Departments

Stretching Out...By Building a Deck
       Do you wish you could add an extra room to your house, but you don’t want to spend the money? Is your back yard plain and boring?
       Outdoor amenities like decks, trellises, privacy screens and benches can take the place of an extra room at a fraction of the cost. In addition, a deck increases real estate value and provides a low-maintenance outdoor area that keeps cooling and energy costs down. ?
       When building an addition, such as a deck, the choice of materials is always important. Today, more than ever, families are concerned about the safety of products around the home. Unlike chemically treated woods and petroleum-based products, redwood heartwood’s durability is organic and natural. ?
       If you are thinking about building a deck yourself, you may find deck building easier than you would expect. ?
       First of all, it is important to survey your yard and decide what problems building a deck can solve. Can it level off a sloping or uneven area? Can it turn an unusable side yard into a comfortable outdoor living area? Checking building codes in your area is an important preliminary step. ?
       When working with wood outdoors, remember the type of hardware you use can affect the appearance of your project. ?
       Inferior hardware can cause stains and is unlikely to last as long as the wood. A variety of joist hangers, patented connectors and deck fasteners are available to help the do-it-yourselfer. It is worth the extra cost to use top-quality, hot-dipped galvanized, stainless steel or aluminum hardware. ?
       Other amenities complete the job of making a living center. Planters, benches, tables and furniture can turn a deck into your “outdoor room.” You also may want to consider adding a spa, privacy screen, outdoor cooking center or shade trellis. (NUI) ?

Controlling Mold In Your Home
by Sandra Fields
        The growth of mold in your home not only can promote health-related problems, but it also can require expensive home repairs and hinder the sale of your home.
        Mold can damage your furnishings, cabinets and even the structural elements in your home. Some homeowners who discover mold in their homes find that the only way to remedy the problem is to remove and replace the walls and ceilings where the growth was found.
        Mold can grow when its food sources - such as building materials, furniture, wallpaper and fabrics - are exposed to high levels of moisture.
        “It’s a major oversight by most people,” home inspector Jeff Spain said. “While doing an inspection, it is very common to see a bathroom fan that exhausts into the attic; and, more times than not, I’ll discover that the kitchen stove hood or fan just recycles the exhaust right back into the kitchen.”
        Spain, of To-Be-Sure Home Inspections, added that there are other significant contributors to mold in bathrooms and kitchens.
        “The steam from showers feeds mold in the house; therefore, it needs to be vented to the outside,” Spain said. “Most people do not know that a gas stove literally dumps water vapor into the air that we, and mold, live in. Combustion basically produces one part carbon dioxide and two parts water!”
        Spain emphasized that while kitchens and bathrooms are often breeding grounds for mold, there are many other places in homes that can be the source of a home’s mold problem, the most obvious being the basement. Basic suggestions for mold control include installing gutters, or inspecting them to make sure they’re free of debris.
        According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, there is no practical way to eliminate mold in an indoor environment and that the way to control indoor mold growth is to control moisture.
        Materials that are lighter in weight, which are used in many new homes, provide more food sources for mold. The National Concrete Masonry Association cites a benefit of walls built with concrete masonry is that they will not decay or rot when exposed to moisture or mold. When infected by mold, wood and drywall most likely will require complete removal, but concrete masonry can be cleaned.
        For more information about mold visit the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s website at www.epa.gov/mold. (NUI)

Ice Dams 101
by Sandra Fields

Ever wonder why you get those ice dams every year?
        There’s a simple fix that could save you a significant amount of money and headaches.
        Ice dams occur on your home when four conditions exist... a heated house, freezing temperatures outside, improperly installed attic insulation and most importantly, poor or no attic ventilation.
        Basically speaking, snow on a roof can be unnaturally melted by heat escaping out of the home’s conditioned spaces, when it’s still freezing outside. The melted snow then flows down your warm roof until it reaches the eave or overhang, which is not over the heated house. The water then freezes in that area, creating an ice dam.
        “It’s called a dam because when it gets big enough it can actually cover the whole eave,” Home Inspector Jeff Spain said. ”When this happens, the melted snow flowing down the roof can reach the dam while still over the warm attic and because shingles are designed to shed water as opposed to hold water, the water then back flows under your shingles and into your house.”
        Spain, of To-Be-Sure Professional Home Inspections, said the fix to this problem starts with focusing on venting your attic.
        “The best way to do this is to have “Soffit Vents” installed all around your house along with a “Ridge Vent” on your roof,” he said. ”Be generous when venting too, your ultimate goal is to get your attic’s temperature to equate the outside temperature. This will prevent premature melting. It’s as simple as that.”
        Climbing a ladder and knocking off ice can create more problems than it’s worth. Roof shingles are designed to last 20 to 50 years; if a shovel or pick penetrates the shingle, the protection ends.
        “Don’t use heat tape either,” Spain suggests. “Heat tapes can wear through, energize your gutters and electrocute someone or even start a fire, not to mention increase your utility bill.”
        A major plus with this project is that you’ll simultaneously create other healthy home conditions as well, according to Spain. Some of these extra benefits are:
•Removing unwanted & excessive moisture in your home which may be fogging or frosting your windows.
•Reducing favorable mold conditions, you’ll be extending the life of your whole roof by keeping it cooler with this new venting in the summer,
•Your home will be cooler in the summer which could mean an energy savings,
•Paint won’t peal or “boil” off your eaves anymore
        “Think of your home as a living organism with many systems that need to function properly to keep it healthy which will ensure a longer life for your home,” suggests Spain. “This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the systems in your home.”
        When addressing this issue Spain recommends hiring a reputable contractor to do the job.         “They have the equipment, tools, and the know-how to do it properly,” he said. “It also means you won’t get hurt or kick yourself for doing it wrong.”
        Spain’s website has a virtual home manual that offers more information about your home’s systems and how they all work; go to www.to-be-sure.com  and click on “Home Manual”.