I always check a free standing range for the anti tip device. I worked two new home inspections last week and both builders confessed to throwing "those things" away? Humm?

The buyers were happy I caught it and wondered what else had been tossed...

And home builders here in Mississippi wonder why home owners are demanding more and more new homes to be inspected before they close.

G

I check every home and about 1/2 dont have them installed

Even when the builder thinks they have thrown them away, I still check the drawers for the manuals. Most of the time I find the brackets, still in their packets and taped to the operating manuals. Regardless, they are required.

When you get the look from builders, just ignore it and keep writing. or you could reprint the following and give them a copy.

Stove-Tipping Raises Concerns - washingtonpost.com#

Installers everywhere should read the one below. They often tend to think the Manufacturer will take the brunt of cost in suits. Not so. Electrolux walked from this one. The person's responsible for the installation and the current owners of the property did not. I could easily see this as "former owners of the house and Inspector who did not write it up."

McCarter&English | Welcome

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The only reason some people get lost in thought is because it's unfamiliar territory.
- Paul Fix

I get less than 1% attached. I think I may have had 3 or 4 last year, and none this year properly installed.

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Jim Robinson
New Mexico, USA

The builders have to be trained. I would say that 90% of the new homes I inspect the anti-tip device is not installed. I call it out every single time. The bracket is every single installation packet. The instructions to install them are on the first or second page. I have discovered that one of the reasons that they are not installed is that the appliances are seldom installed by the builder. A large part of the time they are installed by an appliance company. The ultimate responsibility falls on the builder.

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Scott Patterson
Spring Hill, TN
http://www.traceinspections.com

Must be a regional thing...more than 99% of new construction homes in this area have them installed.

Dom.

They are required. I call it out in all my reports on all free standing ranges. I purchased a new range and when delivered the delivery people took it out of the box in the back of the truck and wheeled it in and left. When I called the appliance store, they said it does not come with the range. I told them it does and they had to make a special trip back.

Tom Rollins

Gary:

This is an excellent topic. I get about 50 plus hours of CE every year and have yet to come across a program dedicated to kitchen/laundry appliances. To be honest, I have never given much thought to tipping stoves - though I do for dishwashers. You have forever modified my kitchen inspections.

How and where does the bracket mount?

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Eric Barker
Moraine Woods Consulting, Inc.
Barrington, IL

Most are floor/wall mount. I prefer the floor only mount. Less give. Imagine a L shaped piece of metal about 3" wide and 6" on each leg. The leg on the floor is slotted to accept a leveling foot for the appliance. It holds it to the floor.

Does anyone check the mounts for over the range micro's? I find an occasional one not seated in the back plate or upper mount holes blown out.

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Charlie Sessums www.alphainspection.com
The greatest ideas are often met with violent opposition from mediocre minds. Albert Einstein

Hi Charlie,

I take it that these brackets are usually not going to be seen and that pressing down on the oven door will be a good indicator of proper anchoring - yes?

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Eric Barker
Moraine Woods Consulting, Inc.
Barrington, IL

Eric, I would not press down on the oven door, as it would be too easy to break the door, or at least break the door brackets.

I grab the top of the range, at the rear, and try to tip it forward. You will know right away whether or not the anti tip device has been installed or not.

Bob

We all know the importance of checking the Anti-tip feature, however has anyone ever experience damage to the gas line or power cord while doing so?

Noooooo. Never tip that sucker that far. If the back (against the wall) tips farther than 6" inches, it is not tied down. DO NOT TRY AND TIP ANY FURTHER, NOR WOULD YOU WANT TO USE THE DOOR.

Usually, if the tip bracket is there, the unit will not tip but MAYBE 1" forward.

Rich

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"If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress?"
Richard Rushing, HCRI
Duncanville, Tx.

2 new construction today. The first had an oven ( always check and make sure they got anchored) and a cook top. Photo from the second. This is the short L version.

