Good morning/afternoon everyone. I have a simple questing that to me seems like a grey area.
If a inspector goes to a house, gets to the attic part of the inspection and finds that the attic entry is screwed shut, is it in the hands of the inspector if they unscrew the opening to gain access?
To me from what I’ve gained throughout the course is that since it’s not " readily accessible" it wouldn’t be required to gain entry to inspect. Just take pictures and notate that it was screwed shut and didn’t gain entry for that reason?
No. Not required although you an proceed to unscrew the hatch when posable.
I ask the venders agent to do it or at the very least, give you permission with witnesses.
Thank you. That was pretty much what I was thinking. " If you want the attic inspected I need someone to open the door before I’m done with the rest of the house" type of answer.
Use your judgement, the answer will vary case by case. The courses and SOPs are full of “inspector is not required to” statements. This is largely as a protection to us, and gives us something to reference when a situation is unsafe or truly inaccessible. However attics are one of those areas you should make an effort to get into, don’t just throw your hands up and say its too hard and I don’t feel like it. There are some inspectors out there that really seem to look for excuses not to inspect things, personally I think that’s a disservice to the clients.
Now that said also be careful. That hatch might be screwed down because there is another access elsewhere and it is now covered with insulation. You don’t want to do damage to the sellers house getting it open, use a good screwdriver and sharp knife to neatly cut through paint if needed. This is assuming the seller isn’t there which is typically the case. If they’re home (which around here usually means they’re some kind of crazy dingbat) I’ll directly ask them to get it opened up, perhaps with a “I cannot complete the inspection for the sale of the home until I can see the attic” sort of statement.
Finally if you can’t get in safely and non-destructively disclaim the attic and be specific about why, take some pictures showing why, and be specific with your client on whether you’ll come back to reinspect it and the terms of that.
The most common reason I’ve had to not get in an attic space is a car parked directly under a hatchway in the garage. Otherwise you can almost always get in.
This question actually stemmed from when we bought our house. The screwed in attic access is actually mine here. And I don’t remember the attic actually being in the inspection report. Hence why I asked.
Wow, just unscrew the screws. Do you not remove the screws on an electrical panel? Or take out a screw on a crawlspace? It is 1000% okay to exceed the sop. The sop is just the bare minimum you must do. Unless you are completely incompetent, removing a few screws is not going to hurt anything.
Personally, I will remove screws to gain access to the attic, but I won’t cut caulking if it’s sealed closed due to possible damage that could result and also to prevent phone calls from PO’d sellers demanding me to make repairs.
I’ve removed screws and cut caulking to gain attic access. Both with thw owners permission of course. The important thing here is to observe insulation coverage.
The house I grew up in was built in 1911. No attic insulation as I recall. Attic entry was through a tiny scuttle hole next to the brick chimney which was accessed by a narrow closet in the master bedroom wall adjacent to the chimney. Very awkward arrangement.
My 12 year old brother put his foot through the ceiling over the stairwell. Lucky he didn’t fall through, we had 10 foot ceilings so he would have had a long drop on to the stairs. I remember Grandpa building a platform he lashed to the hall railings so he could get a ladder and fix the ceiling (plaster and lathe).
This question actually stemmed from when we bought our house. The screwed in attic access is actually mine here. And I don’t remember the attic actually being in the inspection report. Hence why I asked.
Do you still have the report? Check it out and let us know. Attics are part of the inspection, and most inspectors will note in the report if they cannot access the space.
The attic should be in the report. Where access isn’t possible a reason should be given in the report.
The only attic I didn’t access was a closet full of floor to ceiling junk. I wouldn’t have been able to get a ladder in there. That reason along with a supporting photograph went into the report.
My inspection this past Friday had the only attic access in the garage. 2022 build with high garage ceiling and pull down ladder type entry. The owner was an older lady that was present and during conversation, stated she had just recently had a hip replacement. That said, the garage was packed with storage and there pull down was restricted due to everything stored underneath it. I noted it in my report and informed the client ahead of time. I wasn’t going to rearrange the lady’s garage to get to the access.
The agents got together and cleared the area underneath the access. I went back on Monday for attic inspection. To give you an idea on how high that ceiling was, I had to get my ladder out just so I could unfold the attic ladder. I was over 10 feet just doing that. That was fun…
I only report items with defects, if I reported on every thing that was working and good the report would be 1000 pages long. Or maybe you just over looked the attic section. As if I was to not enter a space for whatever reason I would state why in my report. And maybe your inspector is not an InterNachi member or in a non regulated state where there is no sop to follow.
Maybe you should contact the inspector for a copy of the report. Unless it was more than 5 years ago they should have the report.
ndegaris
(Neil DeGaris, CMI KY License # 102167)
19
Here is one I broke a couple of weeks ago and repaired and sealed it the next day as I didn’t have the items with me to repair as needed.
You are correct. Use your best judgment to determine if it is safe for you to inspect. Aim to provide your client with the best possible inspection while prioritizing your safety and preserving the condition of the home.
