Sump Pump Selection: What Size, Type & Backup System Do You Need?

Many homes I inspect have wood-burning fireplaces that have been converted to gas. The choice of many homeowners to convert to gas logs isn’t surprising when you consider how much easier gas fireplaces are to maintain than traditional wood. Of course, nothing beats the authentic look, sound and smell of a real wooden fire, but if you have chosen (or are trying to decide) to convert to gas, there are some key things you should know.

Gas logs come in two varieties: vented and ventless. As their name suggests, vented gas logs are vented, just like real wood fires. This provides a major benefit as well as a major downside. The benefit is that vented gas logs resemble a real wood fire in appearance. The flames dance around the logs in a varied and widespread pattern, similar to what you would see in a traditional wood-burning fireplace, providing a cozy and inviting ambiance. Because they are vented, though, they do not provide much heat as most of the heat goes straight out the chimney. Vented logs require that the fireplace damper be permanently left open, which provides other downsides.

Ventless gas logs are the exact opposite. They do a great job of providing heat, but they do not resemble the look and feel of a real wood fire. Typically, two or three small flames are present and come up through spaces between the logs, touching the logs very little, if at all. You can easily tell that gas logs are ventless by their inauthentic look. Another downside to ventless logs is that they use oxygen from within the home and add moisture to the air. For this reason, they should not be run for long periods and, ideally, only about an hour at a time. It is also advisable to open a window to allow fresh air into the home, which defeats the purpose somewhat of the heating benefit ventless logs provide. The fact that ventless fireplaces deplete oxygen and add moisture has led some municipalities to ban them altogether, and manufacturers have developed sensors for these systems that are designed to shut off the fire if oxygen levels are too low. Of course, these sensors are only effective if they are working properly. In any case, ventless gas logs should only be used for occasional supplemental heating and never as a primary heat source.

If you decide to convert to gas logs, consider what you want most. If you prefer the look and ambiance of a real wood fire above heat, go with vented logs. If your main concern is heat and you aren’t as concerned about the look of your logs and fire, you may wish to go with ventless logs. If you choose ventless, be sure that they are permitted in your area before making the investment, and be diligent in taking safety precautions when running the fireplace.

*To visit our main website, go to http://www.hillinspections.com

Most garage doors these days are overhead and mechanical. They are typically operated by garage door openers from a button and pose some safety risks that don’t come with older, manually operated doors.

Mechanical (electronic) doors come with two main safety features: “red eye” safety lasers and an auto-reverse feature. The red eyes are the lasers located at the bottom of the door tracks. They detect movement and should cause the garage door to stop and reverse if they sense an obstruction in the path of the lasers. You can easily check their proper function by pushing the button to close the door and then sticking your foot out between the lasers. To be most effective,  red eyes should be 6-8 inches off the ground. The auto-reverse is another safety feature that causes the garage door to stop and reverse automatically if the door physically hits an obstruction that exerts a certain amount of resistance to the downward force of the door. You can check this feature by closing the door and physically exerting force with your hand on the bottom of the door as it’s moving downward.

In some cases, red eyes are missing entirely from door tracks. In other cases, the red eyes are present and working fine but the auto-reverse function requires far too much force before the door stops and/or reverses. The auto-reverse is easily adjusted on most door openers on the back of the opener with a screwdriver, and testing the feature and adjusting the setting as necessary is highly recommended.

These built-in garage door safety features are important, and periodic testing of their proper function should be done by any homeowner who owns mechanically operated garage doors. The safety features are especially important for homes that contain small children, as they can easily be hurt, or even crushed, by garage doors if the safety functions are malfunctioning. Human safety is obviously the biggest concern, but damage to vehicles and other objects is also a possibility when the safety features aren’t working as intended.

If you have mechanical garage doors, ensure that red eye lasers are present at the bottom of the door tracks 6-8 inches off the ground and that the auto-reverse is adjusted to respond to minimal force. Doing so could literally save a life, or at least your car, from unexpected damage.

*To visit our main website, go to http://www.hillinspections.com

Water is, without a doubt, the number one enemy of a home. In fact, water causes so much damage that insurance companies do not cover damage from flooding, and backup of sewer and drain is only added to homeowners insurance policies as an endorsement for an extra fee. The federal government does not require major insurance companies to provide insurance coverage for flooding due to the extremely high claim costs. The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) exists for this very reason.

So why is water damage such a big deal? Because water takes a toll on a structure in several ways, not just one. Water causes wood and other materials to rot, compromising their structural integrity. It creates an ideal environment for wood-destroying pests that may move in to take advantage of a prevalent food and water source and subsequently wreak havoc on the structure. Similarly, water and moisture are a breeding ground for microbial matter, like mold, that can cause harm to inhabitants of the house – especially people who are asthmatic or suffer from allergies or respiratory problems. If all that isn’t enough, the musty odor created by water and moisture is enough to make some people sick to their stomach.

