Some Issues are Easier to Spot

Some defects are much easier to spot than others. This exterior plug won't be very useful with this new balcony railing completely impeding the plug cover from being opened.

Unfortunately not all defects are this obvious. That is why we at Inspections Rodrigues Inc. take care to point out the obvious defects and more importantly the not so obvious defects!

Baseboard Heating

Baseboard heaters are common place in many homes as an efficient and cost effective installation. However not all baseboard heaters are made equally and certainly are not all installed properly.

This baseboard heater in impeding the use of the bottom drawer of these bathroom cabinets, not the most convenient. More importantly is the damage it is doing to the wall above indicating that the baseboard heater while being improperly installed is also defective, putting the house at risk for fire.

Finally we at Inspections Rodrigues Inc. are of the opinion that baseboard heaters that are open vertically like the model above are a  much greater risk for fire. To many times we have found combustible objects such as children's toys, pencils or other foreign objects just waiting to burn in the exposed fins of the baseboard heater.

ABS Plumbing

Since their introduction, ABS drains have provided plumbers with an easy to install, efficient and reliable product that saves the plumbers time and homeowners money.

Unlike older drain installations that required joining cast iron, steel or lead together with soldered joints, pastes and waxes, ABS simply ''glues'' together at its joints.  ABS also will never corrode over time like its metal counterparts.  

The downside of having a product that installs easily, and is readily available to anyone at their local hardware stores, however makes the presence of non professional plumbing installations much more common.

The picture above as odd as it seems is not as uncommon as you might think. We at Inspections Rodrigues Inc. are always on the lookout for these non professional installations both easily apparent like the picture above and those not so easily spotted by the untrained eye. 

Halogen Pot Lights and Clearances to Combustibles

Wood and heat over time creates fire, great for sitting around the fireplace on those cold nights in the fall and winter. It's not so great when it's an interior door with inadequate clearances to a 50w halogen pot light putting the house at risk for fire.

Not taking into account the amount of heat recessed halogen lighting can give off is dangerous business. Halogen or incandescent recessed lighting can reach temperatures well above 100 degrees Celsius. Over time if installed too close to a combustible material like the wood door pictured above it will begin to char and burn. The wood subject to heat over time under goes pyrolysis making it much more likely to ignite,  starting a fire that at best will damage the building, and at worst cause loss of life.

Other clearances should also be taken into account with any lighting as well, low ceilings, closets and stairways can lead to contact with combustibles or a person's body causing burns.

The introduction of LED lighting has helped fix these issues as they give off less heat than halogens and incandescent bulbs.

Our clients safety at Inspections Rodrigues Inc. is our top priority, we always recommend proper manufacturer clearances to combustible materials be respected when installing any lighting fixture.