Home Inspector San Diego – The San Diego Real Estate Inspection Company

Contact Us | 888-494-5150

Posts Tagged ‘home inspection’

Swimming Pool Safety – Must Read

Sunday, March 8th, 2009

Statistics compiled from InterNACHI, the worlds largest Home Inspector Association

Swimming pools should always be happy places. Unfortunately, each year thousands of American families confront swimming pool tragedies, drownings and near-drownings of young children. These tragedies are preventable. These are guidelines for pool barriers that can help prevent most submersion incidents involving young children. This designed for use by owners, purchasers, and builders of residential pools, spas, and hot tubs. These guidelines are not intended as the sole method to minimize pool drowning of young children, just helpful safety tips for safer pools.

Each year, hundreds of young children die and thousands come close to death due to submersion in residential swimming pools. CPSC has estimated that each year about 300 children under 5 years old drown in swimming pools. Hospital emergency room treatment is required for more than 2,000 children under 5 years of age who were submerged in residential pools. CPSC did an extensive study of swimming pool accidents, both fatal drowning’s and near-fatal submersions, in California, Arizona and Florida, states in which home swimming pools are very popular and in use during much of the year.

• In California, Arizona and Florida, drowning was the leading cause of accidental death in and around the home for children under the age of 5 years.
•  75 percent of the children involved in swimming pool submersion or drowning accidents were between 1 and 3 years old. 
•  Boys between 1 and 3 years old were the most likely victims of fatal drownings and near-fatal submersions in residential swimming pools. 
• Most of the victims were being supervised by one or both parents when the swimming pool accident occurred. 
•  Nearly half of the child victims were last seen in the house before the pool accident occurred. In addition, 23 percent of the accident victims were last seen on the porch or patio, or in the yard. 
•  This means that fully 69 percent of the children who became victims in swimming pool accidents were not expected to be in or at the pool, but were found drowned or submerged in the water. 
•  65 percent of the accidents occurred in a pool owned by the victim’s immediate family, and 33 percent of the accidents occurred in pools owned by relatives or friends. 
•  Fewer than 2 percent of the pool accidents were a result of children trespassing on property where they didn’t live or belong. 
•  77 percent of the swimming pool accident victims had been missing for five minutes or less when they were found in the pool drowned or submerged.

The speed with which swimming pool drownings and submersions can occur is a special concern: by the time a child’s absence is noted, the child may have drowned. Anyone who has cared for a toddler knows how fast young children can move. Toddlers are inquisitive and impulsive and lack a realistic sense of danger. These behaviors, coupled with a child’s ability to move quickly and unpredictably make swimming pools particularly hazardous for households with young children.

Swimming pool drownings of young children have another particularly insidious feature: these are silent deaths. It is unlikely that splashing or screaming will occur to alert a parent or caregiver that a child is in trouble. The best way to reduce child drownings in residential pools was for pool owners to construct and maintain barriers that would prevent young children from gaining access to pools. However, there are no substitutes for diligent supervision.
 
Why the Swimming Pool Guidelines Were Developed
 
Young child can get over a pool barrier if the barrier is too low or if the barrier has handholds or footholds for a child to use when climbing. The guidelines recommend that the top of a pool barrier be at least 48 inches above grade, measured on the side of the barrier which faces away from the swimming pool. Eliminating handholds and footholds and minimizing the size of openings in a barrier’s construction.
 
For a solid barrier no indentations or protrusions should be present, other than normal construction tolerances and masonry joints. For a barrier (fence) made up of horizontal and vertical members if the distance between the tops of the horizontal members is less than 45 inches, the horizontal members should be on the swimming pool side of the fence. The spacing of the vertical members should not exceed 1-3/4 inches. This size is based on the foot width of a young child and is intended to reduce the potential for a child to gain a foothold. If there are any decorative cutouts in the fence, the space within the cutouts should not exceed 1-3/4 inches.
 
The definition of pool includes spas and hot tubs. The swimming pool barrier guidelines therefore apply to these structures as well as to conventional swimming pools.
 
