Take Action Now for a Warmer and Safe Winter

Take Action Now for a Warmer and Safe Winter

Question: Is there anything I can do to help prepare my home for the upcoming winter months?  

Answer: Yes, the following steps listed below can help prepare your home for winter and help provide the protection and comfort you expect.

Start outside: 

• Make sure your gutters and downspouts are clear of debris and functioning properly.
• Check the roof and flashings around all surface projections (roof penetrations) and sidewalls (joints between roof and vertical services).
• Drain and winterize all outside faucets and the sprinkler system. Empty any water hoses, coil and store.
• Repair any damage to sidewalks, driveways, and steps before ice or snow makes them worse due to the freeze/thaw cycle.
• Make sure your chimney is clear of bird nests and leaves. Consider calling in a professional chimney sweep to remove soot and creosote.
• Check and repair any gaps in weather-stripping or calk around doors and windows. Failure to do so could add up to 10% to your winter heating bill.
• Make sure doors and windows have no missing or loose glazing putty.
• Winterize the lawn mower and clean, sharpen and oil all metal gardening tools before storing. Make sure your snow removal tools are operational and ready to go (if applicable).

Follow this checklist inside your home: 

• Consider having a professional inspect and service your furnace. Also, be sure to replace the furnace filters and clean and adjust the humidifier (if applicable).
• Clean heating ducts, grills, and registers.
• Clean lint and any other debris out of dryer vents pipes.
• Test smoke and carbon monoxide monitors as well as fire extinguishers.
• Reprogram your thermostat for the winter weather. Keeping your thermostat no higher than 68 degrees when people are home will help control energy costs.
• Unclog slow running drains.
• Make sure bath and shower caulking is intact.
• If your home is not insulated or under-insulated, seriously consider air sealing the air leakage pathways between the home and attic, and installing insulation in your attic to reduce drafts and heating costs.

Not only will it give you a warm feeling now to know your home is in good shape for winter, you'll probably feel cozier all season long.

Thinking about buying an old house

Thinking About Buying an Antique House?

I absolutely love old homes. What I mean by old in our area (greater Jacksonville) is anything over 50 years of age.  Our oldest housing stock is approaching one hundred years of age. There is nothing like the craftsmanship found in these older dwellings, from the open front porches and bead board ceilings, clapboard siding or brick, exposed ornate rafter tails, solid wooden doors, brass hardware and copper spring door gaskets, to the inlaid solid wood floors, etc.  And, the detail in the framing, it’s almost like a work of art.  There is nothing more pleasing to an old framer than to see compound miter cuts in roof rafters where the joint is so tight you can’t find a visible gap. 

What saddens me is the poor condition that we find many of these homes. Years of neglect and poor maintenance have wreaked havoc on some of these magnificent properties.    

A tale of two inspections:

I recently inspected two historic homes on the same day. Luckily I had help on both of these homes or someone would have found me dehydrated and delirious or passed out in the attic or crawlspace of the second home, as it was brutally hot on the afternoon appointment.

Both of the homes we inspected were one hundred years old. The first was located in the Avondale/Riverside area.  The second was located in the Springfield area. Both properties, we were told, had significant remodels in 2003.  An interesting sidebar, it’s always a challenge to the home inspector whenever we are told the home has been remodeled.   

TIP: Any buyer should visit www.coj.net building department and conduct a permit search. This will give you invaluable information on the recent permit history of the property you are considering.

The Riverside/Avondale house had a true professionally done  remodel to include; structural repairs, professionally done re-wringing and service update,  arch fault interrupters, ground fault protection, alarm system, updated roofing, insulation, water heater, modern kitchen and appliances, updated bathrooms, and an additional bedroom and bathroom built into the original attic spaces (to include four shed dormers to let in light).  The home showed very well and had only minimal defects that we associated with typical wear and lack of maintenance over the preceding seven years. 

From a cosmetic standpoint, I didn’t like the modern wooden floors (prefinished, glue down engineered hardwood) and the two step knock down ceiling texture.  To maintain the period, the owner should have installed, nail down wood floors, and had a plasterer plaster the ceilings, either with a flat trowel finish or a stipple finish.  Additionally, modern hollow core six panel Masonite doors were installed (though they did used modern antiqued hardware).

The second home was located in the Springfield area and was remodeled at about the same time period as the Riverside/Avondale home but this home was the exact opposite. Upon arrival we found that there was amateurish repairs to the clapboard siding, improperly installed oriented strand board siding, rotten plaster covered crawlspace skirting, damaged and settled columns at the front porch, structural defects (too numerous to list), as well as amateurish electrical updating, vinyl flooring, and significant structural cracking and undulating floors. We also discovered subterranean and dry wood termite damage throughout the structure.

