Winter Maintenance

(c) 2000 Jim Morrison

Winter isn’t as far away as it seems. Doing a few chores now can save you time, money, and aggravation when the cold weather comes. Here are a few suggestions to get you started.

Outside

Have the gutters cleaned. Gutters have nothing to do with ice dams, but clogged rain gutters can exacerbate the problem. Have them cleaned out when the leaves stop falling so they can collect roof drainage and direct it away from the house.

If you have had ice dam problems in the past, you may want to contact a ventilation expert and/or a roofer to make some improvements that will virtually eliminate the problem. A well vented, well insulated attic will rarely have an ice dam problem, and the installation of ice and water shield beneath the shingles on the low roof edges and valleys is great insurance!

Late Fall/ early Winter is when critters often enter our homes to build a nest and ride out the cold weather. So walk around the exterior looking for ways small animals can enter your house and seal them off! If a mouse can fit its head into an opening, it can wriggle the rest of its body through, so look carefully for those small holes!

Shut off the sill cocks (garden hose spigots) from the inside and drain the water out of the line to prevent them from freezing and bursting during cold weather. This is a good time to examine the water and heating pipes along the basement’s outside walls to make sure they are properly insulated.

Clean leaves and other debris out of the window wells to make sure you are maintaining at least six inches between the soil and any wood members.

Make sure your storm windows are lowered and not broken. You may want to reapply caulking where is has deteriorated on the exterior. Note: There should be a space visible from the interior between the bottom of the storm window and the wooden window frame to allow water to drain out of the window well. Don’t make the costly mistake of caulking these weepholes as it will collect rainwater and cause the window sills to decay. If the weepholes in your windows have become clogged, unclog them or drill new ones.

If you have thermopane windows in your home, have any of them become cloudy? If so, the vacuum seals are broken, they have lost their insulating value, and they should be replaced.

Take a walk around the exterior of the house and look for areas that need attention. Are there sections of rain gutters that were pulled away from the house by snow and ice? How much have last year’s small pockets of wood decay grown?

If those stairs got really slick last year from winter snow and ice, maybe this is the time to have them coated with a textured paint. Never use salt to melt ice on masonry stairs or walks, it deteriorates the masonry. Instead, shovel them as cleanly as possible, and use clean sand if needed to provide better traction.

If that old front door was too drafty, replace the weather-stripping now weather and get ready for the first frost.

Heating system

Bleed the air out of your forced hot water radiators or baseboards. You should never hear water rushing through the pipes or radiators. If you do, it means there is air in the line and the system should be bled.

Do the air vents on your steam radiators work properly? Most homes have very old air vents that leak steam and/or water (they should only vent air) or don’t work at all. These are simple to replace and can often improve the performance of the system. Replacing old air vents with new adjustable air vents provides you with a much greater degree of control over the heat in each room. Never try to control the heat output of a steam radiator with the shutoff valve! It will damage the valve.

Be sure to drain some water out of the low water cutoff valve on your steam boiler every few weeks during the heating season. Also, be sure the water level is high enough in the boiler. If you don’t know how, ask your heating contractor to show you.

A good time to have the heating system serviced is prior to the start of the season. Most people with oil heat will do this anyway, but it is just as important with a gas-fired unit.

Replace the air filter on your forced warm air heating system before the season begins and every 6 weeks or so after that, depending on your home. Many people with allergies find that having the ductwork and air handler professionally cleaned provides them with a lot of relief in the winter, when they spend more time indoors.

Avoid wide temperature variations when setting the thermostats. Try to pick a setting and leave it there. Keeping the house really warm when you’re home and really cool when you’re away typically wastes more energy than it saves. And if you’re too cool at 68 degrees, put on a sweater!

Basement

Drain the water heater (this should be done monthly) If the water heater is over 5 years old and this drain cock at the base of the tank has never been opened, think twice about opening it now.

Take the temperature of the hot water. If its any hotter than 120° F, you are wasting energy, so turn it down! Also, insulating your water heater will lower operating costs and improve longevity. Just make sure the insulation does not interfere with the burner or pressure-temperature relief valve.

Have your water heater serviced. Most people never do this and are surprised at the suggestion. However, there is no combustion or mechanical device that won’t benefit from an annual inspection and tune-up.

Check the dryer exhaust hose for lint buildup and clean it out. This is a good time to make the exhaust hose as straight as possible and eliminate sags in the hose that collect lint and water.

Trip circuitbreakers monthly.

Test GFI protected circuitbreakers and receptacles monthly.

