Fireplace tips

It’s that time of year where the nights are getting colder and having a fire in your fireplace seems like a great idea. There’s a few things you need to do before you use that fireplace to make sure it’s safe.

First, if possible you should get up on your roof and make sure the exterior components are in good shape. Inspect the flashings for gaps and a tight seal to the roof. If you find any gaps you should caulk and seal them to prevent any moisture from intruding.  Next, inspect the chimney itself for any damaged or missing mortar or for anything growing in the mortar. Moss growing in the mortar can cause it to crack and that may lead to further damage. Next check that concrete cap or metal cap at the top for cracks or rust. Cracks and rust can let moisture down and cause issues down in the firebox. If you find cracks make sure to seal them with a concrete repair kit or concrete caulking. If you've got quite a bit of rust on your chimney cap you might need to replace it.

Next, go back inside and look at the fireplace itself. Check the hearth for any damaged material and make repairs if needed. Look inside the firebox for any damage or cracking in the brick or metal. Damage here could lead to bad drafting of the fire and that could lead to thicker creosote build up which is a serious fire hazard. Next, make sure your damper is operable, make sure it opens and closes. If it isn’t working you may be losing a lot of heating or cooling up your chimney making your heating and cooling bills a lot higher. Next, grab a flashlight and shine it up into the flue and check for any cracks or build up. If you spot a build up or cracking then it’s time to call in a chimney sweep and have you fireplace professionally cleaned.

Now that you've got your fireplace in good working order there’s a few things you need to know to making a good fire. Make sure you use only good seasoned wood. Don’t use anything that’s green or freshly cut. Freshly cut or green woods spark and may cause a fire where you don’t want one to be. Don’t use newspaper to start your fire either instead use the newspaper to warm up the top of the firebox or throat so the smoke is drawn up into the flue and not out into the room. You can also use a fire starter log to do the same thing. Once the throat is warm you can build your fire on top of the fire starter log.  Make sure to use your fireplace screen and keep it closed when you have a fire going to prevent any sparks or embers from entering the room. Never use any liquids or trash to start a fire.  Remember to clean out the fireplace of ashes prior to starting your next fire. Those ashes may be hot for several days so dispose of them into a metal container and let them sit for a few days before putting them into the trash or your compost pile.

This might seem like a lot of work but in 2009 alone over 25% of home heating fires were caused by failing to properly clean creosote from chimneys. So spend a little time and money to keep your fireplace clean and in good working order this winter season. 

Carbon Monoxide Prevention

Since things are starting to cool down and you may be thinking about starting that furnace up for the first time you might want to think about the silent and sometimes deadly killer. Carbon monoxide. It is colorless and odorless but at high levels it can kill you. It can be especially dangerous as you sleep since you’ll never notice the symptoms until it’s too late.

Carbon monoxide can be given off by anything that burns. From having a fire in your fireplace to your gas stove to your gas or oil furnace. If your appliances are working correctly or you’re using them correctly then there should be no issues. Idling cars in their garages is one of the major causes for carbon monoxide poisoning.  But there are a few effects that you should be on the look out for. Headaches, dizziness, nausea and mental confusion are a few symptoms. Fetuses, infants and the elderly are especially susceptible to the effects are carbon monoxide.

Over 400 deaths are reported each year due to carbon monoxide poisoning. The good news is that there are ways to help prevent and detect carbon monoxide.  Have your furnace and/or fireplace routinely checked and cleaned.  Make sure all flues are properly connected and cleaned. Also, having good ventilation in your home is crucial; having a tight home will only trap the “bad” air. There are also some Don’ts. Don’t start your car in the garage in the winter to warm up, even with the garage door open, the fumes still can quickly gather and even possibly enter your home. Don’t sleep in any room with an unvented fuel burning appliance.  Installing carbon monoxide detectors in the proper areas is very important. Follow the instruction manual very carefully. Place a carbon monoxide detector outside sleeping areas so if they sound you will wake; also place one on every level of your home. Do not place them too close to furnace or cooking appliance, normally not within 15 feet.

If you do feel like your suffering any of the effects of carbon monoxide poisoning, open all the doors and windows to your home, turn off all fuel burning appliances and get out to the fresh air. Call 911 or go to the emergency room and tell the doctors you suspect carbon monoxide poisoning; it can be confirmed through blood tests if soon after exposure.

                        Remember prevention is the key!

What Should You Expect at your Home Inspection

If you’re a first time home buyer nothing is more confusing or daunting than the home buying process.  After looking at many different properties and finally putting an offer in you have come to the home inspection part of the process. 

