These 5 questions cover smoke and CO alarms, egress, guardrails, fire separation and pool barriers. On the National Home Inspector Examination they fall under Property Inspection (70% of the exam). Try each one before you open the answer: the explanation matters more than the letter.
1. A basement bedroom egress window has a clear opening of 20 inches wide by 24 inches high. This condition should be reported because
- only the width of the opening is deficient
- the opening is too small; 5.7 square feet is required
- basement bedrooms are exempt from egress rules
- the window must be at least 36 inches wide
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Answer: B. the opening is too small; 5.7 square feet is required
Emergency escape openings require a net clear opening of 5.7 square feet (5.0 at grade floor), with minimum dimensions of 20 inches wide and 24 inches high. Meeting both minimums alone yields only 3.3 square feet, which is not enough.
Memory tip: 20 by 24 isn’t 5.7.
2. Where are smoke alarms required in a residential dwelling?
- Each bedroom, outside sleeping areas, every level
- Only in the kitchen and near the furnace
- Only on the floor holding the bedrooms
- Only inside homes that have fuel-burning appliances
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Answer: A. Each bedroom, outside sleeping areas, every level
Smoke alarms are required in each bedroom, outside each sleeping area (such as hallways serving bedrooms), and on every level of the home including the basement. This placement provides maximum warning time.
Memory tip: Smoke alarms: IN each bedroom + OUTSIDE sleeping areas + EVERY level including basement.
3. Where should carbon monoxide (CO) detectors be installed?
- Only in the areas immediately next to gas appliances
- Only in the basement beside the furnace
- Each level and outside sleeping areas of the home
- Only in homes built before 1978
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Answer: C. Each level and outside sleeping areas of the home
CO detectors should be installed outside each sleeping area and on each level of the home. They are particularly important near fuel-burning appliances and in homes with attached garages where vehicle exhaust can infiltrate.
Memory tip: CO detectors: outside sleeping areas + each level. Critical near fuel appliances and attached garage.
4. The common wall between two attached townhouses is framed with wood and finished with standard drywall, with open joist bays visible in the attic. The MOST significant concern is
- sound will transmit freely between the units
- the wall is not designed to carry any load
- the wall cavity should be filled with insulation
- fire can spread between homes with no rated separation
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Answer: D. fire can spread between homes with no rated separation
Fire separation walls between dwelling units must resist fire for a rated time and extend through concealed spaces to the roof. Unprotected framing and open attic connections allow fire to spread between homes.
Memory tip: Shared wall must stop fire, attic included.
5. An attached garage shares a wall with the house, and the garage side of the wall is unfinished with exposed studs. This condition should be reported because
- the exposed studs will absorb moisture and decay
- the garage walls require thermal insulation
- the garage side needs at least ½-inch gypsum board
- exposed framing is only a cosmetic concern
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Answer: C. the garage side needs at least ½-inch gypsum board
The wall between an attached garage and the dwelling requires at least ½-inch gypsum board on the garage side; ⅝-inch Type X is required on ceilings below living space. Exposed framing provides no fire separation.
Memory tip: Half-inch gypsum on the garage side.