-RJO P.O. Box 1353  East Northport, NY 11731 Inspector: Robert O'Connor

Summary Page

Home Inspection Report
Client(s):	Will B. Homeowner
Property address:	123 Your Street, Newtown, NY
Inspection date:	Saturday, September 16, 2006

This summary page published on 3/31/2012 1:33:18 PM EDT

We have included a Summary for your convenience, but this is just an overview of significant items that seemed important at the time of the inspection, and is not a complete or comprehensive listing of problems observed. So please read through the entire report.

Concerns are shown and sorted according to these types:

	Safety	Poses a risk of injury or death - Safety Hazard
	Major Defect	Correction likely involves significant expense - Poor Condition
	Repair/Replace	Recommend Replacement or Repairing - Poor Condition
	Repair/Maintain	Recommend Repair or Servicing - Poor or Marginal Condition
	Minor Defect	Correction likely involves only minor expense - Poor or Marginal Condition
	Maintain	Recommend Ongoing Maintenance
	Evaluate	Recommend Specialist Evaluation - possibility of further defects
	Monitor	Recommend Future Monitoring - possibility of further defects
	Serviceable	Appears in Satisfactory Condition but likely requires maintenance
	Comment	For Your Information - may also be possible general issues or further defects

General information
1) - CAUTION: There appeared to be some general electrical wiring problems with the home, and these conditions can be particularly hazardous. Some of these items which could be observed at the time of the inspection are detailed in the report. It is beyond the Scope of the Inspection to check/evaluate all electrical receptacles, or to check hard wired circuits. A qualified licensed electrician should perform a complete inspection, evaluate the conditions, and make repairs as necessary throughout the building and property.

Exterior
7) - There is a wood deck at the rear of the building. The handrails around the wood deck at the rear of the building appear to be loose and inadequately attached to the deck structure, which is considered a safety concern. A qualified contractor should make repairs as necessary. For example, installing new fasteners and/or hardware so handrails are securely attached.

Garage
32) - Some of the wall and ceiling surfaces between the attached garage and interior living spaces have gaps, holes, or missing or inadequate surface materials. These surfaces are intended to prevent vehicle fumes from entering living spaces, and to slow the spread of fire from the garage to living spaces. A qualified contractor should evaluate and make repairs as necessary so the attached garage wall and ceiling surfaces that adjoin living spaces are tightly sealed and fire rated as per standard building practices. Typically these surfaces require about a one-hour fire rating.

Interior rooms
44) - There appear to be a limited number of smoke and CO alarms in the building. Based on the age of this building and the appearance of existing alarms, the alarms may be old. According to NFPA, aging smoke alarms don't operate as efficiently and often are the source for nuisance alarms. Older smoke alarms are estimated to have a 30% probability of failure within the first 10 years.

For safety, it is recommended that all new smoke and CO alarms with fresh batteries be installed throughout the building. As a minimum new smoke alarms should be located in each bedroom, in each hallway leading to bedrooms, and on each level of the building including basements. There should also be a CO alarm near fuel burning equipment, and one on each level.

Where feasible, it is also recommended that smoke alarms have hard-wired power (with only battery backup) and be interconnected for improved safety. This helps ensure that alarms are heard in bedrooms and basements if the fire originates elsewhere in the building, possibly giving occupants additional critical time to exit before fire spreads. Contact a qualified electrician/contractor for installation and wiring of these safety devices.

For more information, visit these links:
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/5077.html
http://www.nfpa.org/itemDetail.asp?categoryID=278&itemID=20526&URL=Research%20&%20Reports/Fact%20sheets/Fire%20protection%20equipment/Smoke%20alarms
45) - Many of the three-pronged grounding type receptacles that were spot checked in the building were found to have an open/bad ground. This is a safety hazard due to the risk of shock.

Grounding type receptacles were first required in residential structures during the 1960s. Based on the age of this structure and apparent lack of ground wires run with older branch circuits, its likely that many of the 3-prong replacement receptacles were connected to the older wiring without a ground, or possible an unsafe jumper wire between the neutral and ground screws on the receptacle was installed (called a "bootleg ground").

Repairs by a qualified electrician should be made by installing newer self-testing GFCI receptacles and/or by correcting wiring circuits as necessary so all receptacles are protected/grounded as per standard building practices. Replacement of three-pronged receptacles with 2-pronged receptacles is not considered a safe solution.
46) - Two-pronged electric receptacles rather than three-pronged grounded receptacles are installed in some of the interior rooms. They are considered to be unsafe by today's standards and limit the ability to use appliances and tools that require a ground in these rooms.