How to Prevent a Child from Getting OVER a Pool Barrier
 
A successful pool barrier prevents a child from getting OVER, UNDER, or THROUGH and keeps the child from gaining access to the pool except when supervising adults are present.
 
The Swimming Pool Barrier Guidelines
 
If the distance between the tops of the horizontal members is more than 45 inches, the horizontal members can be on the side of the fence facing away from the pool. The spacing between vertical members should not exceed 4 inches. This size is based on the head breadth and chest depth of a young child and is intended to prevent a child from passing through an opening. Again, if there are any decorative cutouts in the fence, the space within the cutouts should not exceed 1-3/4 inches.

For a chain link fence the mesh size should not exceed 1-1/4 inches square unless slats, fastened at the top or bottom of the fence, are used to reduce mesh openings to no more than 1-3/4 inches.

For a fence made up of diagonal members (latticework) the maximum opening in the lattice should not exceed 1-3/4 inches.
Aboveground pools should have barriers. The pool structure itself serves as a barrier or a barrier is mounted on top of the pool structure. Then, there are two possible ways to prevent young children from climbing up into an aboveground pool. The steps or ladder can be designed to be secured, locked or removed to prevent access, or the steps or ladder can be surrounded by a barrier such as those described above. For any pool barrier, the maximum clearance at the bottom of the barrier should not exceed 4 inches above grade, when the measurement is done on the side of the barrier facing away from the pool.
 
If an aboveground pool has a barrier on the top of the pool, the maximum vertical clearance between the top of the pool and the bottom of the barrier should not exceed 4 inches. Preventing a child from getting through a pool barrier can be done by restricting the sizes of openings in a barrier and by using self-closing and self-latching gates.
To prevent a young child from getting through a fence or other barrier, all openings should be small enough so that a 4-inch diameter sphere cannot pass through. This size is based on the head breadth and chest depth of a young child.
 
Gates

There are two kinds of gates which might be found on a residential property. Both can play a part in the design of a swimming pool barrier.

Pedestrian Gates are the gates people walk through. Swimming pool barriers should be equipped with a gate or gates which restrict access to the pool. A locking device should be included in the gate design. Gates should open out from the pool and should be self closing and self-latching. If a gate is properly designed, even if the gate is not completely latched, a young child pushing on the gate in order to enter the pool area will at least close the gate and may actually engage the latch. When the release mechanism of the self-latching device is less than 54 inches from the bottom of the gate, the release mechanism for the gate should be at least 3 inches below the top of the gate on the side facing the pool. Placing the release mechanism at this height prevents a young child from reaching over the top of a gate and releasing the latch. Also, the gate and barrier should have no opening greater than 1/2 inch within 18 inches of the latch release mechanism. This prevents a young child from reaching through the gate and releasing the latch.
 
Other gates should be equipped with self-latching devices. The self-latching devices should be installed as described for pedestrian gates.

How to Prevent a Child from Getting UNDER / THROUGH a Pool Barrier
  
In many homes, doors open directly onto the pool area or onto a patio which leads to the pool. In such cases, the wall of the house is an important part of the pool barrier, and passage through any doors in the house wall should be controlled by security measures. The importance of controlling a young child’s movement from house to pool is demonstrated by the statistics obtained during CPSC’s study of pool incidents in California, Arizona and Florida. Almost half (46 percent) of the children who became victims of pool accidents were last seen in the house just before they were found in the pool.

All doors which give access to a swimming pool should be equipped with an audible alarm which sounds when the door and/or screen are opened. The alarm should sound for 30 seconds or more within 7 seconds after the door is opened and should be loud, at least 85 decibels, when measured 10 feet away from the alarm mechanism. The alarm sound should be distinct from other sounds in the house, such as the telephone, doorbell and smoke alarm. The alarm should have an automatic reset feature. Because adults will want to pass through house doors in the pool barrier without setting off the alarm, the alarm should have a switch that allows adults to temporarily deactivate the alarm for up to 15 seconds. The deactivation switch could be a touch pad (keypad) or a manual switch, and should be located at least 54 inches above the threshold of the door covered by the alarm. This height was selected based on the reaching ability of young children.