Who do you choose and how do you find a competent inspector? First, your inspector should belong to the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) which is the only association to have their inspectors certified by a third party. http://www.stlashi.org/ is your portal to find a local inspector. Make sure to ask your potential inspector what their fee will be, if you should attend the inspection, how long they have been inspecting and if they are an ACI or ASHI Certified Inspector.

Now that you’ve chosen you’re inspector make sure to review the sellers disclosure and make a list of any questions about the property you may have. Now on to the actual inspection, you and your family may be present at the inspection but try not to invite everyone, like your friend the contractor. This will just distract your inspector away from his task and this won’t serve you the client very well.  Your real estate agent should be present so they can help guide you through the process after the inspection.

Your inspector will inspect everything from the roof all the way down to the basement and almost everything in between. Your inspector will check the furnace, the electrical panel, run lots of water to check for leaks, open and close windows and doors, check outlets and look for safety issues such as missing handrails and lack of GFCI’s (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters). Your home inspector may not inspect pools or septic systems, those usually require specialized inspections. Your inspector will also show you how to operate your systems and where your water shutoff is. During the process you should ask your inspector all of your questions you may have had, other questions will probably come up during the inspection and you should ask your inspector those as well.  

After all this your inspector will produce a report and typically most will email you the finished report either the same evening or the next day. Take your time and read the entire report no matter how boring and time consuming it may seem. The report will contain all the pertinent information on the house and should also contain pictures of a lot of the defects. Depending on the inspector he may also include a summary, this is usually all the defects and is primarily for the real estate agent which they may use as a part of the negotiations. Once you receive the report and have questions make sure to contact the inspector and ask your questions as this is all part of the inspection process.

Now comes the time where you and you’re real estate agent get together and figure out what your next step is, whether that is negotiation or choosing your paint colors. This is by no means a complete tutorial on the inspection process but may give you some insight into the process. As you can see getting an inspection is very important and although may seem like a scary process shouldn't be skipped. 

Water Heater Maintenance And Care

Our water heaters are tucked away, out of daily view in utility cabinets/rooms, corners of garages, and even in attics. They are all but forgotten about until they fail or worse yet leak and damage the home! According to the latest National Association of Home builder’s study (Study Of Life Expectancy Of Home Components) the average life of an electric water heater is 11 years, with a gas water heater at 10 years (both excluding tankless water heaters).  The key to a water heaters age is proper installation, treatment, and a regular maintenance program.

So what can you do to help extend the age of your water heater? It is as simple as reading, understanding, and following the manufacturer’s recommendations in your owner’s manual. What, you no longer have a copy of the owner’s manual? Not to worry with the Internet at your beck and call all you need to do is search the manufacturer’s name and the water heater model number. Most all manuals are made available at the click of a mouse. If the manual is not available the manufacturer’s WEB site and support numbers would be. Call them and they will send you a copy of the manual. If you have questions and/or suspect an improper installation it is well worth having a licensed professional Plumber come to your home and review the installation for any needed corrections. Here I will summarize what most manufacturer’s are recommending for treatment and maintenance of your water heater.

Proper Treatment Of Your Water Heater

• Never store anything on top of or around your water heater in close proximity to it. The utility closet for your unit is not meant for storage of mops, brooms, cleaners, etc. Water heaters need to breathe too, especially gas water heaters. Storing items in this fashion can cause significant issues with the water heaters operation and pose a risk of fires.
• Never attach anything to a water heater, its piping, or its electrical and gas supply systems without first consulting a licensed Plumber or consulting the manufacturer. What has been installed for the water heater was not meant for use by any other system or person’s use other than the use of the hot water itself. That includes not installing an insulating blanket around the water heater’s tank unless approved by the manufacturer. Newer water heaters are very well insulated and rarely require the use of a blanket wrap. These wraps can cause various issues and can block view of deteriorating conditions.
• If you plan to remodel or expand your home to include additional hot water plumbing fixtures then consult a licensed professional Plumber before you even sign a contract for the work. The water heater in most all homes has been sized and placed based on the current needs of the home when it was originally built. Depending on the proposed work your water heater might not be able to adequately handle the additional hot water needs.
• If you plan to leave the home vacant for an extended period of time then follow the manufacturer’s instructions for properly deactivating, and draining if necessary, the water heater. Extended periods of non-usage can cause issues with a water heater if left actively in a heating mode.
• Never close the cold water supply valve without first shutting off the electric or gas to the water heater. If the water heater drains, or sets for long periods of time, and is not refilled then damage can occur to the tank and other components.
• Even though your water heater is capable of having a thermostat setting to an extremely hot setting it should be kept as low as needed to provide hot water for your use. Water temperatures at 120 Degrees can take as little as 5 minutes to produce a serious burn on a person. At 125 Degrees that is reduced down to 2 minutes. The hotter you run your water heater the more chance of injury, the harder it must work, and the shorter its life tends to be.
• Develop and follow a routine maintenance plan to help your water heater not only last longer but function more efficiently.