Note that many of the older circuits in the building do not have a ground wire run with the cable, so using a 3-prong to 2-prong adapter with the older receptacles may be a significant safety risk as the metal receptacle screw/box may not be grounded, so the 3-prong cord connected with the adapter would also not be grounded.

A qualified electrician should evaluate and install GFCI receptacles/breakers or grounded 3-prong receptacles with new branch circuit wires as per the clients' needs and standard building practices.
47) - Guardrails appear to be missing on one side of the steps leading from the den up to the hallway with high drop-offs. This is considered a safety hazard due to the risk of falling. Standard building practices require guardrails to be installed at drop-offs higher than 30 inches, but in some cases it is advised to install them at shorter drop-offs where a hazard appears to exist. A qualified contractor should evaluate and install guardrails as necessary and as per standard building practices.
48) - The stairs from the hallway to the upper level bedroom area did not have a light directly in the area of the steps. In addition the switch at the top is somewhat remote from the steps, and the switch at the bottom did not appear to activate the hall light unless it was switched on upstairs. Many falls in homes occurs at poorly lit stairs. As an additional safety measure, consideration should be given to adding a light directly near the stairs with correctly operating 3-way switches at the top and bottom of the steps.

Bathrooms
56) - Some of the ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) electric receptacles in bathrooms did not trip when tested (e.g second floor bathroom). This is a safety hazard due to the risk of shock. In addition all the bathroom receptacles appeared old and consideration should be given to upgrading them with newer self-testing GFCI type receptacles (e.g. Leviton "SmartLock"). A qualified electrician should evaluate and repair as necessary.

Kitchen
61) - The kitchen receptacles were not GFCI type receptacles, which is considered a safety hazard. In addition many of the kitchen receptacles had standard 3-prong receptacles with an open/bad ground. This combination is considered a significant safety hazard. A qualified electrician should evaluate and make repairs as necessary. All kitchen receptacles should be replaced with newer self-testing GFCI receptacles, and the circuit wiring should be checked and corrected as required.

Basement
69) - The stairs leading down to the basement from the den are substandard, have inadequate clearance height (headroom) at the bottom, and are missing a handrail along the steps. This is a safety hazard due to the risk of falling.

At a minimum, handrails should be installed and the client should be aware of the headroom hazard, especially when guests who are not familiar with the stairs are present. Consideration should also be given to installing a bright colored pad at any such headroom hazard.
70) - Many of the three-prong grounding type receptacles that were spot checked in the basement were found to have an open/bad ground. In addition, receptacles in unfinished areas of the basement and areas near sinks should be GFCI type safety receptacles. These conditions are considered a safety hazard due to the risk of shock.

Grounding type receptacles were first required in residential structures during the 1960s. Based on the age of this structure and apparent lack of ground wires run with older branch circuits, its likely that many of the 3-prong replacement receptacles were connected to the older wiring without a ground, or possible an unsafe jumper wire between the neutral and ground screws on the receptacle was installed (called a "bootleg ground"). Also, some of the 3-prong receptacles appeared to have a loose/bare ground wire running to a water pipe nearby, which is considered substandard practice by current standards

Repairs by a qualified electrician should be made by installing newer self-testing GFCI receptacles and/or by correcting wiring circuits as necessary so all receptacles are protected/grounded as per standard building practices. Replacement of three-pronged receptacles with 2-pronged receptacles is not considered a safe solution.

Plumbing and laundry
82) - The upper portion of the clothes dryer is equipped with a vinyl , accordion-type, flexible exhaust duct. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission considers these types of ducts to be unsafe, and a fire hazard. These types of ducts can trap lint and are susceptible to kinks or crushing, which can greatly reduce the air flow. This duct should be replaced with a rigid or corrugated semi-rigid metal duct, and by a qualified contractor if necessary. Most clothes dryer manufacturers specify the use of a rigid or corrugated semi-rigid metal duct. In addition, the existing exhaust duct should be inspected and cleaned as needed. For more information on dryer safety issues, see http://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PUBS/5022.html

Heating System
93) - The estimated useful life for baseboard heating system water boilers is about 25 to 35 years. Although the heating equipment appeared to operate, the appearance was marginal and seemed to be fairly old. The unit is likely approaching the end of it's useful life. In addition, corrosion was found in one or more areas on the unit, burner flames appeared to be off color, and the safety valves appear to be old and may not operate. The heating equipment may be failing. Based on the appearance and age of the equipment, It is recommended to budget for replacement in the very near future.