Getting A Home Inspector's Report - Part 3

When selling a home it pays to fix minor problems before putting the property on the market. Major problems also need careful consideration and you will need to determine is involved in rectifying the problem(s). What will the costs be, the disruption factor and whether the problem(s) will affect the sale or the sale price.

It is usual for a property to undergo an inspection prior to sale, so be aware that problems exposed in a home inspector's report could potentially delay the sale, lose you the sale, or affect your final selling price or terms of sale.

Here are three items that might appear on a home inspector's report relating to fire safety:

1. Self Closing Door Connecting The Garage.

In many countries the requlations require that a door from the garage to the house needs to have self-closing hinges to preserve the integrity of the firewall. The hinge is designed to ensure that the door will shut and latch automatically. It is true that people often wedge this door open to make it easy to get in and out of the garage, but this can be a fire hazard. Fires often start in a garage, so without a self-closing door, a fire could spread quickly into the house.

2. Breach of Firewall.

The wall between a garage and the rest of the house can be critical in slowing the spread of a fire into the main house. The door from the house to the garage should be a solid core door. This is different from internal doors in the rest of the house which could be hollow doors.

The integrity of the firewall between the garage and house can be destroyed when holes are cut in the firewall to run cables, or when a hole is cut in the solid core door to allow pets to go in and out.

3. Smoke Detectors Can Save Lives.

Have adequate smoke detectors strategically positioned throughout the house. And, check the effectiveness of smoke detectors at least twice a year. The batteries don't last forever and the smoke alarms are useless if they don't work. Most smoke alarms have a testing button so check if they are working or if the battery needs changing.