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New
Jersey Home Inspection
Standards
Roofing:
The home inspector shall inspect: Roofing
surface, excluding antennae and other installed accessories such as solar heating
systems, lightning arresters, and satellite dishes; flashings; skylights;
and exteriors of chimneys. The home inspector shall describe: Roof surface;
roof drainage systems; flashings; skylights; chimneys and the method used
to observe the roof. Home inspectors are not required to walk on roofs.
Exterior:
The
home inspector shall inspect:
Exterior wall surfaces, excluding shutters, screening, awnings and
other seasonal accessories; exterior doors, excluding storm doors or safety
glazing; windows, excluding storm windows and safety glazing; attached or
adjacent decks, balconies, stoops, steps, porches and their railings;
vegetation, grading, drainage, and retaining walls with respect to their
immediate detrimental effect on the condition of the residential building,
excluding fences, geological and or soil conditions, sea wall, break walls,
bulkheads, and docks, or erosion control and earth stabilization; attached
or adjacent walkways, patios, and driveways; garage doors including
automatic openers and entrapment protection mechanisms, excluding remote
control devices. The home inspector shall describe: Exterior wall surface
type and materials.
Structural Components:
The
home inspector shall inspect: Structural components including; foundation;
floors, walls, ceilings and roof. The home inspector shall: Probe structural components where
deterioration is suspect, unless such probing would damage any finished
surface. The home inspector
shall describe: Methods used to
observe under floor crawl spaces and attics.
Electrical System:
The
home inspector shall inspect: Service entrance; main disconnects, main and
sub panels, including interior components of the main panel and sub panels;
service grounding; wiring, without measuring amperage, voltage or
impedance, excluding any wiring not part of the primary electrical power
distribution system, such as central vacuum system, remote control devices,
telephone or cable system wiring, intercom systems, security systems and
low voltage wiring system; over-current protection devises and the
compatibility or their ampacity with that of the connected wiring; at least
one of each interior installed lighting fixture, switch, and receptacle per
room and least one exterior
installed lighting fixture, switch, and receptacle per side of house;
ground fault circuit interrupters. The home inspector shall describe: Amperage and voltage rating of the
service; location of the main disconnect, main panels, and sub-panels; type
of over-current protection devices; predominant type of wiring; presence of
knob and tube branch circuit wiring; presence of solid conductor aluminum
branch circuit wiring.
Plumbing System:
The home inspector shall inspect: Interior water
supply and distribution system including functional water flow and
functional drainage, excluding wells, well pumps, well water sampling or
water storage related equipment, determination of well water supply
quantity or quality and water conditioning systems and lawn irrigation
systems; all interior fixtures and faucets, excluding shut off valves,
well, well pumps, well water sampling and water storage or related
equipment; drain, waste and vent systems; domestic water heating system,
without operating safety valves or automatic safety controls, excluding
solar water heating systems; combustion vent systems excluding interiors of
flues and chimneys; fuel distribution systems; drainage sumps, sump pumps
and related piping. The home
inspector shall describe:
predominant interior water supply and distribution piping material;
predominant drain, waste and vent piping materials and water heating
equipment including energy sources.
Heating/Central Air Conditioning:
The
home inspector shall inspect:
Installed heating equipment and energy sources, without determining
heat supply adequacy or distribution balance, and without operating
automatic safety controls or operating heat pumps when weather conditions
or other circumstances may cause damage to the pumps, and excluding
humidifiers, electronic air filters and solar heating systems; combustion
vent systems and chimneys, excluding interiors of flues or chimneys; fuel
storage tanks, excluding propane and underground storage tanks; visible and
accessible portions of the heat exchanger, removing the roll-out shield if
applicable; central cooling system, excluding electronic air filters and
the determination of cooling supply adequacy or distribution balance and
without operating central cooling equipment when weather conditions or
other circumstances may cause damage to the cooling equipment; permanently
installed hard-wired, through-wall individual cooling systems, energy
sources. The home inspector
shall describe: Heating
equipment and distribution type and energy sources, the cooling equipment
and the distribution type and energy sources.
Insulation and Ventilation:
The
home inspector shall inspect:
Insulation in unfinished spaces without disturbing insulation;
ventilation of attics and crawlspaces.
The home inspector shall describe: Insulation in unfinished spaces
adjacent to heated areas; and the evidence of inadequate attic and
crawlspace ventilation.
Interiors:
The
home inspector shall inspect:
Walls, ceilings and floors excluding paint, wallpaper and other
finish treatments, carpeting and other non-permanent floor coverings;
steps, stairways, and railing; installed kitchen wall cabinets to determine
if secure; at least one interior passage door and operate one window per
room excluding window treatments; fireplaces and solid fuel burning
appliances, without testing draft characteristics, excluding fire screens
and door, seals and gaskets, automatic fuel feed devices, mantles and
non-structural fireplace surrounds, combustion make-up air devices, or
gravity fed and fan assisted heat distribution systems; chimneys and
combustion vents excluding exteriors of flues and chimneys. The home inspector shall
describe: Type of fireplace
and/or solid fuel burning appliances; energy sources; and visible evidence
of draft characteristics; wall, ceiling and floor finishes; style of window
and type of exterior doors.
Built-In Kitchen Appliances:
The
home inspector shall inspect:
Kitchen range and oven to determine operation of burners or heating
elements excluding microwave ovens and the operation of self-cleaning
cycles and appliance timers and thermostats; dishwasher to determine water
supply and drainage; garbage disposal.
The home inspector is not required to inspect clocks, non-built in
appliances or refrigeration units.
The home inspector is not required to operate appliances in use or
any other appliance that is shut down or inoperative.
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