Home Run Inspections, LLC

Stairs Maintenance

Structural Integrity: All stairs must be kept structurally sound. Don’t forget to examine the basement stairs. Check the area where they meet the floor and where they are attached to the floor joists above.

Stair Width and Clearance: Stairways should have a minimum headroom of 6 feet and 8 inches, and width of 3 feet.

Treads and Risers: The riser of a stair is the height of the step. The tread is the step’s depth. Riser heights and tread depths should be as uniform as possible. All treads should be level and secure. As a guide, stairs in new homes must have a maximum riser height of 7-3/4 inches and a minimum tread depth of 10 inches. The maximum difference in height for risers and depth for treads should not exceed 3/8-inch.

Handrails and Guardrails: You can check a railing’s stability and its fastenings by shaking it vigorously. Handrails are normally required to be 34 to 38 inches above the stair nosing on at least one side of all stairways having three or more risers. Guardrails are required on open sides of stairways and should have intermediate rails that do not allow the passage of a sphere 4 inches in diameter.

Lighting: All interior and exterior stairways should have a means to illuminate the stairs, including landings and treads. Interior stairways should have a light located at each landing, except where a light is installed directly over each stairway section. Public stair and hallway lights in multi-family buildings should be operable from centralized controls.

Smoke Detectors: In addition to having them installed in each bedroom or in hallways adjacent to each bedroom, smoke detectors should be installed above stairways and hallways. They should be located on or near the ceiling, near the heads of stairs, and away from corners. Periodically check the operation of all smoke detectors by pushing their test buttons.

#stairs #stairmaintenance #stairsafet

Home Run Inspections, LLC

Oklahoma: 405-905-9175

Florida: 850-203-3239

Info@HomeRunInspections.com

We Cover All the Bases!

Serving the Oklahoma City metro and surrounding areas including Edmond, Yukon, Piedmont, Bethany, El Reno, Tuttle, Mustang, Moore, Norman, Midwest City, Del City, Choctaw, McCloud, Shawnee, Harrah, Newalla, Jones, and more.

Also Now Serving the Florida Panhandle metro areas including Destin, Fort Walton Beach, Okaloosa Island, Miramar Beach, Santa Rosa Beach, Niceville, Shalimar, Freeport, Crestview, DeFuniak Springs, Panama City Beach, and more.

Schedule Your Inspections Online at:

Oklahoma Scheduler

Florida Scheduler

Like us on FaceBook

Don’t you wish you would have purchased that beach condo a couple of years ago or in 2009?!

As of the writing of this article, the real estate market has gone through some serious post pandemic adjustments. For example, housing prices have nearly doubled in some areas, and beach condos have more than doubled in price.

High purchase prices combined with a shortage of inventory have led many buyers to consider skipping the home inspection. Add in the fact that many beach condos have a very small square footage, and a buyer may feel the inspection is unnecessary.

Spending around $300 for an inspection of a $500,000+ investment is actually a bargain.

Common issues I find in beach condo inspections in the Destin, Florida Emerald Coast areas are: aging or non-functional HVAC systems, fogged thermal seals at windows, deteriorating hardware, and moisture intrusion from condo units on the next level.

So, whether you get your condo inspected before or after the purchase, you’ll have a good list of the repairs and upgrades to budget for over the life span of your ownership.