Automatic Safety Controls:
Devices designed
and installed to protect systems and components from excessively high
or low pressures and temperatures, excessive electrical current, loss
of water, loss of ignition, fuel leaks, fire, freezing, or other unsafe
condition.
Central Air Conditioning:
A system which uses
ducts to distribute cooled and/or dehumidified air to more than one
room or uses pipes to distribute chilled water to heat exchanger in
more than one room, and whish is not plugged into an electrical
convenience outlet.
Component:
A readily
accessible and observable aspect of a system, such as a floor, or wall,
but not individual pieces such as boards or nails where many similar
pieces make up the component.
Cross Connection:
Any physical
connection or arrangement between potable water and any source of
contamination.
Dangerous or Adverse
Situation:
Situations that
pose a threat of injury to the inspector, and those situations that
require the use of special protective clothing or safety equipment.
Describe:
Report in writing a
system or component by its type, or other observed characteristics, to
distinguish it from other components used for the same purpose.
Dismantle:
To take apart or
remove any component, device or piece of equipment that is bolted,
screwed, or fastened by other means and that would not be dismantled by
a homeowner in the course of normal household maintenance.
Engineering:
Analysis or design
work requiring extensive preparation and experience in the use of
mathematics, chemistry, physics, and the engineering sciences.
Enter:
To go into an area
to observe all visible components.
Functional Drainage:
A drain is
functional when it empties in a reasonable amount of time and odes not
overflow when another fixture is drained simultaneously.
Functional Flow:
A reasonable flow
at the highest fixture in a dwelling when another fixture is operated
simultaneously.
Household Appliances:
Kitchen and laundry
appliances, room air conditioners, and similar appliances.
Inspector:
Any person who
examines any component of a building, through visual means and through
normal user controls, without the use of mathematical sciences.
Installed:
Attached or
connected such that the installed item requires tools for removal.
Normal Operating Controls:
Homeowner operated
devices such as a thermostat, wall switch, or safety switch.
Observe:
The act of making a
visual examination.
On-site Water Supply
Quality:
Water quality is
based on the bacterial, chemical mineral, and solids content of the
water.
On-site Water Supply
Quantity:
Water quantity is
the rate of flow of water.
Operate:
To cause Systems or
equipment to function.
Primary Windows and Doors:
Windows and/or
exterior doors which are designed to remain in their respective
openings year round and not left open for the entire summer.
Readily Openable Access
Panel:
A panel provided
for homeowner inspection and maintenance which has removable or
operable fasteners or latch devices in order to be lifted off, swung
open, or otherwise removed by one person, and its edges and fasteners
are not painted in place. Limited to those panels within normal reach
or from a 4-foot stepladder, and which are not blocked by stored items,
furniture, or building components.
Recreational Facilities:
Spas, saunas, steam
baths, swimming pools, tennis courts, playground equipment, and other
exercise, entertainment, or athletic facilities.
Representative Number:
For multiple
identical components such as windows and electrical outlets –
one such accessible component per room. For multiple identical exterior
components – one such component on each side of the building.
Roof Drainage Systems:
Gutters,
downspouts, leaders, splashblocks, and similar components used to carry
water off a roof and away from a building.
Safety Glazing:
Tempered glass,
laminated glass, or rigid plastic.
Serviceable:
Component serves
its intended purpose, considering the component’s age and
functionality.
Shut Down:
A piece of
equipment or a system is shut down when it cannot be operated by the
device or control that a homeowner should normally use to operate it.
If its safety switch or circuit breaker is in the
“off” position, or its fuse is missing or blown,
the inspector is not required to reestablish the circuit for the
purpose of operating the equipment or system.
Solid Fuel Heating Device:
Any wood, coal, or
other similar organic fuel burning device, including but not limited to
fireplaces whether masonry or factory built, fireplace inserts and
stoves, woodstoves (room heaters), central furnaces, and combination of
these devices.
Structural Component:
A component which
supports non-variable forces or weights (dead loads) and variable
forces or weights (live loads).
System:
A combination of
interacting or interdependent components, assembled to carry out one or
more functions.
Technically Exhaustive:
An inspection is
technically exhaustive when it involves the extensive use of
measurements, instruments, testing, calculations, and other means to
develop scientific or engineering findings, conclusions and
recommendations.
Under Floor Crawl Space:
The area within the
confines of the foundation, between the ground and the underside of the
lowest floor structural component.
