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At U.S. Inspect, inspector safety is our top
priority. As a building consultant, you have
a professional responsibility to perform to the best of your ability without
endangering yourself. Before going on
your next appointment, be sure to review the following safety precautions.
Consultant Safety
- Carry a first aid kit in your car. Be aware of the location of
medical facilities.
- Take sharp objects (screwdrivers) out of your pockets before going in
attics or crawl space
- Heat and cold can cause serious injury. Don't push yourself too
hard in extreme weather, and wear proper clothing
- Do not put yourself in a potentially hazardous situation unless there is
someone else
around to help, or get help, if you get in trouble. In
particular, be very careful before going on a roof or into an attic or crawl
space if you are by yourself.
- If lead paint or asbestos removal is going on, don't enter the premises
without
protective clothing and an approved respirator.
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Watch
out for poison ivy, pyracantha, thorny bushes, snakes, bees, black widow and
brown recluse spiders.
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Obstacles can lie concealed under a snow
cover. Step carefully.
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Pool chemicals can be hazardous.
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Beware of buried tanks and
manholes. Carbon monoxide can collect in them. You cannot smell
it, and it could cause serious damage. Do not, under any
circumstances, enter such a suspect space unless somebody else is standing
guard over you, and has a way to get you out if you collapse. Don't go
in to get somebody else out; that will just make two people who have to be
rescued.
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Don't go into a trench that is more than
waist deep unless it is shored. And be sure that the shoring is
adequate; contractors may not have done an adequate job.
- It is not safe to walk on a roof with a slope greater than about
7:12. It may not be safe to walk on roofs of lesser slopes if they are
icy, wet, or old (loose granules).
- Watch out for power lines! Guy wires on TV antennas may trip you,
too.
- Rotted sheathing, or weakened fire-retardant sheathing, may give way under
you.
- Ladders: One person on a ladder at a time. This applies especially
to attic pull-down ladders. Get someone to steady the ladder on the ground.
Be sure that gutters are strong enough to hold the weight of the ladder and
you, or select a more suitable location to set up your ladder. Check the
stability of the ladder. Soft ground, or slippery support area at the top,
can cause it to tip. The proper slope for a ladder is 4 vertical to 1
horizontal. If the foot of the ladder is farther away from the wall
than called for by that slope, there is too much bending load on the ladder,
and the foot may slip out. If the ladder is much steeper than that,
there is a danger that it could tip over backward while you are climbing it.
Metal ladders are great conductors of electricity. Keep an eye out for
power lines or any other electrical source. Wear gloves when handling your
ladder, when going into crawl spaces and attics, when you are inspecting the
heater and water heater, when climbing onto roofs and any other time it is
safer and more comfortable with them. Watch your fingers on window frames as
you are climbing in and out, on metal edging as you make your way around a
dormer, at chimneys, antennas, etc. If possible, place the folding ladder
with the upper hinge joint toward the house. Makes boarding the ladder from
the roof easier. It is important to walk on the roof if you can do it
safely, but don't take chances.
| Basements and Crawl Spaces |
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Check
for a handrail on the stairs, make sure it is properly secured, and use it.
Watch out for low headroom. Current requirements are 6 feet, 8 inches, however,
you may find many older structures with much less headroom.
- Do not enter flooded crawl spaces or basements. There may be
electrical equipment or wiring. Don't crawl through standing water, as
a broken sewer line may be the cause of that standing water.
- Be careful when operating sump pumps. Look at the wiring first to
see if it appears to be properly grounded. Don't stick your hand into
a flooded sump to lift the float.
- Liquid petroleum gases (LP) are heavier than air. LP is 1.53 the weight of
air. If there is a leak, they may collect in unventilated spaces below
grade, and reach explosive concentrations. A spark could ignite the gas.
- Some crawl spaces are very large, and are difficult to move around
in. It is possible to get disoriented, stuck, or even lost. Make sure
that you know where you are and have a good flashlight.
- In old houses where galvanized piping has been disconnected, watch for
loose or cut off pipes that might fall and hit you or block your way.
- Stay oriented on where you came in, so you can get back out.
- Give your client or whoever is with you an estimate of how long you expect
to be in the crawl space.
