“NOTES TO THE NEIGHBORS”                                                 Winter Edition 2019

Hello,

I hope that my house maintenance tips in fall were helpful to you. Here is some more useful information for you. If you have any questions, require any services, or have a topic that you want covered in the Spring 2020 edition feel free to email me ----

This month I will cover eliminating air leaks before for the deep freeze.

I recommend keeping an updated home maintenance notebook to log your findings when doing your inspections and creating a punch list. Decide what needs to be done now and what can be addressed in the next season.  

I am getting cold just thinking about this. One of the newer services out there is blower door draft testing. A blower door is inserted into the exterior door frame, all windows and doors are closed, and all combustion appliances are shut down. All interior passage doors are in the open position and the fan is run to blow air out of the home. This creates a negative pressure within the home and pulls cold air in at all leakage points. Next, and infra-red camera id used to check for the cold areas within the home.

Air leak evaluation without a blower door test is possible and can save you considerable money. Leaks can be traced in several different ways. You could buy a smoke test kit that will show drafts when the smoke is blown away from the wall being checked. Simply getting your hand wet and feeling around on a very windy day will allow you to spot them quickly. However, you would need to do this on different days when the wind is coming from east, west, north, and south. When I check for leaks, I use an infra-red camera and digital thermal device. Take a walk around the interior of your home in one direction and inspect your home from top to bottom. Next, turn around and do the same thing in the opposite direction. You may be surprised what you can miss the first time around. Once the leaks have been noted in your journal or simply marked with painters tape, make a plan of action to eliminate them. For doors and windows, they may be corrected with weatherstrip, or caulking. If leaks are around the interior trim of doors and windows it may be necessary to remove the trim, spray low expansion foam insulation between the window jamb and framed opening. If you take this step be sure to use the correct type of spray foam.

Spray foam can also seal gaps around plumbing and electrical penetrations. I recommend fire rated foam or intumescent caulking for these areas if filling vertical wall holes from above or below.

Check to be sure the joist bays (also referred to as box sills) along the outer walls in your basement are insulated. This can be done with fiberglass or the method of spraying a 3” layer (approx. R-18) of closed cell spray foam (two component quick cure polyurethane) insulation to the outer rim joist. That is equal of better R-value than most 2 x 4 and 2 x 6 wall assemblies. The spray foam seals all penetrations and is more effective. The spray foam is more costly but it may not contain VOCs or other harmful materials such as formaldehyde.

The final step is to caulk all wall penetrations on the exterior of your home. These may include electrical, cable, internet, phone wire, and plumbing pipes. Large cracks in wood siding and areas where caulk has deteriorated or missing should be addressed too. There is another type of spray foam (Pest Blocker) to help prevent mice and insects that can be used along exterior holes and gaps of the home. Use this in areas known to allow bees and rodents.

Air infiltration is costly to maintain the comfort in your home. Taking measures to eliminate drafts will make you more comfortable and $ave money.

Have a great holiday season!

Jim Houghtaling CR4331

    Renew View Custom Trim

“Stands for Quality Craftsmanship”