When you open your electrical panel, does it have a Zinsco label? Hopefully not. When I come across a Zinsco panel, such as this one the other day, I have no choice but to recommend a full analysis by a licensed electrician. The reason?... "Problems with certain Zinsco panels cannot be seen by the naked eye. Even after the cover of Zinsco panels has been removed, everything can seem to be in fine working order. Upon exploring its components, electricians find that breakers cannot be removed from the bus bar. They’ve welded together, which indicates that the breakers have melted. In that condition, a breaker would be unable to trip and may be allowing an unsafe amount of electricity into the home! This could lead to a potential fire." (ref: http://www.ismypanelsafe.com/zinsco_damage.aspx)

Dryer vent covers

The Consumer Products Safety Commission estimates there are 15,500 clothes dryer fires each year in the United States, amounting to $84 million in estimated property damage annually. Lack of maintenance is the leading cause of dryer fires, and lint is the leading material to ignite. These fires can be caused by insufficient airflow as a result of improper installation.

In this picture, you see a "grate" style vent cover. DO NOT USE THIS. I see this far too often. Yes it keeps the pests out, but it also keeps the lint in. Use a "louver" style vent cover that flaps open and closed.

Stair and stair railing safety

These stairs have obviously been neglected for way too long. On top of that, they never were built right in the first place. The codes for stairs are a mile long, and for good reason....
Did you know that:
 Over 1 Million accidents resulting in injury happen every year on stairs?
 Stair accidents are the second leading cause of unintended injury, second only to car accidents?
 There are 12,000 stair deaths per year?
 Half of these deaths occur in the home?
*Statistics from the National Safety Council.

At 'My San Diego Home Inspector', we inspect not only how sound your stairs are, but will inform you of the safety issues at hand. We do special individual special inspections. If it is just one particular item you want inspected (eg: plumbing, electrical, attic, crawlspace...) we can do that for a fraction of a whole home inspection price.

Do Your Gutters Work Effectively?

It amazes me how many gutters are installed improperly. The gutter system is vital to the health of your home. In this case, the gutter was installed very low. During a rainstorm, the water is probably flowing right over the gutter and onto the sidewalk, or worst yet onto your head. This is just one of the many failures which may be occurring in your gutter system. This system not only includes your gutters, but the roof system, the flashing, downspouts, splash guards, underground drainage systems....all of which can affect your homes foundation system below.

How does your door swing?

Here's a perfect example of a door that was installed without knowledge of codes or personal safety. There are many codes in the code book to protect you. In this picture, we see that the door swings out over a set of stairs. Basically, the door is inviting you to fall forward. This is why the door should either swing inward, or if it is to swing out, there must be a landing.

Mold and wood decay

This is what happens when deck and waterproofing maintenance is ignored. Upon inspecting this deck, it turned out the damage was much greater than expected. Because of not paying attention to early signs of water proofing failure, this deck continued to leak over a good period of time, leading to not only mold, but structural failure. I was able to stick my hand through the garage beam that supports the second floor and the deck above. The only thing holding the framing together was the stucco. The owner was very lucky to only get away with paying out thousands of dollars for the repair. If this had waited any longer, there could have been more serious problems. Did you know there are stricter codes to build decks than for the subfloors inside your house? It's because local authorities know that is where the party is. You put 30 people on a deck, your talking over 2 tons of weight! Have an inspector check your deck out.

Wire sizes and breakers

There have been times I have inspected the service panel and the wire gauge is too small for the size of the breaker. Usually, it is when someone has added a breaker to the panel because he/she wanted a wire added to their home for some reason or another and thought 'I don't need an electrician to do this' without knowing their are designated breakers for all sizes of wire. When this happens, you could have a potential fire hazard. When buying a home, be sure your electric service panel and the wires and breakers inside are in good, safe working order.