14 Quick, Easy &
Inexpensive Ways to Improve Your Home Inspection Report: Tip #10
Copyright
by Tex-Pro Residential & Commercial Inspections
PH:
713.876.2298 www.texproinspections.com
Tip #10 involves the
“pull
down” attic access ladders found
inside most homes, sometimes in the hall and sometimes in the
garage. These ladders, if improperly installed, can be very
dangerous to anyone
that climbs them. If, however, the homeowner believes the
ladder to be in good
operating shape, then the following 3 items should be inspected and any
defects
found should be repaired before the Buyers Home Inspection begins.
1. The access ladder comes with the ladder, the door and the jam to which all this is attached. This jam must be secured to the ceiling joists that frame the ladder opening. Occasionally, and sometimes regularly, depending on the builder, these stairs are installed with long drywall SCREWS. Screws have a low shear resistance, and stairs installed this way have been known to fall and seriously injure the person on the ladder. To see if your ladder was installed with screws climb the ladder and examine the jam. If screws were used you will see the Philips Head cross instead of a flat nail head. DO NOT remove the screws. Rather, add three 16-penny nails to each side and two to each end. This will ensure the safety of your ladder and satisfy the inspector.
2. Most attic access ladders are folding ladders and as such are hinged at two points along their length. It is very common to find these hinges with missing or loose nuts and bolts attaching the hinges to the ladder. Replace any missing fasteners and tighten any that are loose. Your ladder will be safer and your inspector will have one less thing to report.
3.
Finally, some wooden ladders have a metal rod at each step, holding the
two sides of the
ladder
tightly together. Unfortunately, some builders opt for the cheapest
ladder they can use, so there are many ladders out there that
don’t have this metal rod for support. Wooden ladders without
this rod are usually held together with just nails or long staples
which can and do work loose over time. The third tip then, is to make
sure the steps are mounted securely into the sides of your access
ladder.
Re-nailing with finish nails is an option and often does the trick for
a while.
Over time, these additional
nails can work themselves loose as well, so I recommend the use of a
good carpenters glue before the nails, then allow the nails to hold the
step in place while the glue dries. If the step has been previously
nailed and there is little hope that nails will work again, metal
“T” or “L” brackets can make a
permanent repair. They take a bit more work, pre-drilling
the holes and putting in the screws, but they should last the life of
the ladder.
4. One final note; I have seen ladder steps with 6 or 8 nails in each end, splitting the wood and protruding above and below the step, creating a hazard all by themselves. If your ladder has this problem, or if your repair would create this problem, it would be much safer to spend the $200.00 for a new ladder.
Copyright 2007 by Tex-Pro Residential & Commercial Inspections PH: 713.876.2298 www.texproinspections.com
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