TIP:  Whenever you look at an older home, settlement will have certainly happened. Minor settlement can often be easily corrected but if you notice that the floors undulate, slope in various locations, bounce, and/or walls that have diagonal cracks over window and door openings, windows that cannot be fully closed or opened, or  doors that don’t open or close, you should  be prepared to spend big bucks on structural repairs.

TIP: Think about how difficult it will be to work inside a crawlspace that has limited access and clearance.   

TIP: You should be suspect when walking though an old house that has modern sheet vinyl flooring. Vinyl flooring has very poor to no permeability. This means that moisture in your crawlspace will not be able to migrate through the subflooring and into the house for evaporation.  What occurs in the crawlspace is the creation of a microclimate, moisture vapor collects and condense on the subfloor, which will lead to decay. 

TIP: Anything that we do in an older home as we make efforts to modernize will have consequences. Some of those consequences can be negative.

Back to the Springfield home. 

Two of the biggest red flags on this home and based on the condition of the upgrades that concerned me more than the settlement issues themselves; the original ceilings were covered with drywall and retextured with popcorn and the second floor was plywood subfloor and carpet. Why would this occur, you ask?  It could simply have been cosmetic corrections from years of neglect, or more importantly the home had other significant issues that may or may not have been correctly repaired, prior to the cosmetic corrections.  These homes would have plaster ceilings (there is nothing wrong with simple plaster cracks) and solid wood floors. 

In closing, always get a home inspection.  Your home inspector should be experienced and should understand the nature of older homes.    Ask about their experience, its important!

Charles

Inspecting homes in the Jacksonville area since 1992.      ` 

Saving Energy

Most of us are interested in saving energy. My wife and I have recently done some improvements to our home prior to this years cooling season.  The things we have done are all relatively simple things that we can all do. I’ll share with you some of the recent things we have done as well as things we will do in the next few months.

The first major improvement we did was to install a high efficiency heat pump.  This system utilizes a single-stage heat pump, variable speed fan coil and multi-stage electric heating elements. The result is more consistent temperature, greater air circulation and improved air quality. It also Thermidistat™ Control that controls our home’s humidity level even when the system isn’t actively heating or cooling.

During the process of the new install we also increased the size of the main return ducting and installed two additional returns. So instead of one return we now have three. The end result is a more balanced home and much quieter operation.  What also occurred with this update is the home feel cooler at higher temperatures because the air is dryer (the act of cooling is lowering relative humidity).

The next thing we did was install additional insulation in our attic spaces. We improved from an R-19 to an R-38.  We experienced a warmer house this winter and we should expect a cooler home this summer.

We also corrected our recessed lighting and improved the to IC Airtight Housing fixtures. These lower the amount air that migrates into the attic. Older recessed cans have large holes that simply allow conditioned air into the attic space. We also installed Compact Florescent bulbs in all the fixtures.  If you don’t want to go to the expense of changing out the fixtures themselves there are products available that you install over the can, up in the attic. See http://www.tenmat-us.com/ for an example.

I am currently investigating the feasibility of changing our existing electric (1992) water heater to a more efficient device. There are some water heaters out there (Propane and Natural Gas) (we have propane at home) that simply blow me away with their energy efficiency however I have not determined if the costs justify the change.  See:  http://www.hotwater.com/water-heaters/residential/conventional/gas/vertex/power-direct-vent for an example. 

I am still thinking about it. It would be nice to be wealthy enough and save some energy and to simply do it, however, I’m not.   There are also innovative electric heat pump water heaters that work in the same manner as our air source heat pumps for heating/cooling. They take heat from the air and transfer it to the water. See: http://www.hotwater.com/water-heaters/residential/hybrid/voltex for an example.

There is one more item on my list and that is my front door and sidelights. Our foyer is always cold in the winter. I can feel the cold several feet away from the door. Its weather tight but it’s simply a non insulated wood door and non insulated glass sidelights.  So it will be changed to an energy efficient insulated door and insulated glass sidelights. 

In closing there are other things that I can do that are low cost and will increase the efficiency of my home.  Things like air sealing.  In my home there is no draft stopping. This means there are lots of holes in the walls and ceilings that need to be sealed.  Products like foam gaskets can be installed behind switch and outlet cover plates. This will stop air infiltration into our out of the home.  A cool place to get other ideas can be found here:   http://www.dca.state.fl.us/fhcd/wap/files/SoutheasternFieldGuide.pdf

Good luck.

List of Terms Used in Home Inspection

Abandoned Wiring.  Abandoned wiring is wiring that is no longer in service.  In some cases it is still live, which is a safety concern; in others, it can be confused with functional wiring.  Common areas to find abandoned wiring are garages, basement and attics. We recommend that you have wiring that is not in use checked for connection to a live source and then removed or properly capped/terminated within an approved junction box.

Anti-siphon Device. Anti-siphon devices are low cost devices that fit on the end of the faucets. They prevent you from siphoning lawn chemical into the drinking water supply from hose end applicators.

