Mold in Your Home

I'll go deeper into this subject, but a quick word about mold in the home.  First, understand that mold is everywhere; under leaves in your yard, your car is a rolling mold factory, think about all that water that sloshes around your foot wells all winter long.  If you've got mold issues, you'll know it in a pretty big way, and some people do have serious allergies to mold- for them, the topic is very, very serious, but this is just a quick overview post.

If you think you've got a mold problem in your house, the only way to know is to have testing done.  Know that there are no "licensed" mold testers.  Testers get some training, typically from the company that provides the lab work for their tests and into the field they go.  This doesn't mean they're scam artists, but they're not scientists either.   That said, a lot of folks know the value of fear of mold and exploit it to their advantage.  This is more common among testing/inspection companies that mitigate mold, as they reap the real dollars from the results of the tests.

Just know that only a lab can truly identify mold, there are no gadgets that can be used in the field.  A good inspector can probably know with a lot of certainty they're looking at mold, but they will always call for a test.

Refrigerator and Room Air Conditioner Recycling by First Energy

I always like to post information regarding offers from the utilities for appliance hauling etc.  I just received a notice in my electric bill that First Energy has an offer to pick up older refrigerators and room air conditioners and as a bonus offer you up to $50 for recycling them.  If you've ever had to get rid of an appliance like this when you weren't purchasing a new one you know how difficult this can be.  These offers are usually for a limited time.

There are some limits on size, quantity per household etc, so make sure that this offer will work for you by visiting energysaveohio.com or calling for a pickup at 1 877-545-4112.

Caulking

Caulking.  Not too exciting stuff, but it does an important job.  It's something that nobody pays too much attention too though.  Caulking goes on when paint work is done on wood siding, new vinyl or aluminum siding was installed, and also when window and door work is done.  Then everybody forgets about it.

Over time, and that amount of time depends on the brand and quality of caulking used, like everything else it fails.  Cracks develop, at it's worst it dries up and will fall off in chunks.  Time to recaulk.

If you don't already have one, go to your local paint store and get a 5 in one tool.  You'll be amazed by what a great item this is to have in your tool box.  Helps clean paint rollers, opens cans, and that little pointed part is what you can use to remove caulk.




With caulk guns, the nicer ones are easier to use than the $3 specials.  A good caulk gun will last a lifetime.



Dig and scrape out the old caulk and then you're ready for new.  Pretty simple stuff, but there are a couple more things to keep in mind.  Don't caulk the bottom of siding, trim etc.   If water can get in, it needs to get out.  I see lots of rotted wood because people caulked all the way around something.  The other thing to keep in mind is to not caulk storm window drain holes shut.  These are typically two small holes that allow water to drain off the window sill.  The sill is pitched outwards for a reason, don't seal these up or you'll be replacing your window sills sometime in the upcoming years.  Below is a picture of what I'm talking about.

Lastly, you've got to  develop your caulking technique.  Practice a bit on some newspaper of an old board.  The correct way to caulk is to push the caulk with the caulking gun; this gets more caulk into the crack.  Pros can do it without ever touching it, I admit I'm guilty of using a finger on it more often than I'd like to admit.  If you do need to correct a mistake etc, just keep some water and wet towels handy.  A wet finger and a towel to wipe it off on are great things to have handy when caulking, and your clothes will thank you for not wiping it off on them; it won't come off once it's in the fabric.

So when the snow finally stops and spring is really here in NE Ohio, get out there and have a look at your caulking.

Springtime gutter cleaning

Spring is here and it's a good tome to check those gutters once again.  Spring in North East Ohio means rain, so  those gutters are going to be working hard over the next two months.  Make sure they're free of debris, leaves, bark etc. that builds up over winter.  Also make sure they're secure to the house.  Winter freezing can loosen and pull out gutter spikes.  Stand back and look at the gutters to make sure they're pitched correctly; you want your gutters pitched slightly towards the downspouts.

When it does rain, have a look to see what's going on.  Are they over flowing?   This puts a lot of water against your foundation, which can translate to a damp basement.  If they are overflowing, is it just because of blockage or is it improper pitch?  You may need a contractor to correct an improper pitch, if they're low enough, you can clean them yourself, but be careful on the ladder.