Interior

The fireplace/wood stove flue should be professionally cleaned and inspected before you begin using it for the season. Also, make sure the fireplace damper is closed when you are not using the fireplace. Leaving it open will suck heat from your house at an alarming rate, and allow an entry point for critters!

It is not uncommon for people who go away for long periods of time to “winterize” their homes while they are away. This means that in order to save some money by not heating the house when unoccupied, they shut the water off at the main and drain the water out of the system, and pour antifreeze in the fixtures to prevent the traps from freezing. Some will even add antifreeze to the heating system as well. In my experience, this work is best done by an experienced professional. It is the very rare homeowner who is able to do this without causing serious damage to their home. My advise to anyone who is going away during the cold weather is: turn the heat down, but never off. If you really want to turn the heat off, hire a licensed plumber to winterize your home, and make sure you have someone check the house periodically while your gone.

Are all of your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors in good working order? Replacing the batteries when daylight saving time is over is a great idea.

Is your attic fully insulated? What about crawl spaces and the basement ceiling?

Flow restrictors and aerators on plumbing fixtures conserve energy and water, and will more than pay for themselves over the life of the fixture. Installing these devices is within the capabilities of most homeowners too!

Vacuum the coils on your refrigerator to remove the dirt the blocks heat transfer and reduces efficiency. This appliance is in continuous operation throughout the year, so it pays to keep it clean!

Jim Morrison
978.851.6315
Morrison Home Inspections
"Each house tells a story. We write 'em down."
Hablo Español
Empowering homebuyers with the information they need to make solid decisions since 1987

Fall Maintenance

(c) 2008 Jim Morrison

Winter isn’t as far away as it seems. Doing a few chores now can save you time, money, and aggravation when the cold weather comes. Here are a few suggestions to get you started.

Outside

Have the gutters cleaned. Gutters have nothing to do with ice dams, but clogged rain gutters can exacerbate the problem. Have them cleaned out when the leaves stop falling so they can collect roof drainage and direct it away from the house.

If you have had ice dam problems in the past, you ought to hire a roofer to make install the right kinds of vents, which will virtually eliminate the problem. A well vented, well insulated attic will rarely have an ice dam problem, and the installation of ice and water shield beneath the shingles on the low roof edges and valleys is great insurance against leaks!

Late Fall/ early Winter is when rodents often enter our homes to nest, and ride out the cold weather. Walk around the exterior looking for ways small animals can enter your house and seal them off! If a mouse can fit its head into an opening, it can wriggle the rest of its body through, so fix every dime sized hole you can find!

Shut off the sill cocks (garden hose spigots) from the inside and drain the water out of the line to prevent them from freezing and bursting during cold weather. This is also a good time to examine the water and heating pipes along your basement’s outside walls to make sure they are properly insulated.

Clean leaves and other debris out of the window wells to make sure you are maintaining at least six inches between the soil and any wood members.

Make sure your storm windows are lowered and not broken. You may want to reapply caulking where is has deteriorated on the exterior. Note: There should be a space visible from the interior between the bottom of the storm window and the wooden window frame to allow water to drain out of the window well. Don’t make the costly mistake of caulking these weepholes as it will collect rainwater and cause the window sills to decay. If the weepholes in your windows have become clogged, unclog them or drill new ones.

If you have thermopane windows in your home, have any of them become cloudy? If so, the vacuum seals are broken, they have lost their insulating value, and they should be reglazed.

Take a walk around the exterior of the house and look for areas that need attention. Are there sections of rain gutters that were pulled away from the house by snow and ice? How much have last year’s small pockets of wood decay grown?

If those stairs got really slick last year from winter snow and ice, maybe this is the time to have them coated with a textured paint. Never use salt to melt ice on masonry stairs or walks, it deteriorates the masonry. Instead, shovel them as cleanly as possible, and use clean sand if needed to provide better traction.

If that old front door was too drafty, replace the weather-stripping now weather and get ready for the first frost.

Heating system

Gas and oil prices will likely hit all time highs this winter, so reducing your home’s fuel consumption has never paid bigger dividends!

Bleed the air out of your forced hot water radiators or baseboards. You should never hear water rushing through the pipes or radiators. If you do, it means there is air in the line and the system should be bled.

Do the air vents on your steam radiators work properly? Most homes have very old air vents that leak steam and/or water (they should only vent air) or don’t work at all. These are simple to replace and can often improve the performance of the system. Replacing old air vents with new adjustable air vents provides you with a much greater degree of control over the heat in each room. Never try to control the heat output of a steam radiator with the shutoff valve! It will damage the valve. Shutoff valves should be left wide open during the heating season.

