whatcom county real estate inspector: Garage Vehicle Door Auto-Reverse
- 08/05/12 07:50 AM
A few weeks ago, I posted a video of an unsafe motorized garage vehicle door -- door failed to auto-reverse at floor level when it struck a 1-1/2" flat object that had been placed on the floor. A garage vehicle door, to be considered safe, must auto-reverse at floor level (1-1/2" over the floor or higher) and at mid-height. Any reasonably new garage vehicle door should, also, have sensor-eyes, both sides of the door at the bottom, that cause the door to reverse if there is an interruption of the infrared beam that exists between the eyes. Let's review: First, here … (7 comments)
whatcom county real estate inspector: Garage to House Fire-Resistance (King of the House) Whatcom County Home Inspections
- 03/26/12 12:56 AM
I find myself loosely using the term "firewall" on occasion when I am reporting on the garage at a house I am inspecting. I am working on breaking that bad habit since "firewall" is one of the most misused terms in construction. I cannot even guess how many times I have heard someone, including we inspectors, reference that an attached garage at residential construction has a problem at the "firewall." The reality is that, in residential construction, a garage does not require a firewall. At a single family residence with an attached garage, the proper terminology is "limited resistance to the … (4 comments)
whatcom county real estate inspector: Bellingham Real Estate Inspection (King of the House) Live Knob and Tube Wiring
- 02/06/12 02:11 AM
In an older home, the home inspector should attempt to determine if energized knob and tube wiring is present. It is not always possible to definitively make that determination, but often it is possible to do so. In fact, frequently it is fairly easy to state, no doubt about it, that there IS energized knob and tube wiring. It is more risky, and often harder to determine, that there is NO LIVE knob and tube wiring at an old home that was built in the era when knob and tube was the system of choice -- the era of Edison up into the 1950's. … (9 comments)
Steven L. Smith, King of the House Home Inspection, provides information for real estate buyers, sellers and real estate industry professionals.
Blog posts emphasize issues commonly found in Bellingham, WA and Whatcom County. Smith is Washington State Licensed Home Inspector #207, a state licensed structural pest inspector, ASHI certified inspector #252760 and one of the most experienced inspectors in the northwest corner of the Pacific Northwest.
Steven L. Smith is lead instructor of home inspection at Bellingham Technical College and teaches classes for Washington State University and the Washington State Department of Agriculture. Steve was a two-term member of the state licensing board.
A few weeks ago, I posted a video of an unsafe motorized garage vehicle door -- door failed to auto-reverse at floor level when it struck a 1-1/2" flat object that had been placed on the floor. A garage vehicle door, to be considered safe, must auto-reverse at floor level (1-1/2" over the floor or higher) and at mid-height. Any reasonably new garage vehicle door should, also, have sensor-eyes, both sides of the door at the bottom, that cause the door to reverse if there is an interruption of the infrared beam that exists between the eyes.
;)
;)
;)
