Chapter 12 – Inspecting Garages

We will continue our inspection with the garage.

The garage is one of the most misused areas in the home and can potentially be the most dangerous. Many times the garage is used for purposes other than those for which it was designed and built.

We have inspected garages that have been modified to accommodate laundry areas, heating and air-conditioning systems, stair steps, additional living and sleeping rooms, offices, music studios and storage centers. The primary purpose of a garage is to store vehicles.

The minimum distance between the inside of the closed garage door to the first object that stops further entry of a vehicle should be at least 18 feet. This would apply to each vehicle that will be parked in this area.

Anything that restricts this minimum distance needs to be removed if you plan to advertise a garage as part of the property. Your listing agent may call it a garage but, if it isn’t large enough to fit a car, you only have a large storage area with a big door.

The garage area is not considered a living space. It does not have to comply with living space code requirements but it has its own set of rules related to its particular design and use.

You have previously spent some time in this area on the windows, doors, walls, ceilings and so forth. There are differences you need to be aware of regarding some of these items.

If you haven’t done so, inspect the windows. Check for broken or missing panes and damaged or missing screens. Check the general operation and function of the windows and window locks.

The garage window glass may appear to be the same type as the rest of the house when viewed from the exterior. However, in most cases, it will be single pane instead of double pane because of the lower cost. Dual pane windows are more expensive and the need for thermal protection is usually unnecessary for a garage. I say “usually” because you never know what people will do with this space.

Inspect the doors. If the garage is attached to the house we will primarily be concerned with the door between the garage and living space. We have discussed this door before but it is worth going over again because this is where we find a variation between doors at the interior of the house and the garage. This door should be a fire rated door with an automatic closer that will close and latch the door when released.

This “fire” door cannot have a pet door installed. If it does, the pet door was installed after the final construction inspection and has compromised the protective fire envelope between the garage and the living space.

Any other doors in the garage should be checked just like the doors in the house, primarily for appearance and operation. Check any windows in the doors.

Fire Wall or Fire Envelope

Due to the common practice of storing flammable materials in the garage area and the great percentage of house fires that start in the garage, firewalls were designed in the construction of housing decades ago.

Firewalls in attached garages were designed to go from the bottom wall plate to the ceiling ridge of the common wall that adjoined the garage and the living area.

The most common construction material of the firewall is 5/8” type “X” drywall. The installation requires that all penetrations and holes be sealed with approved foam insulation, taping or the equivalent.

As homes grew larger and living spaces were designed over lower level garages, the ceilings were also required to have an equivalent fire protection system. Hence, they have developed the term “fire envelope”.

In the event of an emergency, the purpose of this firewall or fire envelope is to slow down the advance of a fire and give the people inside additional time to escape. Components of the firewall are the fire door (the door to the living space), access openings and doors or drop ladders into the attic over the garage as well as the walls themselves.

Any penetrations or holes in the firewall can allow heat and flames to be drawn into adjacent living areas and spread fire faster.

We have found improperly installed vent pipes for water heaters and HVAC units in the garage. To comply with modern building standards for fire safety a minimum clearance must be maintained between flammable materials and the metal pipes. Heated pipes set too close to the wood framing of the building will continually dry the wood and lower its flash point. Flash point refers to the temperature at which a material will ignite. Also, there can be no openings around the pipes that might allow fire to find its way to the living space. A flashing collar is one way to seal the hole and still maintain the proper distance between a metal vent pipe and flammable building materials.

Improperly installed ducting for a central heat/AC system is a direct violation of firewall requirements.

We have found HVAC systems in garages apparently installed after the original building permits were issued with soft heater ducting. Soft ducting cannot prevent the spread of fire into the living space. The ducting should be constructed of insulated double wall sheet metal or the soft ducting should have been installed inside protective soffets. (A soffet for ducting is basically a box made of wood framing and drywall that encases the soft ducting tube or pipe. The idea is to seal the ducting inside an area that is protected from light, water and potential fire.)

A firewall is compromised when any component that penetrates the firewall is not fire rated or properly sealed.

Any holes or damage in the firewall or envelope should be properly repaired and sealed.

The big doors or roll-up doors should operate smoothly. The door or doors may be made of large plywood panels or sectional wood or metal panels. Some panels may be insulated. The doors may be made of other materials but wood and metal are the most common.

Check the door for damage, dents, corrosion, deterioration or any other surface problems including weathering or stains. Record your findings.

Inspect the hardware for any obvious signs of wear, bent brackets, loose rollers, broken cables or damaged locking mechanisms. If the door does not open or close smoothly, there is probably a problem with the hardware.

The garage door opener automatic “Stop and Reverse” feature should operate when the electric eye beam is blocked or the door encounters an obstacle. The beam generators should not be higher than 6” above the floor.

The common test for checking the auto reverse feature of the opener is to place a 2×2 or 2×4 wood block on the floor in the path of the door. The opener should reverse direction and open the door when it hits the block. Some older opener units did not have this feature so be careful. I had to buy a couple of new roll-up doors when I screwed up this test. It is certainly not our intention to generate new problems for you.

Garage doors are expensive to replace and dangerous to repair. The large springs and tension loaded cable systems for these doors are designed to counterweight the heavy door. Any damage to the counterweight system can be hazardous if a door begins to fall back on a person.

