What to look for in a home inspector

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!  Looking forward to the New Year, but not necessarily the rain and snow they are predicting.  That is not good news for our houses.

I will be posting a brief series in my blog on the 7 things you should look for when you need to hire a home inspector.  Today the tip is a basic one:  Find a home inspector that will work hard for you!  You want to find a home inspector that inspects full-time and loves it.  Full-time inspectors will spend more time with you than those that inspect part-time.  Personally, I like to take time to educate people about their homes if they have questions or concerns.  Additionally, I put in several hours completing a detailed report that gives customers very thorough information about their home.  Finally, be sure to hire an inspector that you feel you can trust.  Home inspectors rely heavily on word of mouth referral from past customers and realtors.  Find someone who you know has done a good job for someone you know. 

Keeping your fresh air intake clear...

We cannot believe the amount of snow at our house!  This is the first time ever I have filled the snow blower gas tank twice.  We are truly living up to the Minne-snow-ta name.

Another important tip when we have as much snow around our houses as we do is to make sure the fresh air intake for your furnace is clear.  As I walked around our house yesterday checking to see that everything was as okay as it could be, I noticed that our fresh air intake was covered with snow.  Your furnace needs the fresh air to help push carbon monoxide out of the house.  Two steps you should take today:

1.  Walk around your house and clear any snow and ice away from the intake.

2.  Make sure you have a working carbon monoxide detector.  You should have one on each floor of your house.  I also recommend having one in each bedroom. 

What are the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning?

The initial symptoms are similar to the flu but with no fever.  You may have a severe headache, dizziness, nausea, sleepiness, and weakness.  According for the Centers for Disease Control, carbon monoxide poisoning may cause more that 500 deaths and 20,000 emergency room visits per year.  So, please make sure you have working CO detectors on each floor of your home. 

We live in the city of Plymouth and they provide low-cost, high-quality CO detectors, just contact the fire department. 

We actually had our detector go off one day and if that happens to you, immediately leave your home and call either the fire department, or in our case we called Centerpoint Energy.  They came out right away and tested with their equipment.  The levels were low and were due to running a battery charger.  We weren't in danger, but be sure to leave the house if your alarm goes off just like you would if you smelled gas in your house. 

Wishing everyone a happy, fun, and safe holiday!

Ice Dams again...

I was out at the boy's bus stop yesterday and one of the parents asked me about a large ice dam they had on the back side of their house. 

They had been thinking of using a propane torch to reduce the size of the ice dam, but that would use up a lot of propane and probably not reduce the ice dam by much. 
If the ice dam is thick, the best thing you can do is use an ice pick or chisel to get most of it off, but  DO NOT chisel all the way down to the shingles.  Leave some of the ice on the shingles, and for the last bit you can use ice melt in a nylon stocking (see earlier post).  Reminder:  do not use water softener salt because it will stain your shingles.

Next post:  keeping your furnace fresh air intake clear.

Whole House Humidfiers continued...

Well, it's still cold out there!  I finally shoveled my roof yesterday with a combination of using a roof rake and getting up there and shoveling.  I didn't shovel the entire roof, just the first 5-6 feel along the gutters.  It's good to have it done, but the snow is getting very high around the house which could present problems during the spring melt.  More on that later.

To continue the whole house humidifier issue - they are necessary, but you need to make sure you are adjusting them daily in the winter.  The biggest problem is that homeowners leave the setting too high so there is too much moisture in the air.  The moisture then condenses on the windows, walls, and especially in the attic.  Excessive moisture in a house will cause mold growth.  Additionally, it will stain window finish and will ultimately damage the wood.  Excessive moisture in the attic causes frost that when it melts, can rot the plywood.  So, for your well-being and your home's structural well-being, please change your humidifier setting twice each day.

Whole House Humidifiers

Many houses have whole house humidifiers like an Aprilaire.  They can do some serious damage if not set correctly.  Do you ever have water running down the inside of your windows in the winter?  If so, your humidifier is set too high.  Most of us never think to adjust it until we see the water running, but you should change your settings twice a day.  Set the humidistat to the high outdoor temperature for the day in the morning, and then change to the low temperature of the night in the evening. 

For example:  If the outdoor temperature is predicted to be 20 degrees, the correct humidifier setting is 35%.  If the temperature is going to drop to 0 degrees at night, you want to adjust the humidifier setting to 25%.

Most older humidistats have the temperature numbers on them so you can just adjust the dial to the temperature and the humidity will be calculated.

Never clear snow off your roof this way...

On my way to my first appointment today I saw something that I've never seen before - a guy with a snowblower on his roof.  While this may help getting the heavy snow load off your roof, you more than likely will do thousands of dollars in damage to your shingles.  Never mind the chance of sliding off the roof behind a heavy, running snowblower.

The best way to remove snow is from the ground with a roof rake.  If you need to go up on the roof, use a shovel!  Do not scrape all the way down to the shingles to prevent damage.

If neither of those are an option, hire a professional!

You don't want your house to be like the Metrodome

You are probably wondering if your roof can support all the snow that fell last weekend (just look at the Metrodome!).  Roof trusses are designed to withstand very heavy amounts of snow, so you don't need to worry.  You probably should shovel the first 3-4 feet to prevent ice dams, but you don't need to shovel the entire roof.

Ice Dams continued...

What a ton of snow!!!  I need to get out and shovel my own roof, but after doing the driveway and deck I think I'll save that for tomorrow.

Here are a few methods that will help prevent and remove ice dams...

1.  Removing snow from the roof can help slow down ice dam growth.  On very sloped or flat roofs you may want to shovel off all the snow.  Of roofs with a greater pitch, removing 3-4 feet of snow above the roof line will slow down the growth.  A roof rake is a special tool for removing snow and can be found at any local hardware store. 

2.  Chisel grooves into the dam to allow the water behind it to drain off.  This is a good emergency measure...especially if rain or a sudden thaw is coming.  Be careful with those shingles, though!

3.  Fill an old pair of nylon stockings with an ice melt product and lay it across the ice dam.  Do not use rock salt because it will stain the roof.  

Winter in Minnesota has only just begun!

Why do ice dams develop?

As winter progresses through cycles of freezing and thawing, buildings experience ice buildup and it soon looks like a glacier hanging over the roof of your house.  You start worrying about gutters you didn't have time to clean in the fall.  Well, good news!  Full gutters do not cause ice dams!  Ice dams are caused for two main reasons:  heavy snowfall (like today!) and poor roof design.

The fundamental reason ice dams develop is because the attic space and roof are warm.  The solution is to try and maintain a cold roof.  For new construction, Minnesota building code requires insulation have an R-value of 38 or higher.  In addition, the ceiling must be airtight.  Areas around the chimney, plumbing, vents, wiring, or thin spots in the insulation are escape routes for warm air.

B-I-G Snow!

Ah, winter in Minnesota - wait, it's not even officially winter yet!  The large amount of snow and freezing temps predicted for this weekend can only mean one thing for many homeowners - ICE DAMS. 

Coming soon...learn how to prevent them, and what to do if they develop.