Water heater routine maintenance

• Perform a visual inspection of your water heater at least on a monthly basis. You should be looking for rust on the unit, rust on piping, damages, leaking, damage and blockage to the piping for the safety drain pan and the Temperature and Pressure Relieve Valve (TPRV), leakage/dampness on the unit and/or dampness in the drain pan, piping or surrounding areas, leaking from the TPRV, dripping from the TPRV and safety drain pan where they terminate outside the home, as well as any other unusual or abnormal conditions. Other abnormal conditions are the appearance of deposits on or around a gas water heater that looks like soot and unusual odors around gas and electric water heaters.
• During your monthly visual inspection is a good time clean the top and sides of the water heater with a damp cloth. Also clean the utility and/or surrounding areas of dirt, dust and debris. With electric water heaters be careful not to wet the electrical connections. With gas water heaters use caution not to burn yourself and do not attempt to clean any hot surfaces.
• On a monthly basis run a functional flow test by turning on two or more hot water faucets near each other. If a flow is notably reduced from normal previous tests then run this same test on the cold water faucets. If flow is not reduced from normal past tests you might have a water heater issue. Check that the water heater cold water supply valve has not been partially closed. If not then call a plumber to evaluate the issue. This is not a normal test specified by water heater manufacturers but is a helpful one to watch for problems in a water heater that can shorten the life of the water heater.
• On a monthly basis use a a regular cooking thermometer to test the temperature of your hot water. You can do this by running the hot water until it appears to be running steadily at its full temperature. Using a contact style thermometer, a turkey basting thermometer will work, hold the probe under the water until the temperature reading stabilizes. Compare this to what you have the water heater’s thermostat(s) set to. Over time we do not notice gradual changes in temperatures. This is not a normal test specified by water heater manufacturers but is a helpful one to watch for problems in a water heater that can shorten the life of the water heater, and ensure your safety in the event the thermostats are malfunctioning.
• Continually watch your water faucets for build-up of minerals, debris, and discoloring at the faucet heads. Scaling and build-ups could indicate a water condition with high mineral contents. This is not a normal test specified by water heater manufacturers but is a helpful one to watch for problems that can shorten the life of the water heater.
• Check for and drain off any sediment in the bottom of the tank. This is typically advised to be performed on a monthly to quarterly basis. However review the owner’s manual for the recommended interval and procedures.
• Your water heater is equipped with a rod installed inside the tank and called a “sacrificial anode”. Its purpose is to attract minerals and deposits to it and keep them off of the inside walls of the tank. The sacrificial anode will deteriorate and if left to deteriorate to far can cause other issues with the water heater and the quality of the water. These should be inspected at regular intervals as required by the manufacturer. Unless you have experience with inspecting these I would recommend that you have a professional Plumber perform this inspection.
• For gas water heaters we would recommend that you have at least an annual carbon monoxide (CO) test performed at least annually to check for potential issues with the water heater. During your monthly visual inspections I would test all of your CO detectors for proper operation.
• Manually test your TPRV on an annual basis as directed by your users manual. You should have the TPRV inspected and replaced by a licensed Plumber at the interval specified by the manufacturer.

The average replacement cost for a good quality, 50 gallon, hot water heater is approximately $800 (materials, labor, permits, disposal of old unit, etc.). That $800 can climb dramatically if a water heater failure occurs causing damage to building components around it. This can all be avoided with proper treatment and maintenance of your water heater.

Knowledge is power, but sharing knowledge brings peace!

We have seen several dream homes with high levels of radon and have worked with both buyers and sellers through this process.

It can be frightening to have your home inspector tell you that your dream home has high levels of radon. Before you put your dream on hold, learn about radon and radon remediation.

According to the EPA, Radon is an invisible radioactive gas that seeps into homes undetected through foundation cracks, and can reach harmful levels if trapped indoors. It travels up from underground sources of uranium in the earth's crust. EPA estimates that one in 15 homes will have a radon level of four PicoCuries per liter (pCi/L) of air or more, a level the agency considers high.

Here's the scary part:

--Breathing home indoor radon causes nearly one hundred times more deaths each year than carbon monoxide poisoning.

--Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer behind smoking.

--Some 20,000 people will die this year due to breathing too much radon without even knowing it.

The radon threat is preventable with some simple steps. In existing homes, families can begin protecting themselves by buying an easy-to-use radon test kit to determine if a high level exists; if so, a high level might be lowered simply with a straight-forward radon venting system installed by a contractor. In new homes, builders can easily and economically include radon-resistant features during construction, and home buyers should ask for these. EPA also recommends that home buyers ask their builder to test for radon gas before they move in.

