TOPIC: New Home Don't Need an Inspection

You would put up with a stub sticking up out of the floor right in the line of traffic and in your area it's okay to have a shower stall two feet in front of the stairs? 

You would put up with a stub sticking up out of the floor right in the line of traffic and in your area it's okay to have a shower stall two feet in front of the stairs? 

Nope, never said I would, just that it is not unusual to see this. As for the shower, you never said there was only two feet clearance. Looking at the pic, I was visualizing 3-4 feet. For me personally. still too close, but I am not the one who toured the model home with the finished basement and decided it was right for me. And that goes right to my point. As an inspector, it matters not what the layout of a home is. I don't have to live in it. My only concern is defects and safety. A pipe stub on the floor is a safety issue. An 18" pipe is not.  

Yes you are correct.  I didn't say it was only 2 feet but I didn't mention anything about stairs at all so I assumed you read the blog.  The two feet is from the shower or bath rough is in under the mat in front of the stairs.  I didn't write up the location of the shower stall because there is no shower stall.  I did mention it to my client because the house was advertised as having a rough in for a three piece bath in the basement.  It will not work where the shower or bath drain is roughed in.  If I had inspected this home when new, I think I would have made a point of it in my report.  Layout does matter in some instances. 

If those are PVC pipes it wouldn't be too tough to cut them flush and cap them. I kept wandering what ya'll were talking about a shower stall? You're kidding there's a shower drain under that mat in front of the stairs? LOL. Must have been a mis-measurement on that one, at rough in. Or not very good planning.
I'm guessing there are alot of basement conversions to living areas up you and Jeffs way. As you know I'm not familar with basements in my area. What do you commonly use for the floor joist system above it, TJI floor joists or open web floor joist trusses? In your cold climate what is the R value of insulation used in the living area floor to basement? Is there an issue of proper placement of insulation batts if there is as much roughed in that area as I'm assuming?

The most common flooring system is dimensional lumber but TJIs and open web floor trusses are gaining ground. 
Basements are usually heated so there is no insulation in the flooring.  It makes more sense to insulate the foundation wall (R-20) than the floor because you gain the use of the basement area for the furnace, etc or for bedrooms or family rooms.  The hardest place to insulate is the rim joist.  Actually the insulating isn't that bad but doing a good job of installing vapour barrier in the joist spaces is a pain.