I don't like doing home inspections if I'm going to be the only person on the property. I'm kind of a social animal, so I like company.

Actually, I like company because I'm in a dangerous profession playing around with plumbing, electricity, ladders, and the like. If I fall and can't get up, I'd like someone to be there to help me or call 911.

A few days ago I was at a large 4,200-SF rambling ranch-style home, so I had to do a lot of walking around the property. I quickly found that there was a shortcut through the middle of the house through this door:

I also quickly discovered that it didn't matter whether I was going in or coming out, I was going to trip over that concrete pad there. I have no idea why they put it there because it served no useful purpose whatsoever other than to continue to trip me up.

I warned my Client in the home inspection report that he and his family would trip here quite often during the first few months they were in the home. He emailed me back. "Russell- I had to laugh at Item 14 about tripping at the entrance to the breakfast nook. That mission's already been completed. Thanks!"

Hospitals and insurance companies regularly report that trip hazards around our homes are a major cause of accident, injury, and hospital visits. Look around your home for trip hazards and toe stubbers and either light them in darkness, paint the upper or lower part of the hazard, or apply reflective tape to provide better depth perception.