Be sure to drain some water out of the low water cutoff valve on your steam boiler every few weeks during the heating season. Also, be sure the water level is high enough in the boiler. If you don’t know how, ask your heating contractor to show you.

A good time to have the heating system serviced is prior to the start of the season. Most people with oil heat will do this anyway, but it is just as important with a gas-fired unit. All mechanical and combustion equipment runs better when it is thoroughly cleaned and serviced annually.

Replace the air filter on your forced warm air heating system before the season begins and every 6 weeks or so after that, depending on your home. Many people with allergies find that having the ductwork and air handler professionally cleaned provides them with a lot of relief in the winter, when they spend more time indoors.

Avoid wide temperature variations when setting the thermostats. Try to pick a setting and leave it there. Keeping the house really warm when you’re home and really cool when you’re away typically wastes more energy than it saves. And if you’re too cool at 68 degrees, put on a sweater!

Weatherstrip your doors (I like the magnetic vinyl type of weatherstripping available at most home stores), or replace them with energy efficient doors. They’ll look better and keep the draft out.

Insulate your attic floor (never the roof sheathing), the exterior walls, and the basement/crawl space floor. The goal is to have a thermal barrier on the perimeter of the house which will keep the warmth in during the winter, and keep the heat out in the summer. Insulate as many exposed heating pipes and ducts as you can to make sure none of that heat is lost to unconditioned spaces like basements and attics.

If your pull down stairs are uninsulated, there is a six square foot hole in your thermal barrier. You can find a terrific Styrofoam cover for it at www.draftcap.com .

Replacing that old clunker of a heating system is an expensive proposition. Newer equipment is costly, but often consumes much less energy. However, if you are going to be living in your house for a long time, it may be worthwhile. When shopping for contractors to replace your system, be sure and have them perform a heat loss analysis on your home to determine the size of the system you need. Most heating systems are overdesigned by a wide margin. This means most people bought too much equipment, and have unnecessarily high operating costs. Always try to buy the smallest, highest efficiency system available. This pays off big time over the years. Bigger is not better, you want the right sized system.

Having an automatic vent damper installed on your smokepipe will dramatically lower standby losses in your system. It costs a few hundred dollars, but can save you up to 15% on your heating bill.

Replacing a standing pilot light with an electronic ignition also costs a few hundred dollars or so, but can reduce heating costs on gas fired systems by 5-10%.

Basement

Drain the water heater (this should be done monthly) If the water heater is over 5 years old and this drain cock at the base of the tank has never been opened, don’t do it now, it might not close. Just remember to do it on the next one.

Take the temperature of the hot water. If its any hotter than 120° F, you are wasting energy, so turn it down! Also, insulating your water heater will lower operating costs and improve longevity. Just make sure the insulation does not interfere with the burner or pressure-temperature relief valve.

Check the dryer exhaust hose for lint buildup and clean it out. This is a good time to make the exhaust hose as straight as possible and eliminate sags in the hose that collect lint and water. If the vent is clogged, the dryer loses efficiency and raises your operating costs.

Interior

The fireplace/wood stove flue should be professionally cleaned and inspected before you begin using it for the season. Also, make sure the fireplace damper is closed when you are not using the fireplace. Leaving it open will suck heat from your house at an alarming rate, and allow an entry point for critters!

Do you have smoke and CO detectors where you need them? Are they all working? Replacing the batteries when daylight saving time is over is a great idea.

Flow restrictors and aerators on plumbing fixtures conserve energy and water, and will more than pay for themselves over the life of the fixture. Installing these devices is within the capabilities of most homeowners too! Its a nice little inside project for when the weather gets cold.

Vacuum the coils on your refrigerator to remove the dirt the blocks heat transfer and reduces efficiency. This appliance is in continuous operation throughout the year, so it pays to keep it clean!

Jim Morrison
978.851.6315
Morrison Home Inspections
"Each house tells a story. We write 'em down."
Hablo Español
Empowering homebuyers with the information they need to make solid decisions since 1987

My Top Ten

(c) 2002 Jim Morrison

Everyone who’s anyone has a Top Ten list, so why shouldn’t I? I don’t know how they get soda into the can, I couldn’t find the cosine of an angle if you drew me a map, and I don’t know how to get my kids to pick up their toys, but after 15 years, I’ve learned a lot about houses: how to build ‘em, and how to wreck ‘em. I’ve seen what works and I’ve seen what doesn’t. So if you’re planning to build a house or addition, or you’re simply remodeling your existing house, here’s my top ten list of Do’s and Don’ts, in no particular order:

Don’ts

1. Don’t install telephone jacks in the bathroom.

This started becoming common about 20 years ago. Now, unless you have access to one of those buttons that are necessary to respond to a nuclear attack, you know you don’t receive any calls important enough to interrupt a trip to the bathroom. And I think I speak for the rest of society when I tell you that we don’t want you to call us from the bathroom regardless of what you might be doing there, so what’s the point?