Power safety covers can be installed on pools to serve as security barriers. Power safety covers should conform to the specifications in ASTM F 1346-91. This standard specifies safety performance requirements for pool covers to protect young children from drowning. Self-closing doors with self-latching devices could also be used to safeguard doors which give ready access to a swimming pool.

Indoor Pools
 
When a pool is located completely within a house, the walls that surround the pool should be equipped to serve as pool safety barriers. Measures recommended above where a house wall serves as part of a safety barrier also apply for all the walls surrounding an indoor pool.
 
Guidelines
 
An outdoor swimming pool, including an inground, aboveground, or onground pool, hot tub, or spa, should be provided with a barrier which complies with the following:

1. The top of the barrier should be at least 48 inches above grade measured on the side of the barrier which faces away from the swimming pool. The maximum vertical clearance between grade and the bottom of the barrier should be 4 inches measured on the side of the barrier which faces away from the swimming pool. Where the top of the pool structure is above grade, such as an aboveground pool, the barrier may be at ground level, such as the pool structure, or mounted on top of the pool structure. Where the barrier is mounted on top of the pool structure, the maximum vertical clearance between the top of the pool structure and the bottom of the barrier should be 4 inches.

2. Openings in the barrier should not allow passage of a 4-inch diameter sphere.

3. Solid barriers, which do not have openings, such as a masonry or stone wall, should not contain indentations or protrusions except for normal construction tolerances and tooled masonry joints.

4. Where the barrier is composed of horizontal and vertical members and the distance between the tops of the horizontal members is less than 45 inches, the horizontal members should be located on the swimming pool side of the fence. Spacing between vertical members should not exceed 1-3/4 inches in width. Where there are decorative cutouts, spacing within the cutouts should not exceed 1-3/4 inches in width.

5. Where the barrier is composed of horizontal and vertical members and the distance between the tops of the horizontal members is 45 inches or more, spacing between vertical members should not exceed 4 inches. Where there are decorative cutouts, spacing within the cutouts should not exceed 1-3/4 inches in width.

6. Maximum mesh size for chain link fences should not exceed 1-3/4 inch square unless the fence is provided with slats fastened at the top or the bottom which reduce the openings to no more than 1-3/4 inches.
 
7. Where the barrier is composed of diagonal members, such as a lattice fence, the maximum opening formed by the diagonal members should be no more than 1-3/4 inches.
 
8. Access gates to the pool should be equipped to accommodate a locking device. Pedestrian access gates should open outward, away from the pool, and should be self-closing and have a self latching device. Gates other than pedestrian access gates should have a self-latching device. Where the release mechanism of the self-latching device is located less than 54 inches from the bottom of the gate.

• The release mechanism should be located on the pool side of the gate at least 3 inches below the top of the gate.
• The gate and barrier should have no opening greater than 1/2 inch within 18 inches of the release mechanism.

9. Where a wall of a dwelling serves as part of the barrier, one of the following should apply:

• All doors with direct access to the pool through that wall should be equipped with an alarm which produces an audible warning when the door and its screen, if present, are opened. The alarm should sound continuously for a minimum of 30 seconds within 7 seconds after the door is opened. The alarm should have a minimum sound pressure rating of 85 dBA at 10 feet and the sound of the alarm should be distinctive from other household sounds, such as smoke alarms, telephones, and door bells. The alarm should automatically reset under all conditions. The alarm should be equipped with manual means, such as touchpads or switches, to temporarily deactivate the alarm for a single opening of the door from either direction. Such deactivation should last for no more than 15 seconds. The deactivation touch pads or switches should be located at least 54 inches above the threshold of the door.
• The pool should be equipped with a power safety cover which complies with ASTM F1346-91. 
• Other means of protection, such as self-closing doors with self-latching devices, are acceptable so long as the degree of protection afforded is not less than the protection afforded by the above.