Back-flow Device. A back flow device is found on the water supply between the water meter and the irrigation system. It is designed to prevent the back flow of surface and ground water into the municipal water supply. If not present the local water authority or utility could require installation in the future.  

CPVC. A hard/rigid plastic domestic water supply pipe made from chloride-polyvinyl-chloride. Has been used exclusively in our area since 1994.

Cricket. A cricket is a small water shedding device installed behind a chimney to shed water around the face of the chimney.

Ceiling fans that wobble or are too low.  We suggest having wobbling fans re-balanced or re-mounted as needed to reduce the chance of a fan or fan parts coming off and causing injury.  We suggest checking the mounting brackets to be sure they are capable of properly holding the fan.  When fans are low, there is risk of a personal injury.

Copper and Aluminum conductors noted under same terminal.  Copper and aluminum expand and contract at different rates.  Putting the two under the same terminal, unless that terminal is specifically designed for the purpose, increases the risk of loose wiring and arcing and can cause corrosion to occur.  This is a safety issue requiring correction

Damaged Wire.  When a wire is frayed, nicked or poorly connected, the wire is effectively smaller and more likely to overheat in the damaged area.  Damage also makes contact with live wiring more likely.  Due to the potential safety hazard, it is important that damaged wiring be replaced promptly. 

Doubled-up circuitry.  This is a very common electric panel defect.  Most electric panel termination lugs (breakers, fuses, etc) are not designed or approved for multiple wires being attached.  Adding additional wires where not approved can overload a circuit causing nuisance tripping or loss of power.  More importantly, adding additional wires can mean loose connections, which can cause unsafe arcing.  Wires should be independently attached for better protection/performance, unless they are approved for this use.  In some cases the connection can be made ahead of the breaker or fuse. In others, additional circuits are needed. Depending on the capacity of existing equipment this can involve anything from installing additional breakers to a new panel.

Drain and Waste Vent Flashing. This flashing is found around drain and waste vent stacks that penetrate through the roof decking. The can be made of lead or can consist of a galvanized metal pan and rubber grommet, or back plastic and a rubber grommet. These flashings often require replacement as routine maintenance.

Exposed wiring.  Exposed wiring, also called surface wiring, refers to wiring that is installed without protection from physical damage.  Examples include when an electric wire is run under floor joists or rafters, along the front of wall joists, or down walls.  Appropriate installations can include: installing the wire through holes in floor joists, above rafters, or enclosing the wire in conduit to meet the requirements for protection from physical damage.  Exposed wiring at the exterior, inside cabinets and down walls is particularly prone to damage and should be corrected as soon as possible.

Extension Cord Wiring.  Extension cords should not be used for any purpose other than as a temporary  power source.  Permanent approved wiring is advised in place of extension cords to any permanently installed electrical component.  Extension cords should never run through walls or floors and should not be run inside cabinets as they can be more easily damaged in these areas.

Fascia. Fascia is a term used to describe the vertical exterior face of the roof along the edge or eave. The fascia is often used to attach rain gutters. See soffit.

Frieze. The frieze is a trim component that is installed along the exterior wall directly beneath the soffit. It often conceals the top edge of brick veneer wall cladding.

GFCI.  A GFCI is a low cost device that protects the user of an electrical appliance from shock around water sources.  The GFI device turns off voltage immediately if they detect an imbalance between the current flowing in the live conductor and that flowing in the neutral conductor.  This imbalance needs to be no greater that .006 amps to turn the power off to the effected appliance/outlet.  GFI protected outlets/circuits have been required at exterior outlets since 1973, bathrooms since 1975, garages since 1978, kitchens within six feet of the sink since 1987 and on whirlpool type tub circuits since 1987.  The list now includes (since 1993) all the above locations, crawl spaces (except dedicated circuits), boat houses and wet bar receptacles. 

Grounding.  Until the late 1950s, Grounding in residential systems was required only on the main electric panel.  After the late 1950s, grounding became a requirement for all branch circuits including lights and outlets.  The ground wire is normally idle.  If there is a defect, the ground wire acts as an escape route for the electricity, inducing the current to flow through this wire to the ground, reducing the risk of shock or fire. We use a tester at three prong outlets to check a sample of outlets for ground.  Verifying the integrity of grounding systems is a technically sophisticated procedure that is beyond the scope of a visual building inspection.

Hosebibb. A hosebibb is a faucet found on the exterior of the home where you would attach a garden hose.

Knob and tube electric wiring.  This type of wiring was standard many years ago but is now considered outdated.  When knob and tube wiring is present, we suggest having an electrician evaluate the integrity of the wiring.  In most cases, upgrading is advised.  Attic or wall insulation should not be placed over this wiring and it should not be open spliced to new wiring.