2. Don’t install cable TV jacks in the bathrooms.

Call me old fashioned, but I use the bathroom to perform a few necessary functions, then I leave. If I want to watch the telly, I do it on my couch, and I have never seen a show I didn’t mind missing for a few minutes while answering nature’s call. Why are we trying to turn bathrooms into family rooms? The fact that TV’s and DVD players are commonly found in many new American cars, bathrooms, and nearly every kids’ bedroom makes me fear for the future of our species.

3. Don’t bother having a standard sized whirlpool bathtub installed.

I wouldn’t waste my money on a regular sized tub with jets in the sides. People can spend a lot of money on these tubs and rarely use them, if ever. Most homeowners I run into don’t even know how to operate them because nobody has time to sit in the tub anymore and most tubs are too small for average sized adults anyway. I say: if you’re going to have one installed, make it a big one that you could fit at least two people in. Then, maybe you’ll make the time to soak in it.

4. Don’t use fake materials.

You know that waferboard stuff you see on the exterior walls of new houses that is supposed to be as good as plywood? It’s called OSB, and it’s only just as good as plywood until it gets wet, then its as good as cardboard. The reason you shouldn’t use it on roof and wall sheathing is because these exterior surfaces often get wet, and the OSB just doesn’t hold up. Besides, last time I checked the price of lumber, substituting it for plywood ends up saving you less than a thousand dollars (usually only ½ that), and with the cost of homes these days it just isn’t worth it. This stuff is fine for subflooring, but If I had my way, we’d keep it off the exterior surfaces.

That’s not to say all new materials are bad. I really like the cement based clapboards currently on the market. They look like wood, but they don’t pretend to be wood. They are made of cement and will probably outlast any other building component in the house.

While we’re on the subject, I also don’t like the melanine-coated particle board trim I’m starting to see a lot more of. It looks great out of the box, cuts easily, and takes paint nicely, but it nicks and dents very easily. If you have kids, or are planning to sell the house with someone with kids, my advice is: spring for real wood trim.

5. Don’t oversize heating equipment.

Make sure that whoever is installing your heating system has performed a thorough heat loss analysis on the structure first. Most systems are sized by “eyeballing” the house and putting in a unit that the installer is absolutely sure will heat the house. This typically results in a heating system that is oversized by a factor of two. On the coldest day of the year, your system should run almost continuously. Oversized systems mean you spent too much money on the equipment and installation, and your fuel bills will always be too high.

6. Don’t assume anything.

The details you might have seen in the model home are not necessarily included in your house, so make sure you ask if it isn’t clear. Most often you can get these extras put into your house for an additional charge, but you should be sure and check with the builder as early in the process as possible. Changing your mind during the building process can be very expensive and frustrating for you and your builder.

7. Don’t sign a contract without getting to know your builder.

Builders are no different than people in every other profession. There are the very good, the very bad, and the ones in-between. The builder who supervises the folks working on your home will make the difference between your dream home, and a nightmare. You should get to know him or her and if you’re not comfortable that the two of you are a good match, find a builder who suits you. You’ll both be glad you did.

Do’s:

8. Do build with 2x6 walls instead of 2x4’s.

They are much stronger and can hold more insulation. It’s worth it. They also allow for more insulation in the walls, and that reduces your energy costs. Forever.

9. Do insist that the foundation should stick up past the finished grade as far as possible-18” at the bare minimum.

This is the number one best thing you can do to discourage termites (and other serious problems). The Massachusetts Building Code has a minimum required distance between the finished grade and the lowest wood members, but it is widely ignored. Make sure the foundation sits nice and high and the soil slopes away from your house and you’ll be way ahead of the game. This is one of those things that is pretty difficult to change once the house is complete.

10. Do get a professional, independent home inspection.

OK, so this sounds a little self serving. People buying new homes today are typically spending $400,000 and up. Doesn’t it make sense to spend six or eight hundred dollars to have a knowledgeable professional evaluate the structure for you before you sign on the dotted line? Nobody wants to hear bad news, but like it or not, that's just about all I sell. Most buyers don’t really want to know what’s wrong with their new dream home, they’d rather assume everything is perfect. Your builder isn’t eager to have some know-it-all inspector come in and Monday morning quarterback him either. If there are real estate agents involved, they’d probably prefer that the purchase proceed as smoothly as possible too. The truth is: I’ve never had anyone come up to me at an inspection and say: “Thank God you’re here, we’re all so eager to have you nit-pick this house for 3-4 hours!” Its one of the reasons I still haven’t told my mother what I do for a living. But the truth is, every defect I’ve ever found in a house can be fixed and most of them are fixed easily. Why not address them right up front?