10. Where an aboveground pool structure is used as a barrier or where the barrier is mounted on top of the pool structure, and the means of access is a ladder or steps, then:

• The ladder to the pool or steps should be capable of being secured, locked or removed to prevent access.
• The ladder or steps should be surrounded by a barrier. When the ladder or steps are secured, locked, or removed, any opening created should not allow the passage of a 4-inch diameter sphere.

These guidelines are intended to provide a means of protection against potential drownings of children under 5 years of age by restricting access to residential swimming pools, spas, and hot tubs.
 
Exemptions
 
A portable spa with a safety cover which complies with ASTM F1346-91 should be exempt from the guidelines presented in this document. A safety cover has straps with latches to hold the cover down, and attaches it to the sides of the spa. Swimming pools, hot tubs, and non portable spas with safety covers should not be exempt from the provisions of this document.

Even if you home inspector does or does not inspect the pool, please take the necessary steps to protect children from accidental drowning. Check with your local building department to see if there are additional restrictions in your area.

Philippe Heller
President
The San Diego Real Estate Inspection Co.
www.sdinspections.com

Tags: home inspection, pool safety, pools
Posted in Health and Safety | No Comments »

When and Where are GFCI Receptacles Required?

Wednesday, February 25th, 2009

Saying that disagreements can arise over a home inspection is an under-statement. One item that can cause frustration is the Ground Fault Circuit Interruptor, or GFCI. A GFCI is typically a receptacle with small buttons on it that usually say “Test” and “Reset”. It can also be built into a circuit breaker that is installed in an electric panel.

Home inspectors test the operation of GFCI’s as part of their evaluation. They may also recommend the installation of GFCI receptacles near plumbing fixtures. But they weren’t always required. So how can you resolve disagreements about the presence or absence of GFCI receptacles? Let’s first talk about safety, then the requirements.

What is a ground fault circuit interruptor (GFCI) anyway?

A “ground-fault” is an unintentional flow of electricity between a source of electrical current and a grounded surface. Without protection, electrical shock can occur if a person comes into contact with an energized part. For example, if a person is holding a damaged electrical cord from a hair dryer and touches a plumbing fixture, they could be electrocuted. They would certainly get a painful shock. 

A GFCI receptacle constantly monitors an electrical circuit. If it detects even a slight flow of electricity to a grounded item, it immediately shuts off the flow of electricity. This protects people from electrocution. It is particularly important to protect people where they could come in contact with exposed grounded items such as plumbing fixtures.

How is a GFCI different from a regular circuit breaker or fuse? 

If too much electricity flows through a wire, it will get hot. Sometimes it can get hot enough to start a fire inside the walls of a house. Traditional circuit breakers protect your house from fires by shutting off the flow of electricity to a wire when there is too much demand for electricity. This can happen when too may items are plugged into a circuit. That’s why a power strip can be dangerous if there are too many electric items plugged into it.  Circuit breakers do not protect people from electrocution. Their purpose is to protect you from a fire.

When and where are GFCI receptacles required?

GFCI receptacles were required in houses starting in 1971. Originally they were only required at the exterior of the house and by swimming pool equipment. Over the years, GFCI receptacles have been required in more locations such as garages, bathrooms, kitchens, etc. The following table applies to most municipalities, but some local codes may be different. Please check with your local building department.

GFCI location Chart

In an older home there may be no requirement for GFCI’s to be installed. The seller is not required to upgrade the receptacles unless the electrical system has been modified. So if the kitchen in a 1950′s house has been remodeled, and receptacles have been added or moved, they must be upgraded to GFCI receptacles if they are within 6 feet of a plumbing fixture. This applies to bathrooms too. So when your home inspector suggests upgrading certain receptacles to GFCI receptacles, please know that he has your safety in mind. The seller may not have to upgrade the receptacles, but you should do it for your family’s safety. 

Note: The refrigerator receptacle should not be a GFCI receptacle.