Lastly, have a look at the downspouts.  If your's go directly into the ground, your gutters are tied into the storm sewers.  When it's raining hard, make sure that they're not overflowing at the drain crocks.  Also check to see that if you have the old vitrified clay type drain crocks that they're not damaged; they often break into several pieces at ground level, which of course defeats the purpose of draining all that water away from your foundation.

If you have surface draining downspouts, the type that have 90 degree bends near ground level and then discharge the water on the surface of the ground, verify that there is an extension in place.  You want to divert that water away from the foundation, so you'll want a 18" minimum extension.  Sometimes there is a splash block, a short of diverter that is placed on the ground so the water doesn't erode the soil.  If your downspout extensions are crushed, replace them, these can get stepped on during gardening etc.  if they're crushed, they can't do their job.

Ice Dams and Attic Ventilation Pt. 2

So here's my follow up on my post on ice dams and some corrective measures.  First of all, correcting what is causing the ice dam should be your primary concern.  If your house is of recent vintage, you're probably going to find it rather easy to correct.  Modern houses (20-30 years old) typically have large overhanging soffits.  Sometimes the house was set up correctly for ventilation and insulation was installed in a manner that blocked the free flow of air into the attic from the soffits.

In the diagram above, you can see how the intake air enters.  It then rises to the roof vents; ridge vents, gable vents or the standard old metal "static" vents and out of the attic.  Sometimes overzealous homeowners or insulation contractors block the flow.  To correct this, vent baffles are available.

These foam vents help to keep the insulation from pushing against the underside of the roof sheathing and blocking the air flow.  But......

Yo must verify that the soffits have vents in them in the first place.  A newer house will most likely have vinyl soffit venting installed, but you never know what's behind it.  In a wood house, you can simply look at the wood soffits and see if there are vent.  Another way is to go in the attic and turn off the lights.  If there are vents you'll see some light coming from the soffits; the more the better.  If there is no light and no visual evidence of soffit vents on the exterior, then you'll probably need to install some.  See below for a few photos of soffit vents.

There are some houses that are extremely difficult to ventilate due to design.  There is always a solution, it may not be perfect and it may not be easy to find a contractor who knows how to do it.  I'll talk about the more difficult vernting solutions in the next blog.

A classic photo of the dreaded ice dam

I had the opportunity to take a photo of a textbook case of ice damming the other day.

So you've got big icicles, and if things are really bad, water is entering the interior near the ceiling.  This is why.  When the temperature hovers around freezing, during the day the attic warms and melts the snow on the roof.  It travels as water to the eaves, where it re-freezes.  As the cycle is repeated, it eventually builds an   "ice dam".
What happens next is that water is trapped behind it and backs up under the shingles causing the leaks.  Leaking may enter the soffit and run down the exterior wall, and in the worst case scenario, the inside of the house.
How to fix it?  Ice guard can be used when a new roof is installed.  It's a rubber membrane that is placed at the lower edges of the roof instead of the familiar tar or felt paper.  It seals around nails and typically is folded over the fascia board, so if water backs up under the shingles, it simply travels over the top of the ice guard to the gutter/fascia.
The other way is to keep the roof cold through proper venting.  The colder the roof/attic space,  it becomes less likely that heat will melt the snow.
More on corrective action and some of the problems that are encountered when doing them in my next blog.

Careful With Those Water Lines!

In keeping with the exterior faucet/Winter theme, you can never get enough warnings about keeping pipes from freezing.

As a home inspector, I often see plumbing in places where I worry about what will happen on those super cold nights, the ones where the mercury dips below 0 for several nights in a row.

Even if you live in a new house with frost proof faucets installed on the exterior, sometimes there are areas or rooms where temperatures can dip dangerously close to freezing.  Lots of new construction has laundry sinks in the garage, make sure those garage doors are closed at night and if this is your first winter in your new house, you may want to put a thermometer in the garage and check on it during those hard freeze nights.

A more common pipe freezing problem is when renovations place pipes in unheated areas.  A typical example is when a kitchen remodel moves the sink lines to the outside walls etc.  In a lot of older ranches and bungalows circa 40s and 50s there are little "bump outs" or soffits that overhang free space.  These locations are very susceptible to freezing pipes, if plumbing is installed.

Use common sense and caution this winter.  Keep an eye on those pipes, open cabinet doors beneath sinks when to circulate warm air if needed.  Heated pipe wrapping is also available if you identify a pipe that may freeze.  An ounce of protection ahead of the trouble can save thousands in flood damage.