This is a picture of a gas water heater installed next to a gas furnace. The opening in furnace ductwork, in the center of the picture, is sucking a large volume of air into the furnace when the furnace fan is running. The problem here is that the air being sucked in to the furnace  at this duct opening can suck all the carbon monoxide from the gas water heater into the furnace, when then distributes it throughout the house. This is a very serious safety concern that should be addressed immediately, for the safety of the home's occupants.  The most annoying thing about what you see in this picture is that the water heater was installed barely a month before the home inspection, by people supposedly trained in the safe operation and installation of gas appliances.
 

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This third floor window at these stairs needs a railing to protect against someone falling through the window three floors to the concrete walkway between these homes. The window is a standard thermal window. It is not a plate glass window. The railing should be installed in front of this window immediately, for safety and legal liability sake.

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This picture of a furnace heat exchanger shows the burners covered with rust flakes from the wall of the heat exchanger. There is a very high likelihood that this furnace is unsafe to operate. The safety of the furnace can only be confirmed or refuted by a qualified heating specialist. This furnace was deemed unsafe and was immediately replaced.

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The location of this light bulb inside a clothes closet could easily start a fire in this home.  A better idea would be to have an enclosed light here (no exposed light bulb) or a fluorescent light fixture, which does not generate the kind of heat that an incandescent bulb does. It is not enough to tell people not to stack clothing or other combustibles like cardboard boxes too close to this bulb. It is better to make it safer in the first place.

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These rusting propane tanks, which are required to be at least ten feet from any opening in an exterior wall (Note the kitchen window in the top right of the picture) These tanks should be replaced (because of their rusting condition) and relocated immediately (too close to the kitchen window) for safety sake. These tanks are also supposed to be on a stable base, like concrete pad or patio stones etc.

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This gas meter, located in a driveway, should have a post or metal barrier in front of it to protect it from being hit by a vehicle. If it gets hit by a vehicle, it could leak natural gas and cause and sustain a fire. The protection should be installed immediately.

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The wires shown in this picture are the incoming electrical service cable at the top of the hydro mast on this house. The connections on the power lines are supposed to covered with a proper insulating material. This semi exposed connection is so close to the bare ground/neutral wire that it is obviously arcing across (probably in rainy weather only) and pitting the ground wire. If these two wires ever touch each other, (say, in windy weather)  they will short and burn through each other, giving off a light show that the neighbours will remember for a long time and this house will then be out of power, possibly along with half the neighbourhood. The local hydro utility should be called in to correct this problem. Since it is the local utility's responsibility for the service cable connections at the top of the mast, there should be no charge to the homeowner for this urgent safety correction.
 

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The wire to the left of this main electrical shutoff switch is the system ground wire. It is supposed to be connected to the incoming water pipe for the house. This should be corrected immediately for safety sake so that a short to ground in the system will blow a fuse or trip a breaker instead of energizing the device box or the housing of the device that is connected to it. The correction should be done by a qualified electrician.

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Metal chimneys typically rust from the inside to the outside. The inside can collapse inward 'choking' the exhaust off, which then can leak potentially deadly carbon monoxide gas inside the home. This is a serious safety concern which should be addressed immediately by a qualified specialist.

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This chimney has had a basement gas fireplace added to it (bottom left). It already had the furnace and water heater connected to it. The chimney was not originally designed to handle all THREE connections. The concern here is the danger of carbon monoxide spilling back into the house if all three appliances (furnace, water heater & fireplace) operate at the same time. This installation should be reviewed and corrected by a qualified heating specialist - NOW for safety.

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This picture shows a very dangerous way to connect the air conditioning wires. The air conditioning wires (small red and black wires) are connected to the street side of the main disconnect. They are unfused and cannot be shut off. This is a fire and electrocution hazard that should be corrected immediately

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This picture shows another very dangerous way to connect the air conditioning wires. The air conditioning wires (small black and white wires exiting the panel at top right) are connected to the panels main bus. This bus is fused at 100 amps, the wire is only rated for 30 amps. This is a fire hazard that should be corrected immediately.
 

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This picture of soot blow back on and around this water heater temperature sensor is an indication of a serious malfunction and deterioration inside this water heater. This is a serious safety hazard that should immediately be investigated and corrected by a qualified specialist.

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This house had a new electrical panel installed a few years ago. Unfortunately, the service cable conduit was not fitted with a box connector to properly connect it to the electrical panel. The conduit has moved back a bit leaving the service cable rubbing on the electrical panel casing. Should the wires ever short to the panel, there is a very real possibility of fire or electrocution. This item needs to be corrected immediately, for safety sake!
 

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