Home inspector wrong about safety glass
Q. Our home is about 50 years old. When we bought it, our home inspector said the sliding glass door did not have safety glass, and he advised us to replace it. Last week, we hired a window washer, and he showed us the safety glass label at the lower corner of the door. Fortunately, we discovered this before spending a lot of money on new glass. How could this have been missed by our inspector?
A. There are a few possible reasons for this discrepancy. For example, the safety emblem on the glass may have been obscured by dirt or film on the day of the inspection. On the other hand, the home inspector may have assumed, based on the age of the home, that the glass was not tempered.
Assumptions are risky and unwise when performing a home inspection. Inspectors should never assume.
Another possibility is that the sliding glass door was not safety glass when the home was built. The original glass may have been broken and replaced before you bought the home. What often happens in such cases is that the broken pane in the door will be replaced, while the older glass in the adjoining window remains in place. If that occurred in your home, it could account for the home inspector having disclosed the lack of safety glass. He could have looked at the old stationary glass and assumed that both panes were the same.
To determine whether both panes are tempered glass, carefully check the corners of each for the safety glass emblem. If you find that either pane is not safety glass, replacement is advisable. A less costly alternative is to have a clear plastic film laminated onto the glass, but tempered glass is the best way to prevent personal injury when someone walks into or falls against a sheet of glass.
Q. I converted my attic to additional living space to make two extra bedrooms. At the time, I thought everything was done to code, but now I've learned the ceilings are too low, and the windows are too small to comply with fire-safety requirements for a bedroom. What I want to know is this: are code requirements different for attic rooms, and if not, how will this affect me when I sell my home?
A. The codes that regulate ceiling heights and bedroom window dimensions are the same for attics as for other locations in a home. Hence, your converted rooms do not comply as legal bedrooms and cannot be represented as such when you sell the property.
However, replacement of the windows is probably not too difficult to accomplish. Alteration of the ceiling height would be much more challenging, but might be doable, depending upon your roof layout. You might consider applying to your local building department for an as-built permit. This would afford you the opportunity to bring the added bedrooms into compliance, which would certainly increase the value of your home.
If you leave the rooms as they are, your only obligation at the time of sale is to fully disclose the current status of the rooms to your buyer.
• To write to Barry Stone, visit him on the web at www.housedetective.com, or write AMG, 1776 Jami Lee Court, Suite 218, San Luis Obispo, CA 94301.
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