Abode Inspections

Happy Thanksgiving from Abode. We hope your home is a source of joy and comfort this Thanksgiving.

Found a snake (deceased, juvenile) in a crawlspace this week. You better believe I was on high alert for any evidence of others, especially live ones 😳😂
Fortunately I did not find any.

Let’s talk stairs. Per current code requirements, maximum stair height is 7 3/4” and stairs shouldn’t vary in height more than 3/8 inch between the tallest step and shortest step in a run of stairs. (These as you can see varied by ~1/2”). This includes the top and bottom stairs/landings.
Additionally, stair tread depth should be no less than 10 inches.
When I worked as a forensic engineer we actually had a few homeowners insurance claims/litigation from injured persons around the stair height difference issues.
Ways to minimize issues:
-potentially change the flooring at top or bottom of stairs (usually the big differences are from bottom landing to first stair or from last stair to top landing) to make landing taller or shorter so it’s more even
-es**rt elderly/frail/children up or down the stairs in question and lend a supporting arm
-worst case replace the stairs
All that said, MOST houses with stairs have stairs that fall outside the tolerance limits in the code, so while it is an issue it is nearly universal and not always avoidable, as most houses have stairs somewhere (front porch, garage to house, back deck, etc) and replacing stairs is costly and difficult.

EIFS stucco cladding can be fine, or it can be installed incorrectly, leading to moisture accumulation in the wall cavity, subsequent wood damage and, in some cases, mold growth/infestation of pests such as carpenter ants or termites. These photos are examples of the water damage that can happen with improperly installed EIFS stucco cladding.