If you have a one-piece tilt-up door with the heavy side mounted springs at either end, the inspector will make a note if there isn’t a safety device (cables or rods) installed inside the spring that will prevent it from flying apart if it should break.

When these springs break under tension, they can shoot up and out through the roof or through the body of a car. Let’s not even think about what they could do to a person. When they let go they sound like a bomb going off.

If one spring has broken, the other spring’s failure is not far behind. Add that little bit of common sense to the fact that the strength of a spring decreases with time and use. Thus, using a new spring with an old spring can cause an imbalance in the door that cannot be corrected with an adjustment. It is recommend that both springs be replaced at the same time.

If you have only replaced one spring, you should disclose this to the buyer. Check the rubber or seal at the bottom of the roll-up door for damage. This seal helps prevent water from leaking under the door.

Check to see if there are any severe cracks in the floor of the garage. Minor cracks in concrete garage floors are very common. Cracks that sheer (move apart) or rise up are a concern and could indicate the presence of expansive soils or sink holes beneath the floor. If severe these cracks may radiate up the walls.

Expansive soils are those that primarily consist of clay. They expand when wet and turn hard, shrink and crack when dry. It has been reported that the second leading cause of property damage in the United States is expansive soils. The number one cause is dry rot from water intrusion. Other causes of damage include floods, tornadoes, fires, earthquakes, new puppy dogs, adventurous kittens and the occasional loose hamster.

We also see cracks that appear at a central point and radiate like spokes in an outward direction. A large stone that was present in the soil when the floor was poured usually causes such cracks.  As the concrete cured, it settled over the stone. The floor moved but the stone did not. If you have such a crack but it hasn’t changed over a period of time, it is probably done growing. The home inspector will make a note of its presence.

When cracks appear to be extreme or continue to move or open, the home inspector will probably defer to a Geotechnical Engineer for further evaluation.

‘Geotechnical engineering”’ is the branch of civil engineering concerned with the engineering behavior of earth materials. Geotechnical engineering includes investigating existing subsurface conditions and materials; assessing risks posed by site conditions; designing earthworks and structure foundations; and monitoring site conditions, earthwork and foundation construction.”

Source: WIKIPEDIA.com

The garage floor should slope to the front or main garage door so any water in the garage area will drain to the exterior. This also allows for ease in washing down the garage.

The electrical in the garage should be checked like the house. The chart provided in a previous chapter will indicate if G.F.C.I. outlets are required. At a cost of about $18 it is probably a good idea to have them installed. It’s up to you.

Garages seem to be the place where the DIY (do-it-yourselfer) people set up shop. Common electrical modifications added by the DIY technician include extra electrical cords, outlets and light fixtures.

The DIY technician is very meticulous about his zip cord installations and “Romex” runs. If this is you, it may be time to take the shop down. You should have enough understanding by now to recognize where the home inspector is going to strike.

Storage in the ceiling trusses of the garage is another common practice. Why is it that we have so much stuff and want to stash it away?

Unless you know for a fact that your garage trusses were designed to carry the weight of stored items, there should not be plywood sheets and planks present in the rafters where you can stash more stuff. If you are using your rafters for storage, now would be a good time to take everything down and put it somewhere out of the way.

Organic growth (mold and mildew) from water intrusion is often found in the garage area. Look carefully around walls and at the ceiling for possible discoloration and potential water intrusion issues.

A final issue that is common to garages is deterioration of the trim around the big door and man doors, particularly at the base of the casing where the trim boards are close to or come into contact with the ground. As I have mentioned before, the awl is a useful tool for identifying potential problems with trim. The trim boards are very easy to replace and there is no good reason a home inspector should ever find them damaged.

This is another one of those “over and over again” notes we want you to eliminate before the inspector arrives.

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GARAGES: REMEDIES AND SOLUTIONS

If you have made any electrical modifications, I recommend you remove them, keeping SAFETY in mind, of course!

Remove as many personal belongings from the garage as possible or, at least, move items away from the walls so the inspectors can see them and locate the G.F.C.I. outlets. There is nothing more frustrating than tripping a G.F.C.I. and then discovering it is located behind a storage cabinet or a pile of your belongings.

If the closer spring on the door to the living space does not close and latch the door the spring-loaded hinge can be tightened. This works as long as the door itself closes normally without excessive resistance such as dragging on the threshold or binding at the striker plate.

Seal all penetrations and damaged sheetrock in the firewall. Fire retardant caulking is available at most hardware stores. Again, hiring a handyman to assist with these small tasks will save you time and money.

Minor concrete cracks can be left alone. If you have larger cracks, they can be patched and the floor can be restored. There are several Websites with products and materials that teach how to do this.

Will the cracks continue to grow is the question in your buyers’ mind. Only a licensed Geotechnical Engineer can say for sure.

Regarding handymen and contractors…

Ask them questions about how they work, what their qualifications and experience are and if they know why firewall penetrations should be sealed. If they actually know why, then chances are they know how to do it and what materials are needed

When arranging for repairs, it might be necessary for you to contact a few people. You want to be sure your handyman is as smart as you are. Remember, you are thinking like a home inspector now and that is a rare skill set.

PHOTO GALLERY

I hope the photos provided in the galleries have been helpful.

An additional 18 images with descriptive captions are available in the 27 Dollar Home Inspections eBook.

Click here to move on to
Chapter 13 – Inspecting Water Heaters

Chapter 13 – Inspecting Water Heaters

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