s000315 Defining service life

Identifier: s000315

Date: 04/17/2000

Question

What is the definition of service life? Is an old component considered to be at the end of its service life it if it is still functioning properly?

Interpretation by ASHI Standards Committee :

The requirement to report an item that is judged to be near the end of its service life (Sections 2.2.B.1 and 2.2.B.2) does not impose a duty on the inspector to predict remaining service life or to estimate current age. It does, however, require the inspector to inform the client that a system or component is at or near the end of its useful life, if it is so judged. 

A system or component judged to be AT the end of its service life would be reported as significantly deficient (using the inspectors choice of nomenclature); a system or component near the end of its service life should be reported as such (again, using the inspectors choice of nomenclature). 

For example, an old properly functioning furnace is near the end of its predictable (actuarial) service life even though it is without visible defects. It may not be at the end of its service life, but is near the end, from an actuarial basis. Inspectors should have an understanding of the service lives of the various systems and components of a home. There are numerous compilations of this information available from a wide variety of sources. An inspector may use personal experience in determining end or near-end of service life. A simple ordinal scale (new - early - middle - late - end) may be used, or only those systems actually at or near the end of service life may be reported. These decisions and judgments are entirely up to the inspector.