Abstract – Keats Island Home Inspector note on the need to perform a safety check prior to starting an inspection.
Never Ignore Body Signals - Toes Tingle
In order to do this inspection one needed the agility of a mountain goat. In the absence of this gene, safety measures are required. You know that you are at high risk when toes begin to tingle. We never ignore this body indicator and we will take appropriate measures to manage the risk associated with the task.
On this particular cottage inspection, we had to first perform a safety review of the situation. The vertical drop was 10 meters onto rocks and water, if one should slip. In this case fall protection was essential to perform the cliff-side structural inspection of the footings, foundations, posts and beams.
No Structural Issues Here
In this case, there were no structural deficiencies noted. The bedrock had remained stable and competent since the house was built. The inspector was able to complete the inspection safely.
Safety Above All
Had the inspector determined that the structural inspection could not have been performed safely, then we would have passed on this item. A note would be added to the report that this was a limitation of the inspection.
For another example, we do not climb on roofs in the rain or when snow covered as the slip hazard is considered to be an unacceptable risk.