Attached Images

a109.JPG (28.6 KB, 51 views)

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Charlie Sessums www.alphainspection.com
The greatest ideas are often met with violent opposition from mediocre minds. Albert Einstein

And.........do the tip test with the door open. It only takes a little pressure at the top. I talk about Jr. using it as a ladder or mom slipping as she puts the thanksgiving turkey in. They get the picture.

I recommend they be installed on stuff older than 8 yrs old also. That's when I believe they started to appear.

And Howdy Eric!

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Charlie Sessums www.alphainspection.com
The greatest ideas are often met with violent opposition from mediocre minds. Albert Einstein

The manufacturer will frquently have it taped to the manual and tied to one of the racks.

Attached Images

Anti tip.pdf (33.8 KB, 25 views)

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The only reason some people get lost in thought is because it's unfamiliar territory.
- Paul Fix

I met a young man on an inspection several months ago that showed me the scars from being scaled from tipping a stove over onto himself as a child.

Thats all it took for me to know the importance of them and don't think twice about commenting on them.

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Rick Hurst
Home Works Inspection Co.
5 out of 4 people have trouble with fractions

On most of the newer ranges, there is a little graphic and warning label on the inside of the door itself.

"Thread drift"
I also find a bunch of upper cabinets in kitchens that are not scured at the bottoms. I look for the screws AND also give it a little tug when I am opening doors.
JF

Wow! I'm now checking ranges for tipping and have yet to find one that's anchored. It's like coming home from a good CE class and wondering how many times you missed some condition.

And the list of things to look for just grows and grows and inspection times sneak higher and higher.

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Eric Barker
Moraine Woods Consulting, Inc.
Barrington, IL

Hello All,

I found some info surfing the net.

Check out http://www.consumerfed.org/pdfs/Stov...ease040507.pdf

Also, two articles I came across:

The Washington Post recently reported as follows in an article of April 6, 2007 concerning stove-tipping concerns: "Stephanie Moran was cooking chicken on the stove in her apartment while her two children, Jarod Moran, 2, and Jamie Hamblin, 1, played in the kitchen. The pot was out of their reach on the back burner when Jarod pulled down the oven door and stood on it. The stove began to tip over. The pot of boiling water and chicken flew into the air, landing on Jamie and scalding the lower right side of his body...The accident is one of about 84 injuries and 33 deaths caused by tipping stoves from 1980 to 2006 and documented by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Consumer groups called on retailers and manufacturers yesterday to take steps to prevent such accidents. 'Our concern is that the public is totally uninformed about these dangers. We think that everyone who has bought these should be notified' said Joan Claybrook, president of Public Citizen

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Jaward v. Hoffman Place Apartments, Pa., Phila. County C.C.P., Mar. Term 2000, No. 1388, Sept. 4, 2001.
Abraham Jaward, 5, stepped onto an open gas stove door in his family's Philadelphia apartment. The stove tipped over, and a pot of scalding water poured onto the boy's lower body, causing second- and third-degree burns. When his mother removed his pants to douse him with cold water, his skin fell onto her hands.
Abraham had to undergo almost two years of physical rehabilitation to regain the full use of his legs. His mother, a nurse's assistant, changed his wound dressings daily, which was physically painful to the boy and caused psychological distress to both mother and child. His past medical expenses totaled $55,000. There was no claim of fiture medical expenses, although Abraham may require psychological counseling in the future. Abraham's sister witnessed the accident and suffered emotional distress.
Abraham and his family retained ATLA members Martin K. Brigham and Eunice Trevor, as well as Daniel Bencivenga, all of Philadelphia. Abraham was also represented by a guardian ad litem, ATLA member Stewart L. Cohen, also of Philadelphia. Plaintiffs sued the manufacturer, alleging that the stove door operated as a fulcrum, allowing the appliance to tip forward when even slight weight was placed on the door.

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Corey Friedman