Your home inspector's most important task is the proper evaluation of the safety in the house. The safety of stairs, balconies, and exterior decks should be thoroughly evaluated.

Your home inspector should carefully inspect all of the interior and exterior stairs in the house. Every stair with two or more step risers should have a continuously graspable handrail. The height of the handrail should be between 34 and 38 inches measured vertically from the nosing of treads.

The stair risers should be of uniform height. I frequently find that the top and/or bottom risers have greater or lesser height than the rest of the stair step risers. Occasionally, I find a flight of stairs in which all of the risers are unusually high. Just recently, I found a flight of basement stairs in a new home with all riser heights in excess of 13 inches!

Your home inspector should inspect the condition of the basement stair. The attachment of the stair joists at the top should be secure. If the stair is rotten, it should be replaced new. If small children will be living in the house, guards and handrails should be installed on both sides of the basement stair.

In older houses, it is not unusual to find a steep basement stair and/or very low headroom. In some cases, the only way to upgrade the basement stair is to remodel the interior around the stair.

Stairs should be provided with direct electric lighting whether natural lighting is available or not. Electric lighting for the stair should have three-way switching at the bottom and at the top of the stair.

Outside, the landings in front of swinging exterior doors should be at least 36 inches wide in the direction of travel.

Balconies are frequently found both inside and outside. In general, if a balcony is 30 inches or more above the floor or ground, it should have guards. On a new residence, the height of the guard should be not less than 36 inches in height. Openings in the guard should not allow the passage of a four inch diameter sphere.

A proper safety evaluation should also include the electrical system, plumbing system, and heating system.