- Continual tapping with your screwdriver is not only useful in finding
defects, but also lets the client know that you are OK.
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Walk
only on the joists, or bottom chord of the trusses. The back of the drywall
or plaster may not support your weight.
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Watch out for TV antennas--they can poke
you in the eye.
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Shingle nails protrude through the
sheathing; watch your head.
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Some pull-down ladders are flimsy and
dangerous; all are lightweight.
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Homeowner-installed attic floors may be
only 1/4 inch plywood, not nailed or not cut to bear properly on the joists.
Step carefully.
- Dark corners may hide nests of stinging insects. Be wary of bats,
too; some bats have rabies. Bats will not attack or fly into your hair, as
some may think. There will be fecal waste on the floor or in the
insulation when bats are or were in the attic.
|
Plumbing and Mechanical |
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Don't
turn on water in a sink or washbasin and walk away. The drain may be clogged
and you may have a flood.
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If the main water service is turned off,
don't turn it on. You don't know why it was turned off. Ask the owners why
it was off and for their permission if your clients request that you inspect
the related systems. You may want to ask the owner to turn it back on,
depending on the situation.
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Don't remove the blower compartment door
of a furnace when the unit is running. Combustion products may be drawn into
the supply ducts.
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Care is needed when opening the view
door of an oil-fired unit. If the draft is blocked, partially blocked or if
the burner nozzle is too large, there may be some degree of heat and/or
flame being forced out of the view door, and directly at you.
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Be aware of your necktie if you are
wearing one around mechanical equipment.
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If a sample of suspected asbestos is to
be taken from a heating pipe or duct, a spray bottle of water should be used
to saturate the area first.
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Be alert for leaks in gas or oil
lines. Especially if there is LP gas on the property; these lines tend
to be subject to more tinkering and unprofessional handling.
- Watch for damp or wet conditions on the floor or walls when opening the
main electrical panel.
- When you first touch the main electrical panel, do it by tapping the panel
with the back of your hand. If it is hot, the shock will then knock
you away rather than freezing you onto it.
- Try not to work in a cramped area when opening the panel, in case you have
to move away quickly.
- If any circuit breakers or major systems are turned off, don't turn them
on. You don't know why they were turned off. Check the breakers before
removing the panel cover; you may accidentally turn one on or off.
- Be careful inside the panel. You should not have to touch anything inside
the panel.
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Don't
try to clear clogged garbage disposals. Never put your hand in a
garbage disposal.
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Before turning on an oven, be sure there
is nothing in it. After turning it on, leave the door open slightly, so that
you don’t
forget to turn it off.
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Before turning on a dishwasher, be sure
there is nothing in it besides dirty dishes.
- If you have to light the oven with a match, do it very carefully.
Don't let the gas run too long or you might wind up out in the yard.
- Before you leave the kitchen, be sure you have turned off all burners and
the oven.
| Floors, Stairs, Balconies |
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Small
rugs on waxed floors are like skateboards.
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When checking a railing for looseness,
be prepared for it to be loose.
- When
checking double hung windows, beware of the upper sash when you unlock the
window. The top sash could fall and cut your fingers/knuckles in a flash.
- Visually
check the firebox before opening the damper. There may be loose bricks, debris, etc. Open the damper before sticking your head into the fireplace; there also
may be loose debris above the damper.
- There are many hazards on a construction site. Stay alert and
aware. Wear a hard hat.
- When checking footings, be careful not to disturb the earth. You may
damage the work as well as hurt yourself.
- Watch out for the following (not an all-inclusive list):
- Moving equipment.
- Suspended overhead loads. Cables sometimes break.
- Loose building materials and debris. Trip hazards.
- Holes or trenches in the ground for utilities, etc.
- Partially finished floors. A misstep may take you to the floor
below.
- Open framing with no handrails.
- Falling objects. Watch out for trash chutes; workmen trying to
pitch things into it sometimes miss.
- Stacked materials. The stack may not be stable.
- Projecting reinforcing steel.
- Nails in used lumber.
- Temporary wiring.
- Roofing kettles. Is it level? Secure? On fire?
- Loose boards or boards that are not secured properly on scaffolds
and walkways.
- Power tools and welding and cutting equipment. Special concern for
your hands and eyes.
- Temporary stairs and ladders
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