Tags: gfci, home inspection
Posted in Health and Safety | 1 Comment »

Infrared Thermal Imaging and home inspections

Wednesday, January 7th, 2009

Superman had x-ray vision. Doctors use x-rays and MRI’s to look inside your body. The military and police use infrared to find suspects hiding in the bushes. Each application allows the user to observe things that are not visible to the naked eye and allows them to do a better job. 

A few top notch home inspectors are starting to use Infrared Thermal Imaging Cameras (also know as IR cameras) for the same reasons. With this technology, they are able to detect some problems that are not visible to the naked eye. While it does not give the inspector super-human powers, it does give them an edge on finding anomolies in a house that might not otherwise be discovered. We have been using IR cameras since 2005, and the results are fantastic. Just like smart phones, satellite TV, and MP3 players, the technology is amazingly complex. but using them is fairly simple. So how do we use this technology to do a better inspection? 

First let’s talk about temperature and thermal mass. You can think of thermal mass as the inertia against temperature change. That means items with different thermal mass will change temperature at different rates. In reference to building materials, a dry item will heat up more quickly than an item with more moisture. Dry sheetrock will warm up more quickly than a 2 x 4 piece of wood. Or for the purpose of our discussion, wet areas of sheetrock will change temperature at a different rate than dry sheetrock. The change in temperature is referred to as “Delta T”. So what does all this mean to a home inspection? 

Infrared Cameras “see” in the infrared spectrum, or in other words, it “sees” the heat emitted by items and converts it into an image that humans can see. Since everything has a temperature, the camera is a very effective tool to show us how items are heating or cooling. Even items in your freezer have different temperatures based on their thermal mass. An ice cube has a different thermal mass than a frozen piece of bread, and the bread will heat up more quickly than the ice cube when removed from the freezer. 

Performing an IR scan of a house involves a few steps. First, we run all the plumbing in the house. Running the water in upstairs bathrooms is particularly important because shower pans and tubs are a frequent souce of leaks. At the same time we will turn on the furnace. The furance will start to warm up interior surfaces of the house (obviously). But any areas that are wet will not heat up as quickly. When looked at with the IR camera, the wet areas will stand out as a cold spot when compared to the surrounding areas, unable to heat up as quickly as the dry areas due to higher thermal mass. 

Evaluating the home for leaks with an IR Camera is a simple process, but one that most home inspectors do not use (The cameras are very expensive ranging from $6,000 – $12,000). And with many bank-owned homes getting a quick paint job for a fast sale, water stains may be covered up. Evidence of a leak will be overlooked by most home inspectors. But the IR camera can “see” these leaks even through a new paint job. 

Thermal Imaging of a leaking pipe

 In one example, I was inspecting a newer home that had recently been forclosed. The house was about 7 years old and had been very recently painted by the bank. The house appeared to be a cream puff by all standards compared to most of the bank-owned homes we’ve seen. In this case I ran hot water at the sinks IR image of drain leak from a TV mountand tub in the upstairs master bathroom. After a few minutes I scanned the living room below with the IR camera. The hot drain pipes were clearly visible in the wall. After carefully looking at the image I noticed a very small pool of hot water at the base of the pipe. I looked closely at the basboards and still saw nothing. But on very close examination, I found a small amount of water leaking under the baseboard. 

We looked at the wall closely from different angles and noticed that there were six spackled holes in the same pattern as a flat panel TV mounting bracket. Sure enough it appears that the drain line was pierced with one of the mounting bolts. While the bolt was in place, no leak occurred. Now that the house was vacated, and the mount removed, a leak occurred. This is similar to a nail in your tire that does not leak until you remove it. 

Fortunately I found this leak and avoided a lot of damage. This leak was in an area of the living room that with all likelihood would have been covered with furniture. The leak could have gone unnoticed for months. Besides the physical damage, extended exposure to moisture could easily lead to a mold problem. But a simple fix was all that was required to avert disaster. 

Thermal image of over-heated breaker

Plumbing leaks are only one defect that we search for with the IR camera. It is an effective tool to find roof leaks after a recent rain. It can also be used to find missing insulation, open or leaking ducts, and over-heated circuit breakers. So when evaluating which home inspection company to hire, try to find one that uses the latest testing equipment such as Infrared Thermal Imaging. The inspection may be a few dollars more, but it is worth it.

