Appliance Rebates from First Energy

Here's a great offer by First Energy.  They are offering rebates for Energy Star qualified appliance upgrades.

They are offering to pick up old refrigerators and offer a $50 rebate towards a new qualified appliance.  Add an old window air conditioner to it and get another $25 rebate.

The best part of this is that they will pick up the old appliances.  During home purchases, a lot of items can get left behind- you think you may want that old meat refrigerator in the garage, or maybe they just left it and weren't supposed to.  Either way, you no longer want it.  Unless you buy a new one from an appliance retailer that offers free disposal of the old one, you're looking as paying a fair amount to have these items hauled.  Take advantage of this program while it lasts.

For a pickup, call 1 877 545-4112 or visit www.energysaveOhio.com.

Smoke Detectors- Photo Electric vs Ionization.

As we enter the heating season, and as we’ve just had our clocks adjusted back for fall, I thought it would be a good time to talk about fire safety, particularly the differences between photo-electric and ionization smoke alarms.  The information below is taken from the NFPA (National Fire Protection Agency) website. 

The two most commonly recognized smoke detection technologies are ionization smoke detection and photoelectric smoke detection.

• Ionization smoke detection is generally more responsive to flaming fires.
  How they work: Ionization-type smoke alarms have a small amount of radioactive material between two electrically charged plates, which ionizes the air and causes current to flow between the plates. When smoke enters the chamber, it disrupts the flow of ions, thus reducing the flow of current and activating the alarm.
• Photoelectric smoke detection is generally more responsive to fires that begin with a long period of smoldering (called “smoldering fires”).
  How they work: Photoelectric-type alarms aim a light source into a sensing chamber at an angle away from the sensor. Smoke enters the chamber, reflecting light onto the light sensor; triggering the alarm.

For each type of smoke alarm, the advantage it provides may be critical to life safety in some fire situations. Home fatal fires, day or night, include a large number of smoldering fires and a large number of flaming fires. You can not predict the type of fire you may have in your home or when it will occur. Any smoke alarm technology, to be acceptable, must perform acceptably for both types of fires in order to provide early warning of fire at all times of the day or night and whether you are asleep or awake.

The best evidence has always indicated that either type of smoke alarm will provide sufficient time for escape for most people for most fires of either smoldering or flaming type. However, research is ongoing, and standards are living documents. If at any time, research points to a different conclusion, then that will lead to proposals for changes in the NFPA standard or the closely related Underwriters Laboratories standard for testing and approving smoke alarms. Both organizations currently have task groups looking at smoke alarm performance in the current home environment.

For best protection, use both types of smoke alarm technologies
For best protection, it is recommended both (ionization and photoelectric) technologies be in homes. In addition to individual ionization and photoelectric alarms, combination alarms that include both technologies in a single device are available.

Energy Audits

As the weather turns in North East Ohio, we start thinking about heating, and how much heat we're wasting.  The aisles at the Home Depots and Lowes bulge with pink insulation products.  Have you ever considered an energy audit?

First Energy is offering energy audits for customers this Fall.  On my most recent visit to their website at http://energysaveohio-home.com/residential-energy-audit/ these audits were offered for $100.  I know during the summer, they were offered free.  They may be free of charge based on income, so carefully explore their website regarding cost.

An audit will ultimately save you money, even at $100.  Sometimes we just need to be reminded about the basics, other times our houses are deficient in ways we weren't aware of.

Wet Basements Part Four

After you carefully examine possible causes for your wet basement and eliminated the more simple causes, you may be facing some more serious costs to cure your problem.

A typical exterior foundation waterproofing job can cost $100 to $125 per foot of exterior, depending on depth and other factors.  When this work is done, shrubs will need to be removed and the basement walls will be excavated to the footers, walls sealed, and a new, modern drainage system installed.  These jobs rarely fail to cure the problem.  As I mentioned earlier, some situations may still exist due to type of construction, ie. the floor has no plastic under it, and some damp may rise up etc.

I would strongly recommend exterior digging to any of the interior based drain systems.  One very large Ohio company that leads the industry in North East Ohio has been known to use strong pressure sales, and if at first the contract is not signed, the price starts dropping from week to week.  Bottom line, look up any company via the Better Business Bureau website, and do some simple Google searches on them.  You can also make an inquiry with your local building dept.  They can offer a lot of help in some instances.  Each dept. policy is different and each inspector is different, but most are quite helpful.

As this is a big ticket decision ranging from five thousand for one wall to prices well into the tens of thousands, you might want to hire a home inspector to assist you with deciding what to do.  I recommend ASHI certified inspectors (American Society of Home Inspectors) as they have no interest in obtaining further work from you- they are your advocate only.  They may charge $150 or so for a consultation, but it is cheap insurance that you're choosing the type of corrective measure you need and not one a salesman wants to sell you.

I'll continue to post on this topic as it is a major problem that is also a major cost to homeowners in our area.

This photo shows a membrane being sprayed on a foundation wall.  The new drainage pipes will be placed in the bottom of the trench, then gravel will be backfilled to within a foot or so of grade.  The photo illustrates the complicated digging- close to the foundation and deep.  This is the reason for the high cost of exterior waterproofing.  

Leafguards for gutters

As we finish the Fall season, it seems like a good time to discuss gutter, or leaf guards.  These can be either a blessing or a curse, depending on your particular situation. 

The Cadillac of systems if the gutter helmet, permanent gutter type.  These aren’t really a screen at all, but a solid aluminum top piece that allows rain to roll over the top of the gutter and drip into the gutter below.  Leaves won’t make the trip into the gutters, but some pine needles can.  I have these on my house and have never had to clean them.  They are, by far, the most expensive option, costing several times more than traditional gutters.  In some heavy rains, some water may spill right over the top to miss the gutter.  These also require professional installation, as they are part of the gutter itself.

The other types of leaf guards cost much less than the Gutter Helmet system, and if you can get to your gutter, you can even install them yourself.  Most of them come in three foot sections.  These types all basically slip up under the shingles and snap into the gutters top edge (more or less, they don’t always fit perfectly- I recommend buying one piece to see how it fits your gutter before stocking up).  These have a mesh that will keep leaves out.  My father installed this type years ago and we’ve never had to clean the gutters, and we’re talking about 25 years!  He did a bit of special installation work by using some small wires to tie each section together to prevent any sagging between the three foot sections.  

There are also some that have a very fine screen instead of the grid.  These seem to become clogged with simple dirt buildup, so I’m not a fan of them, but some people say they’ve tried the more open grid type and found that they let in fine pine needles.  With either of these, ice may build up more quickly on them than a gutter with no guards.  I have no scientific evidence supporting this, it’s just something I’ve thought. 

The last type is one that is made up of metal mesh.  This comes on a roll, and is difficult to install and difficult to maintain as when they get bent into the gutter, you have to return it to it’s intended shape.  Ice, animals etc can all damage it.

In closing, you’ll have to decide on which type will work best for you , your trees, and your budget.  Remember to try some small sections to see how easy they install.  You may want to even try a particular area of your gutters to see how many leaves they keep out. 

 The “helmet” type.  Expensive and requires professional installation, but works well in most situations.

Plastic type, available at home centers.  There are also metal types similar to this.  Another type is similar to this, but has a very fine screen (you can’t even see thru it). 

 This mesh type can clog easily.  It's made of a ridge vent material.  I've seen these clogged many times during home inspections.