Safety 101

\As an Exclusive Buyer Agent, I've been through a lot of listings lately.  Here's a list of some of the lovely things I've come across lately.

   Don't they look pretty!  They smell pretty too.  (not)  Mr. and Mrs. Seller, please don't leave these burning unattended in your home.  Can you spell fire hazard?

  Looks like an ordinary light bulb, right?  Not when it's in a closed closet full of stuff and left on all day.  Again, can you spell fire hazard?

  Here's an ordinary door, but it has three steps up to it.  Needs a handrail doesn't it?  The bottom step slopes also and is a trip hazard.  (And if there is a trip hazard, I'll find it.)

  Heaving Concrete.  Another trip hazard.  If you're not looking down you won't see it.  (I don't need to look down.  I'll trip over it anyway.)

   This looks like an ordinary upstairs bedroom.  Do you know how high the railing needs to be to be safe?  (42 inches)  Do you know how close together the posts should be?  (Close enough that a kid's head can't get through them and get stuck.)  Did you check to make sure it's solid all the way across and anchored?  Most homes built before the 1990's have railings that don't comply with code.  Many are high enough but the posts are too far apart.  This is a concern for parents.  Short rails are an issue for anyone who likes to lean against rails.