Baltimore County, Maryland. Gaps in the fireblocking above both garage doors, stone ledges never installed beside the back door, egress ladders loose in both window wells, and a passive radon system left unactivated. Seventy-one items in all, each one photographed and captioned in the report.
Counted from the delivered report
71
Findings documented
Across 12 areas of the house
3
Fireblocking gaps
Garage door framing to ceiling
36
Exterior items
Stonework, drainage, penetrations and the screen porch
3
Fire door items
Paint on the auto-close hinges, one pin not set
Most of the 71 items are finish work. These six are the ones that touch fire separation, water, egress and the air in the house.
In three places above the garage doors there were gaps between the door framing and the ceiling, and the report says they should be sealed for proper fireblocking. The slide locks had not been disabled or removed on either garage door, which the report recommends when automatic openers are installed.
The door between the garage and the mudroom is a fire door on self-closing hinges. Three of its four auto-close hinges had paint on them, the hinge pin on the bottom center hinge was not set, and the paint finish on the garage side was inconsistent. Those hinges are what pull the door shut on its own.
The stone ledges on both sides of the back door were not installed, and neither was the stone around the vent line in the left rear corner. Metal brackets showed beneath the stone on the exterior fireplace, house wrap was visible beside the right garage door, there were gaps between the foundation and trim around both garage doors, and low-voltage penetrations at two corners of the house were not sealed.
The ladders in both egress window wells were not screwed into place. Splash blocks were missing at the front right downspout extension and at the sump pump discharge, and the report notes the discharge line may end too close to the ground for a splash block to fit beneath it. Two pipes behind the house were left neither cut, capped nor in use.
The passive radon system had not been activated. The report recommends testing for radon after a year of living in the house and activating the system if needed. In the same utility room the air handler’s filter slot was a sheet of metal, a punch out on its side and the wall penetration for the condensate drain were not sealed, and two shut-off valves on the ceiling were uncovered.
The weep hole beneath the bench in the basement shower was not open. In the hall bathroom, cracked grout next to the shower had been covered with caulk. In the kitchen the dishwasher was installed unevenly, the tile above the range was incomplete, and the disposal switch was hard to reach.
Photographs from the inspection, personal details removed
Every item as it was captioned in the delivered report, verbatim. One caption that only labelled the photo before it is left out, and a retailer named in another is shown as [store]. Name, street address and report number removed.
Exterior
Garage
Mudroom
Utility
Finished Basement
Basement Bathroom
Foyer
Family Room
Kitchen
Upper Stairs and Hallway
Owners Bath
Hall Bathroom
Every Century report is confidential and prepared exclusively for the client who ordered it. This page is published with written permission, with anything identifying removed before it went up.
Seventy-one items on a brand-new house, from fireblocking gaps above the garage doors to stone that was never installed beside the back door. The builder’s warranty only covers what gets written down, so we write all of it down.
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