Tags: home inspection, Infrared Thermal Imaging
Posted in On the Job | 1 Comment »

Water Heater Safety (Part 1)

Wednesday, January 7th, 2009

Water heaters are often taken for granted. They sit in our garage or utility closet and perform their assigned duty day in and day out. If installed correctly they will operate with little fuss for many years. Most of us rarely give the water heater a second thought, but they have a life cycle just like every other component or appliance in your house.

At the very minimum you should take a careful look at your water heater at least once a year. One of the most common points of failure is at the top of your water heater where it connects to the house plumbing. If the water heater was not installed with proper dielectric connectors, you will get corrosion where the copper plumbing meets the steel tank. Corrosino at water heaterThis area is often difficult to see. A tank can be five feet tall and when properly installed on an 18 inch platform, the top of the tank is 6-1/2 feet off the ground. This area can easily be over looked.

If you see heavy rust in this area, your tank is ready to leak. remember that your plumbing system is under pressure 24 hours a day. It doesn’t take much corrosion to eat through the plumbing. Even a small leak can flood your house. Even if your water heater is in your garage, a leak can find it’s way to the interior of your house. Water often sprays out of a small breach in the plumbing with such force that it quickly destroys the drywall, and get’s inside the walls, and into your house. Just a small amount of water can destroy wood flooring, baseboards, carpeting, furninture, or personal items that are sitting on the floor.

Rusty water heater piping can cause leaks

In addition to looking for corrosion, look for evidence of soot at the exterior of the tank. This can be found around the burner compartment cover at the bottom of your water heater. If you are comfortable doing so, open the cover and look inside the compartment. Be careful of hot parts. If the water heater is on the inner cover will be hot. Once you remove the inner cover look for scale and rust inside the burner compartment. Old, damaged parts in the burner compartment can cause the water heater to remain on and over heat. This is a major cause of house fires.

Proper venting is critical to the safe operation of a water heater. Check the flue. It should be properly aligned with the top of the tank. And the sections of the flue should be well seated. Do not use duct tape on the flue. It can catch fire. An improperly installed flue can allow Carbon Monoxide to leak into your living space.

A general rule of thumb is to proactively replace your water heater when it has reached the end of its warranty period. That usually means that if your water heater is more than 7 years old, it should be replaced before you have problems with it. The price ofa water heater is usually less than your insurance deductable. When in doubt, have your water heater inspected by a licensed plumber. It does not cost much and could save your family from injury, and you home from damage.

Part two of this blog will include information about proper seismic strapping, recalled gas flex lines, and determining the age of your water heater.

Tags: home inspection, House fire, Water heater safety
Posted in Health and Safety | No Comments »

Inspections of Bank Owned Homes

Wednesday, January 7th, 2009

What a great time to buy a house! Deals are everywhere, and people are getting great prices on the home of their dreams. Whether you are buying that home from a bank directly, at auction, or a short sale, most of these houses will be sold as-is. That means that you get what you get and the seller, the bank, will not do any repairs. So why should you get an inspection? The bank won’t fix anything anyway, right?

Well, it is true that you may not be able to use the inspection report as leverage to lower the price or get certain items repaired. But you should know what you are getting into. Will the house cost you a fortune right after you move in? Will it be safe for your family to occupy the house? Can you afford the repairs after paying a downpayment, closing costs, appraisals, etc. ? A new furnace can be $5,000 or more. A new water heater can be $1,000. A new roof is $5,000-$20,000. And what about the cast iron drain pipes in that charming bungalow? Replacing those can be $7,000. Yikes!

A thorough inspection can answer these questions. The inspector can confirm that the furnace works, The roof is serviceable, the water heater has some life left, etc. If it turns out that these items require replacement, it may be better to pass on the house instead of running the risk of loosing it to the bank due to insurmountable repair bills.

Tags: buying bank owned, forclosure, home inspection
Posted in Inspection News | No Comments »