A good friend of mine once said that the advent of indoor plumbing is probably the “craziest idea” ever conceived in home building. It’s certainly convenient and something most of us can’t imagine living without (although people did for millennia) and many still do in other parts of the world. It’s true that filling our houses with pressurized water lines is a risk, but modern plumbing practices minimize these risks substantially.

The bottom line for homeowners is this: Leaks are a major enemy and need to be dealt with immediately. Whether the leak is coming from the roof, a water line or a fixture, it must be dealt with immediately to prevent significant damage, expense and risk to health.

Monitor your house for water and moisture intrusion continually, and call in qualified contractors right away for any water related repairs that may arise. Be diligent in fighting the enemies of your home’s integrity – especially water!

*To visit our main website, go to http://www.hillinspections.com

 

When a typical 3-tab asphalt roof needs replaced, roofers will often go over the existing layer of shingles with the new layer. It’s common to see roofs with two or even three layers of shingles; but while this may seem advantageous, it is actually not the preferred method for installing a new roof.

You would probably assume that leaving the old layer of shingles in place is a good idea since it may act as another layer of protection against water. In reality, though, the downsides of keeping the old layer outweigh any possible benefits. Leaving the old layer in place adds extra weight to the roof and increases heat, thus decreasing the life of the new layer on top.

It is more work for the roofer and more money for the homeowner to do things properly, but as is usually the case, the harder way is the best way. If your asphalt roof needs replaced, the old layer of shingles should be completely removed. This exposes the wooden roof decking (sheathing) and allows the roofer to make any necessary repairs to the wood to ensure a solid base for the new layer of shingles. It also makes the entire installation process of the new shingles easier and cleaner. The proper method guarantees that the weight on the roof is kept as low as possible and that the shingles are not subjected to unnecessary adverse conditions that will decrease their useful life and, thus, your investment. After all, roofs aren’t cheap!

Removing the old layer of shingles adds quite a bit of extra work, which increases labor costs. There are also additional fees for hauling away and dumping the old layer. Still, it’s worth it in the long run to do things right.

If your roof currently has two layers of shingles, it’s no cause to panic. Just be sure that when you end up needing to have a new roof installed in the future you instruct the roofing contractor to remove all layers and repair any damaged roof sheathing before installing the new roof. Years after, you’ll be very glad that you paid more for a job well done and that your new roof will likely last longer than if you had taken the easier, less costly route.

*To visit our main website, go to http://www.hillinspections.com

Common tank water heaters last, on average, about 10 to 15 years. Some last longer and, of course, some don’t last as long; but there’s one thing homeowners can do to help extend the life of their water heater, and that’s draining the tank to remove built up sediment.

Water heaters have an anode rod, typically made of magnesium or aluminum, which attracts hard water deposits. The rod exists to “take the hit” so that the water heater itself won’t. The rod should ideally be replaced about once every five years, but that is another maintenance tip altogether and not the focus of this article.

While the rod does a good job at attracting sediment, it doesn’t collect all the sediment. Some settles at the bottom of the tank where it forms what looks like a coral reef pattern, and this sediment needs to be drained out of the tank periodically to help the water heater function up to par.

How often you should drain your water heater depends on how hard your water is and how prone it is to sediment buildup. If you have city water or a water softener, draining the tank at least annually is a good idea. If not, you may want to drain your tank more like every six months.

To drain your water heater, first shut off the power at the breaker or the gas at the gas supply line. Once the fuel source is turned off, you can close the valve to the cold water line that feeds into the water heater and attach a hose to the drain valve at the bottom of the tank. You will want to run the hose outside or into a nearby floor drain if you have one. Next, open the pressure relief valve near the top of the tank and open the drain valve to allow the water in the tank to drain out through the hose. Once all the water is drained and the tank is empty, you can open the valve to the cold water supply line to allow water into the tank that will help flush out any remaining sediment. Finally, remove the hose, close the drain and pressure valves, and restore power to the water heater. If your water heater is gas, you’ll need to relight the pilot after reopening the gas valve.

The process may sound a bit complicated, but it’s really very simple. After draining your water heater a time or two, you’ll likely be very comfortable with the process and perfectly capable of doing it as often as needed. If you don’t feel comfortable tackling this job on your own, you always have the option of calling in a qualified plumber who will be able to properly drain your water heater and help extend its useful life.

*To visit our main website, go to http://www.hillinspections.com