Jim Morrison
978.851.6315
Morrison Home Inspections
"Each house tells a story. We write 'em down."
Hablo Español
Empowering homebuyers with the information they need to make solid decisions since 1987

House Myths

(c) 2001 Jim Morrison

Everyone knows heat rises. Actually, everyone says heat rises, but that is an oversimplification. The fact is: heat will travel toward cold in any direction. Relatively warm air is lighter than cold air, and it will rise under the right circumstances. I thought I’d take this opportunity to dispel a few other myths and I’ll start with my all time personal favorite:

Heating systems that burn natural gas are clean and therefore need no servicing. The truth is that there are no mechanical-combustion devices that don’t need servicing, period. My own Dad neglected to have his gas fired boiler serviced for more years than he would admit to and I was there the day it was cleaned. The inside of that boiler looked like it had been burning coal. Most of the gas burning heating systems and water heaters I see are spilling some of the combustion products into the basement. It isn’t because gas is any worse (or better) than other fuels, it’s because people don’t take care of them as well as they should. A gas fired heating system should be thoroughly cleaned and serviced annually. And the same is true for your gas fired water heater.

Doing it yourself saves time and money.

Performing repairs to your own home can be rewarding, but in the vast majority of cases the job would be done better, faster, and factoring in the value of your own time, cheaper to hire a pro. Installing an exterior floodlight, for example, seems like an easy job to some, but do you really think your floodlight will be as safe, or work as well, or last as long as one installed by a good licensed electrician? It won’t. They know the applicable codes, have better tools, and have access to higher quality materials than you’ll find in your local home store, too. Not to say you can’t do it yourself, it’s just that in most cases, it makes good sense to hire it out.

New homes are stronger and better than old homes because they’re built “to Code”.

Let’s begin by understanding just what "The Code" is. The Massachusetts Building Code is a set of minimum standards to which construction is supposed to conform. Simply meeting the requirements of the Building Code is like getting a D- in school. It’s a passing grade, but nothing to brag about. It's the crappiest house you can get away with building. Very few builders exceed the Code requirements anywhere in their structures (often because homebuyers fail to recognize the value in doing so), so most of the new homes being built today are just a 2x4 away from a failing grade. I wrote this column within the confines of my 150+ year old house. I wonder how many homes being built today will be here 150 years hence. I’m willing to bet that most homes built in the 80’s boom won’t be. (You can collect from my heirs if I’m wrong.)

Since the building commissioner signed off on my new house, that means the house is perfect and meets every code requirement?

The city inspector’s job is far bigger than most people realize. If you have some extra time on your hands, you should bake them some brownies and bring them down to the office. These people would love to spend a few hours on every residential structure being built in their jurisdiction, but they don’t have the time or the personnel. I’ll bet most residential homes being built in the Commonwealth have had a municipal inspector in them for fewer than 20 minutes in total. That isn’t enough time to inspect the framing, let alone plumbing, electrical, HVAC, etc. Truly well built homes exceed the Code requirements, but those are few and far between. Builders are expected to police themselves and some do a better job than others. Don’t assume anything and if you have any questions or doubts, ask the building commissioner or hire a professional inspector.

Old homes are better than new homes. They just don’t build ‘em like they used to.

Walking across my dining room floor will make you reminisce of your schoolyard trampoline. In many ways, it’s a good thing they don’t build ‘em like they used to. Another reason they don’t is because they burned down more frequently in the old days too. Houses are much like the people who live in them. They are similar and unique, organized and disorganized, young and old, some are in better shape than others, but they all have their issues. There are no bad houses, only bad owners. But all things considered, I’ll take an older (pre 1960) home every single time.

Circuitbreakers and better then fuses.

They are more convenient, but not better and certainly not safer. Fuses are safer than circuitbreakers because they have a much lower failure rate. It seems counterintuitive, but go ask your electrician. Fuseboxes come with their own set of issues, but they are inherently safer than circuitbreakers.

Jim Morrison
978.851.6315
Morrison Home Inspections
"Each house tells a story. We write 'em down."
Hablo Español
Empowering homebuyers with the information they need to make solid decisions since 1987