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So, I call him, ask him for his reasoning and he says, "it's a wet area".
Huh?
Excuse me, Mr. Inspector, there is no water source in the garage.
He just kept repeating "it's considered a wet area" and "FHA might require it". (A quick call to a lenderlast night left me puzzled as well - they had never heard of it but are looking into it this morning.)
TX recently updated their inspection reports to include GFCI's throughout the entire garage and not just on the walls as previous. Any outside outlets should be GFCI's. They also updated so that the house should be reported as having Arc Fault Detectors (AFCI's) through out the whole house. No builder I know currently builds to the inspection reports.
As of today few cities are requiring these features on new construction. They now report if even the GDO and Sprinkler system is not GFCI which historically have not been. We just built a new house and had a Non-GFCI added to the garage for an extra Fridge.
I always talk to my clients that the inspector will report on things that are not applicable to this house when it was built. Just because it's in his report does not mean it has to be updated.
One of the reasons I always attend inspections is to interpret into "English" what the inspector is telling them and ask the right questions to find out if issues are important or not. When these things come up and agents are not at the inspection with the client, the client always interprets these issues as negatives about the house.
I have had inspectors note this about GFCI's in their report. I always recommend that my buyer asks to have them installed or repaired if necessary. It's a safety issue, and not that expensive. Sellers are usually willing to do it.
It is common to see the lack of GFCI's in the bath and kitchen. They are not required in garages out here. Personally I think that putting something like that on a report that isn't a building code makes the inspector look ridiculous.
Never seen FHA raise stink on it, but in my area garages are most definitely wet areas with all the melt from ice off of cars and the fact most people hose down garage floors from time to time plus high wind and rain can push water into a garage or snow melt from a drift that could be against a door. I guess the main thing is it sounds like a fairly inexpensive fix.
I usually side with a conservative inspection report but in this case I think the GFCI in garage and /or spinlker is literally a life saver!
In a house I owned and lived in before renting out the electrical service to the detached garage was buried under ground. I started having some weird issues with the electric garage door opener. Eventually figured out the HOT side of the service feed had gotten nicked (probably by landscaper's shovel cleaning up planting beds...) and the whole darned yard was LIVE. NOT GOOD AT ALL. Replaced the service feed and a panel mounted GFI protector was installed to prevent any future tragedy. Probably not a juice to hurt an adult, but a baby crawling around or a pet? I shudder to think.
Similar situation cropped up for my mom. She has a big yard with a 220 volt well and in-ground sprinkler. An electrical storm fried the start-up capacitors for the well and the folks that repaired it failed to realize that there were low voltage feeds to the electrically operated zone valves in the same service conduit. The somehow managed to cross connect a line voltage feed to the low voltage valve. Amazingly it worked for several weeks before the solenoid failed. When it did that line voltage was getting dumped into the whole yard! Given the potential for 220 disaster (and that probably could hurt even a full grown person...) I am thankful that was caught by a pretty cautious sprinkler guy.
Panel mount GFI is generally under about $50 per circuit, or a "whole house" system is around $200. Crazy not to have 'em based on what I've seen with detached garages and sprinkler systems.
I suppose if were a "built-in" garage with no washtub or hose bib the need would be a lot less pressing, but in that case a simple $10 GFCI that is home-owner installable would suffice. Cheap piece of mind that you drop light won't fall into your radiator and turn your whole car into a "ol' sparky"...
So, I call him, ask him for his reasoning and he says, "it's a wet area".
Huh?
Excuse me, Mr. Inspector, there is no water source in the garage.
He just kept repeating "it's considered a wet area" and "FHA might require it". (A quick call to a lenderlast night left me puzzled as well - they had never heard of it but are looking into it this morning.)
Chuckity,
It is a safety issue as garages are considered potential wet areas from snow, ice, rain (off of cars of course), storage of liquids, etc. Previous code editions have allowed for no GFCI's on inaccessible outlets, such as garage opener outlets in ceilings, as well as a single outlet dedicated for a freezer or other fixed appliance. The latest versions of the building codes mandate all 15 and 20 Amp garage outlets on GFCI's.
TX recently updated their inspection reports to include GFCI's throughout the entire garage and not just on the walls as previous. Any outside outlets should be GFCI's. They also updated so that the house should be reported as having Arc Fault Detectors (AFCI's) through out the whole house. No builder I know currently builds to the inspection reports.
As of today few cities are requiring these features on new construction. They now report if even the GDO and Sprinkler system is not GFCI which historically have not been. We just built a new house and had a Non-GFCI added to the garage for an extra Fridge.
I always talk to my clients that the inspector will report on things that are not applicable to this house when it was built. Just because it's in his report does not mean it has to be updated.
One of the reasons I always attend inspections is to interpret into "English" what the inspector is telling them and ask the right questions to find out if issues are important or not. When these things come up and agents are not at the inspection with the client, the client always interprets these issues as negatives about the house.
I can tell you are not so thrilled about that requirement. Neither are many Inspectors! I have a statement explaining why it is being called out, and it also states to contact TREC for further clarifications.
If you think that one is bad, you should read over all of the other items that we are required to call out since the last SOP revision in 2007. Also, the Inspector Advisory Committee is working on a commentary to the SOP that will most likely cause Agents/Brokers a lot of grief. The push is to make the commentary part of the enforceable SOP requirements. It would certainly help if the Agents/Brokers would review the commentary and send TREC their opinions before it's to late. It would help not only Agents/Brokers but also Inspectors.
This is the first time it's cropped up on an inspection report that I've seen - but I just received this back from one of my fav inspectors:
Quote:
GFCI electrical outlets are recommended at all wet areas including the exterior, garage, kitchen, bathrooms, and unfinished portions of basements.
This requirement is due to the updated International Residential Code. In new construction, you will find GFCI electrical outlets in the areas mentioned above. For an old house they are not required; however, they should be considered as a possible upgrade.
My issue was mainly with the inspector who couldn't explain why it was required - except for "it's considered a wet area".
(We went round and round: Me: There's no water source in the garage. Inspector: It's considered a wet area. Me: There's no plumbing in the garage. Inspector: It's considered a wet area. Blah blah blah blah.)
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