In our area, a professional radon test costs around $75. You can also test your own home for less at http://www.homeradontest.com/. If high levels of radon are found, it is possible to have a radon remediation system installed in your home. This system removes the radon and can bring your home back to normal levels. In our area, a radon remediation system costs between $1200 & $1500. It is less expensive to have one done if you have a full basement. However, our remediator says that he is able to remove more radon from a home when it is on a crawl space instead of a basement. See photo on left for what a remediation system looks like.

RADON SCORES:

Less than 4.0: Low probability of significant health risk
Between 4 & 10: It is recommended to mitigate readings above 4.0. This should be performed within 6-12 months.
Between 10 & 200: Perform mitigation and follow up as soon as possible.
If you are thinking about selling your home, or for your own safety, you might consider getting a radon test. It is important to know that if you are aware of high levels of radon in your home that you must disclose this to all potential buyers. In most cases, it is well worth it to have the test done and remediate the home if necessary. This will eliminate a potential issue on your home inspection, and gives you piece of mind for your family's safety.

Tankless or not

From Consumer Reports Magazine

Tankless water heaters

They're efficient but not necessarily economical

Heating water accounts for up to 30 percent of the average home's energy budget. Some makers of gas-fired tankless water heaters claim their products can cut your energy costs up to half over regular storage heaters. So is it time to switch?

Probably not. Gas tankless water heaters, which use high-powered burners to quickly heat water as it runs through a heat exchanger, were 22 percent more energy efficient on average than the gas-fired storage-tank models in our tests. That translates into a savings of around $70 to $80 per year, based on 2008 national energy costs. But because they cost much more than storage water heaters, it can take up to 22 years to break even—longer than the 20-year life of many models. Moreover, our online poll of 1,200 readers revealed wide variations in installation costs, energy savings, and satisfaction.

With the help of an outside lab, we pitted Takagi and Noritz gas-fired tankless water heaters against three storage water heaters. We didn't test electric tankless heaters because many can't deliver hot water fast enough to replace a conventional water heater if ground­water is cold. Even in areas with warm groundwater, most homeowners would need to upgrade their electrical service to power a whole-house tankless model.

Our tests simulated daily use of 76 to 78 gallons of hot water. That's the equivalent of taking three showers, washing one laun­dry load, running the dishwasher once (six cycles), and turning on the faucet nine times, for a total of 19 draws. While that's considered heavy use compared with the standard Department of Energy test, we think it more accurately represents an average family's habits. We also ran more than 45,000 gallons of very hard water through a tanked model and a Rinnai tankless model to simulate about 11 years of regular use.

Here's what else we found:

Water runs hot and cold

Manufacturers of tankless water heaters are fond of touting their products' ability to provide an endless amount of hot water. But inconsistent water temperatures were a common complaint among our poll respondents. When you turn on the faucet, tankless models feed in some cold water to gauge how big a temperature rise is needed. If there's cool water lingering in your pipes, you'll receive a momentary "cold-water sandwich" between the old and new hot water. And a tankless water heater's burner might not ignite when you try to get just a trickle of hot water for, say, shaving.

Nor do tankless water heaters deliver hot water instantaneously. It takes time to heat the water to the target temperature, and just like storage water heaters, any cold water in the pipes needs to be pushed out. And tankless models' electric controls mean you'll also lose hot water during a power outage.

Up-front costs are high

The tankless water heaters we tested cost $800 to $1,150, compared with $300 to $480 for the regular storage-tank types. Tankless models need electrical outlets for their fan and electronics, upgraded gas pipes, and a new ventilation system. That can bring average installation costs to $1,200, compared with $300 for storage-tank models.

Tankless units might need more care

During our long-term testing, an indicator on the tankless model warned of scale buildup. We paid $334 for special valves and a plumber to flush out the water heater with vinegar. Many industry pros recommend that tankless models be serviced once a year by a qualified technician. Calcium buildup can decrease efficiency, restrict water flow, and damage tankless models. Experts suggest installing a water softener if your water hardness is above 11 grains per gallon. Ignoring this advice can shorten your warranty.

Efficient storage models are pricey

We also tested the $1,400 Vertex, a high-efficiency storage water heater by A.O. Smith. The manufacturer claims its installation costs are similar to a regular storage model. But its high cost offsets much of the roughly $70 per year the Vertex will save you. Instead, we recommend buying a conventional storage water heater with a 9- or 12-year warranty. In previous tests, we found that those models generally had thicker insulation, bigger burners or larger heating elements, and better corrosion-fighting metal rods called anodes.

Posted: September 2008 — Consumer Reports Magazine issue: October 2008