery and the one where you see and inspector doing his job was pretty good. They should’ve included his hand on the rail to demonstrate the fact that you should place a hand in order to attempt to shake for safety reasons.
Well you guys can obviously see what is wrong with this picture. There is no handrail at all! This is a main concern with the safety of whomever walks down these stairs. Plus, there should be a light near the bottom to illuminate the pathway so no one trips over somthing nearing the botttom of the stairs.
This is an inspection of a deck. Although the steps were not required to have a hand rail due to the height of the steps, it was suggested because of the safety issues for children and elderly individuals that would use the steps.
Decks can be a safety concern if not build properly. The need to have the proper spacing in steps and a hand rail if necessary. Also no wood should touch the ground if it is not pressure treated. Pickets should be in place to prevent accidents in children.
In this photo you can see that the distance between the deck pickets is about 4-5/8". This is well beyond the 4" that is considered to be good building practice. It may be possible that a small child might be able to get his/her head through this space and become trapped.
My back deck entrance, exit is 32" wide with 5 steps leading up or down the back deck, appropriate handrail in place making it easy and safe to go up and down the stairs. Storm door at top of steps opens inwards toward the deck.
I reviewed the safety glass for inspectors article. I know the inspector does not typically inspect for safety class, but it would be ok to look and see if the glass is marked or labeled as such when doing a home inspection.
This is the main egress door to this house. It is 36 inches wide and requires no key, tools or special knowledge to open from the inside. There is no step on either side of the threshold which shows no signs of rot. The door opens and shuts perfectly without any sag at the hinges or misalignment at the lock sets. An excellent door.
I read an interesting article about clothing moths. They are often mistakenly blamed for fabric damage and exclusively dine on animal fibers. It is the larvae that consume clothing fibers and usually are drawn to soiled clothing. Mothballs can kill them if they are in a sealed container with the clothing. Also cedar chips are a deterrent but no one knows quite why.
Ant Inspection
I am writing my essay on the article I read in the Inspectors Library about ant inspection. As we all know there are many different species of ants, some harmless and some destructive. A species that has gained momentum in the South is the Fire Ant. These ants build large earthen mounds, and have a very nasty bite. It would be beneficial for home inspectors to watch for these ants while doing there exterior grade inspection. If a child or pet were to disturb these creatures, the outcome could be serious.