Dangerous Conditions                250-427-3942 / 1-877-60HOME1                    email us

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                Most defects are not this obvious

But some defects are this dangerous, life safety is at stake here.


Here is a fine example of why you should have heat other than portable electric space heaters.

The chimney and front steps is all that is left standing.

Luckily no one was injured here.

 

                           Family First

You want to be able to protect your biggest asset, your family!


Fire can be devistating to you and your family, there are many conditions that may start a fire, or may be dangerous and unsafe to you and your family.


                Dangerous Chimney Conditions

	These pictures show a natural gas line going into a chimney ash clean out door. Do you think this is dangerous? So did we. Explosion comes to mind. We recommended immediate evaluation by the safety authority on this one.

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               Dangerous Gas Line Conditions

Below is a photo of another gas line condition that we thought was dangerous.


This is a copper gas line that was buried directly in the ground.

   Without a proper rigid conduit raceway for the copper pipe
   to sit in when it is underground, the copper is exposed to 
   mechanical damage and improper soil contact.

   Minerals in the soil contacting  the copper causes a galvanic                     
   reaction which corrodes the pipe, eventually to the point when
   the pipe fails.

The copper pipe just above the ground could be struck with a snow shovel or a soccer ball, and because copper is a soft metal, it is prone to damage when unprotected.

Leaking natural gas is a major safety hazard.

This was a very dangerous situation and we recommended immediate removal of this copper gas line.

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               Dangerous Lighting Conditions

Can you see something wrong with these pictures?   If you said it was a fire hazard you would be correct. This is a photo of lighting in a wall that provides light for a staircase on the other side of the wall. Incandescent light bulbs can reach temperatures of over 375 Degrees fahrenheit. This temperature is hot enough to burn anything in your oven. If the light is left on too long unattended, it may start a fire. Immediate removal of lighting was recommended.

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           Dangerous Furnace Venting Conditions

	This dangerous hole in the chimney was letting off gases from the furnace and water heater into the home. The top picture shows the furnace vent entering the chimney on the bottom right and the hot water tank vent entering the chimney top left. The furnace vent actually entered the chimney below the hole. Carbon monoxide, and other products of incomplete combustion, entering the home can kill you. Immediate repair of the chimney was recommended here.

Here is a different dangerous condition with a vent from a hot water tank and the connection it makes at the furnace vent. The temperature of the off gasses from the hot water heater reach over 350 degrees F. The high temperature is the reason you have to use steel venting and not aluminium. The vent itself here in the picture is aluminium, this will not withstand the high temperature of the gas. The connection from the Al vent to the steel vent is failing as you can see hole right where they connect. Gasses are entering the home here as well.

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           Dangerous Electrical Conditions

	This photo shows a dryer. The next photo shows the power supplying the dryer. Someone thought this was a good idea, we did not. The wire connection is not in a box and is and electrical shock hazard and a fire hazard. The thought of a washing machine next to this live connection really made us cringe. What is worse is the supply wire size is 14/2.

The major danger here is that #14/2 wire is only rated for 15 amps and the dryer needs 30 amps and a 30 amp breaker. A 30 amp breaker needs a #10/3 wire to operate safely.

This is an extreme fire hazard as the wire will not carry all of that current safely.

Upgrade wire immediately.


             Why Have a Home Inspection?


     

   Because not all defects 

      are this obvious!