Loose Wiring.  All electrical wiring should be firmly attached to framing and at fixtures.  Wiring should also be fastened near each fixture, junction box, etc. to help prevent live wires being pulled loose. 

Open Knock Outs.  Knockouts are openings in electrical boxes that are intended for wiring runs.  Open knockouts are those that are not currently in use but that expose live wires in the box.  Openings in electrical boxes should be sealed with appropriate covers to prevent accidental contact with electrical power.  Knock out plugs is generally readily available and easily installed. 

Open splices.  Open splicing refers to electrical wiring that has been improperly cut, and spliced without proper protection from physical damage.  Whenever an electric wire is cut, it should be properly spliced and protected. The splice should be encased in a covered, secure junction box to prevent shocks and other risks, including separation of the splice.

OSB. Oriented Strand Board (OSB) is a wall sheathing and roof decking material made from oriented strands of wood glued together under pressure to make panel siding and decking.

Overfusing.  Overfusing is another common electric panel defect.  Homeowner electricians often create a dangerous situation when they fail to match the right size wire to the right size overcurrent (breaker/fuse) device.  This can allow excessive current to be carried by the branch wire conductor.  Overfusing should be corrected at once.

Rafter. A rafter is a roofing component associated with the long run from the peak of the roof to the eave and made from dimensional lumber. Rafters are normally found in a home that is conventionally framed.

Rain Sensor. A rain sensor is an electromechanical device found on the exterior of the home that senses rain fall and once rain fall has been sensed will send a signal to the irrigation timing device to delay watering or wait until the next programmed time. In our area the water management authority has watering restrictions and limitations. A rain sensor can eliminate the risk of violating the law during these restricted periods.

Recessed lighting.   Recessed lighting may be a safety concern if insulation is too close and/or lights are improperly installed.  Some units are rated for insulation contact (IC rated) meaning the manufacturer has approved them to be installed in areas where insulation contact is likely.  There are specific requirements as to bulb size and installation practices.   

Reversed polarity.  Reversed polarity is a sign of amateur work and refers to improper wiring of an outlet or circuit where the hot (usually black) and neutral (usually white) wires are placed on the each other’s terminals (reversed). The hot wire should be installed on the brass screw (short slot side of the outlet) and the neutral wire should be installed on the silver screw  (taller slot side of the outlet). Reversed polarity is generally easily corrected by minor wiring adjustments at the receptacle. It is important that this correction be made for the safe use of the outlet and those items powered off the receptacle.  Note that an improperly wired outlet anywhere “upstream” of other outlets (on the same circuit) could cause corresponding (and appropriately wired) “downstream” outlets to show reverse polarity.

Soffit. The soffit is the flat horizontal component of the trim found on the exterior of the home along the underside of the roof along the eave.

Three prong ungrounded outlet(s).  In homes built before the late 1950s, it is common to have ungrounded branch electrical circuits.  Since then, the addition of a third (ground) wire has enhanced safety and is required for modern circuits and the appliances they service.  We find that many homeowners have improperly changed old style two prong outlets to newer three prong style outlets without adding a proper ground wire.  We suggest grounding these outlets, or reducing to two prong outlets (when not near water source) so that one cannot inappropriately use an appliance requiring a grounded circuit at these locations.  A grounded outlet must be used wherever a grounded (three prong) appliance is used (refrigerators, laundry appliances, computers, etc) and is advised where contact with water is likely.  For any home, or circuit added after 1959, grounding was mandatory.  In some limited cases, an older GFCI protected outlet can remain three prong, even when ungrounded. Your electrician can help you determine where appropriate.

Trusses. Trusses are engineered roofing components consisting of webs and cords held together mechanically by galvanized metal gusset plates.

Turnout Flashing. Turnout flashings are flashing details that are found whenever a roof intersects with a vertical wall section. They assist in turning water away from the vertical wall section. They are critical in long-term life of wood framing and siding.

Uncovered electrical fixture(s).  Whenever electrical connections are made, they are required to be made within an approved, covered wiring or junction box. Open junction boxes should have an approved secure cover to prevent risk of shock or fire. Uncovered receptacles and outlets should also have approved covers.

Wall cladding. Wall cladding is a term used to describe the type of exterior siding found on a home.

Weep Holes. Weep holes are a construction detail desired in brick veneer homes. Weep holes in concert with correct flashing details help drain water out of the wall cavity behind the brick, equalize pressure that may build up behind the brick veneer and can assist in drying out the wall through airflow. While desired, weep holes and flashing details are often not found in brick veneer homes in our area. Retrofitting flashing and weep holes would be very expensive, however, installing weep holes alone may assist in equalizing the pressures behind the brick veneer during wind driven rains and assist in drying the wall behind the brick through airflow.

Reminder:  All electrical repairs should be performed  by a qualified electrician.  You should ask the electrician to report on any additional deficiencies he sees and make suggestions for upgrades