Seeing it first, and investigating it second, I found a staircase not of brick and mortar but brick and glue. Um glue works?
This Weekend Warrior did everything he could to make this the cheapest hunk of staircase he could!
Obviously done without a permit, which I know because there are so many problems and in this county they require a permit for any exterior staircase with three steps or more, I have to admit to never seeing this before!
What's wrong?
1. The platform one steps onto from the door is 26" deep. It needs to be 36" by code.
2. The walls are 42" high and without guardrails.
3. More than three stairs requires handrails on both sides since the stairs are more than 36" wide.
4. The pavers on top are loose. A child could walk out and cause one to tip over!
5. The stairs vary from 7" - 8 1/2". They should not vary more than 3/8".
6. The stairs should all be within 3/8" of 7 3/4". That top step is 4 1/4".
7. The monolith sits against the siding, covering 4 courses of siding and the rim joist. Termite bait!
8. I could not find where that receptacle wiring on the left side of the door comes from. I fear a it's wired from a receptacle buried behind the staircase.
9. The paint is bubbling badly. It's getting wet from the inside.
10. Tapping on it the stairs sound hollow. Moving that paver on the upper right and looking in I found the staircase to be constructed of small concrete blocks I had never seen before and they WERE GLUED TOGETHER!
11. The covering that you see painted on the outside is 1/4" Durarock, made for bathroom walls. That thickness is intended to be a veneer over other material, not as an outdoor structural surface.
Behind where I am standing for the photo is an interesting gas grill of similar construction!
It has its own electrical and gas lines. The electrical is provided by buried extension cords, maybe coming from that same buried receptacle behind the staircase, directly wired to an unprotected receptacle on the grill! The gas lines are the most interesting that I have ever seen. Permit anyone? Smelling danger anyone?
Fantastical!
When my clients asked what would happen should they buy all this I suggested that they would be inheriting any problems associated with everything - and that if there is an accident and the county finds out about it they would face that music too. So I suggested they have the sellers give them a copy of the permit or ask the county to come have a look at it all.
Hint: there is no permit for any of it...
The seller's position was? They bought the house a year ago from friends and did not have a home inspection. I'll bet they did it without a Realtor. They are being transferred by their employer and have to sell the house now. They want my clients to buy this as is or they will simply remove their offer to sell to someone else!
Alrighty then!
My recommendation: you inherit what you are buying. It's best to protect yourself with the due diligence of a home inspection and copies of any necessary permits that have been pulled and closed by the local jurisdiction. And closed does not mean that the permit expired and the jurisdiction closed it! Closed means it has had a final inspection and the appropriate paperwork. And even if your clients are buying from friends, get a home inspection!
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