5.2 Last-Week Review Map
Key Takeaways
- GFCI protects people and is required at bathrooms, kitchens, garages, outdoors, basements, crawl spaces, laundry, and within 6 ft of sinks; AFCI protects against fires in most living-area circuits.
- A water-heater TPR discharge pipe must run full-size, downward, terminate 6 in. or less above the floor/receptor with an air gap, and never be capped or threaded at the end.
- Key IRC dimensions: guardrails 36 in. high, 4-in. sphere rule, max riser 7-3/4 in., min tread 10 in., handrail 34-38 in., grade falling 6 in. within the first 10 ft.
- The NHIE Standards of Practice define what is included (readily accessible, visual) and excluded (concealed, code compliance, life expectancy, future conditions), and ethics bars conflicts of interest and repairs for ~12 months.
- Cram from compact tables of systems-and-their-defects rather than re-reading chapters; the final week is consolidation, not new material.
Systems and their signature defects
The largest slice of the NHIE is Building Inspection, so the highest-yield cram is a system-by-system map of the defect each system is known for and the clearance or rule tied to it.
| System | Signature defect to recognize | Key rule / clearance |
|---|---|---|
| Roofing (asphalt) | Cupping/clawing, exposed nail heads, no drip edge | Shingles overhang drip edge 1/4-3/4 in.; min ~2:12 slope for shingles |
| Chimney | Missing/cracked crown, no spark arrestor, improper height | Masonry chimney terminates 3 ft above roof penetration and 2 ft above anything within 10 ft (3-2-10 rule); 2-in. clearance to wood framing |
| Structure | Sagging ridge, cut/notched joists, foundation cracks | Horizontal/stair-step cracks >1/4 in. = structural concern |
| Electrical | Double-tapped breakers, reversed polarity, open grounds, federal-pacific/Zinsco panels | GFCI/AFCI per table below; min 36-in. working clearance at panels |
| HVAC | Cracked heat exchanger, rusted A-coil, missing condensate trap, no T&P on boiler | ~1-in. combustion-air/appliance clearance; filter and disconnect within sight |
| Plumbing | Galvanized/polybutylene supply, S-traps, cross-connections, missing TPR discharge | TPR rule below; trap arm and vent required |
| Water heater | Improper TPR discharge, no drip pan, flue backdrafting | TPR pipe terminates <=6 in. above floor, air gap, no cap |
| Insulation/ventilation | Compressed insulation, blocked soffit vents, bath fan venting to attic | Attic ventilation ~1:150 (or 1:300 with vapor retarder/balanced vents) |
Walk this table top to bottom and say the defect and the rule out loud for each row.
Electrical: GFCI and AFCI locations
GFCI (ground-fault) protects people from shock; AFCI (arc-fault) protects the structure from fire. The NHIE tests where each is required, and several rooms now need both (a dual-function breaker is the clean fix).
| Location | GFCI required? | AFCI required? |
|---|---|---|
| Bathrooms | Yes | No |
| Kitchens (countertop + general) | Yes | Yes |
| Garages / accessory buildings | Yes | No |
| Outdoors | Yes | No |
| Basements (finished + unfinished) | Yes | Yes (finished living areas) |
| Crawl spaces (at/below grade) | Yes | No |
| Laundry areas | Yes | Yes |
| Bedrooms, living/family/dining rooms, halls, closets | No (unless within 6 ft of a sink) | Yes |
Under the modern (2020/2023) National Electrical Code (NEC), GFCI also applies to receptacles within 6 ft of any sink and now to some hard-wired appliances. AFCI covers 120-volt, 15- and 20-amp branch circuits serving most habitable rooms. An inspector reports missing protection and non-functional test buttons as defects but does not cite the code section as an authority on the report.
Plumbing safety: the TPR valve
The temperature-pressure relief (TPR) valve is one of the most-tested single components because a capped or missing discharge is a genuine explosion hazard. Memorize the discharge-pipe rules:
- Pipe runs full-size (no smaller than the valve outlet), by gravity, downward, with no traps.
- Terminates not more than 6 inches above the floor or an approved receptor, through an air gap, in the same room as the heater.
- Not threaded at the end and never capped (a cap defeats the valve and has caused fatal explosions).
- Made of an approved material (copper, CPVC, etc.) rated for hot water; not PVC.
- A pan with its own drain is recommended where leakage would cause damage.
Report any of these violations as a safety defect with a recommendation to correct.
Exterior and grading
For the Site Review domain, the headline number is grade slope: the ground should fall away from the foundation about 6 inches within the first 10 feet (~5% slope). Negative grade, downspouts discharging at the foundation, and missing/short downspout extensions are the most common reported defects. Hard-surface walks and patios should also slope away from the building.
Stairs, guards, and Standards-of-Practice scope
Life-safety dimensions show up across interior, exterior, and structure items. Lock these in:
| Element | Rule (IRC) |
|---|---|
| Guardrail height | >= 36 in. at open sides of stairs/landings (decks per local code) |
| Guard openings | 4-in. sphere cannot pass (6-in. at stair triangle) |
| Stair riser | Max 7-3/4 in.; consistent within 3/8 in. |
| Stair tread | Min 10 in. depth |
| Handrail height | 34-38 in., graspable, continuous |
| Stairway width | Min 36 in. above handrail |
Finally, the EBPHI Standards of Practice (SoP) defines scope, and the NHIE tests it directly:
- Included: a visual, non-invasive inspection of readily accessible, installed systems and components; the inspector describes them and reports defects affecting performance or safety.
- Excluded: anything concealed or not readily accessible, code compliance, remaining life expectancy, future conditions, cost estimates, cosmetic items, and operating shut-off systems. Inspectors do not move heavy furniture, dismantle equipment, or enter unsafe areas.
- Ethics: avoid conflicts of interest, do not inspect property in which you have a financial interest, do not perform repairs on inspected systems for ~12 months, and do not accept undisclosed referral fees. Report truthfully and advertise honestly.
A huge share of "trap" questions test whether you'll claim something outside scope (a code citation, a life-expectancy estimate, a hidden defect) when the correct answer is that it is not required.
Seven-day plan
Use the week to consolidate, not to start new books.
- Days 7-5: Drill your two weakest high-weight Building Inspection systems from the error log. Re-derive each from its defect-and-rule table, then run a short topic set.
- Days 4-3: Mixed timed sets, because the real exam does not label questions by system. Practice switching from a roofing item to an ethics item to a TPR item without losing pace.
- Day 2: Recite the high-yield numbers cold: TPR 6-in./air-gap/no-cap, grade 6-in./10-ft, guardrail 36 in., riser 7-3/4 / tread 10, handrail 34-38, GFCI vs AFCI rooms, chimney 3-2-10. Re-read your top error-log rules.
- Day 1: Logistics only (PSI confirmation, ID, route/system check) plus light review. No new rabbit holes unless they close a repeated miss.
If review starts to feel scattered or you keep adding sources, that is the signal to stop and consolidate what you already know.
A receptacle is located in a finished basement family room of a home wired to current NEC requirements. Which protection does the circuit most likely require?
Which TPR (temperature-pressure relief) valve discharge configuration is correct?
A home inspector is asked on the report to estimate how many years the furnace will last and to confirm the wiring meets the current electrical code. Under the NHIE Standards of Practice, what is the correct stance?
Around a home's foundation, what is the target finished-grade condition the NHIE expects an inspector to look for?