Watson's Journal,July 2000. From Sherlock Homes Inspection, Ltd.

Issue # 13 Welcome to Watson's Journal!

HOME OWNERSHIP 101: The things everyone else forgot to tell you!

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Watson's Journal, July 25, 2000 From Sherlock Homes Inspection, Ltd.

Hello, homeowners, once again somewhat belatedly. I have spent the last 10 days or so in the North Woods, enjoying a bit of the Summer. The Shore of Gitchee Gumee is not a place I would like to be in Winter. Of course, if the present crop of rumors and speculation turns out to be true, we will all be facing the cold with a bit less confidence this year.

Rumor has it that natural gas reserves, which are normally high and growing at this time of year, are low and shrinking. Speculators are salivating, and utility companies are looking forward to "enhancing stockholder value". In other words, grab your wallet, here they come again! Industry analysts are already tossing around doubled rates, and the leaves haven't even turned color yet!

If you happen to be one of those speculators or stockholders, you have nothing to worry about. The rest of us should be thinking about ways to reduce fuel usage. To those of us who lived through the 70's, this sounds a bit like a rerun, but I'm hoping to avoid some of the dumb mistakes we made back when "energy efficiency" was a brand new buzzword. Here are some examples of conservation gone whacko.

Caulking the windows shut.

Just don't. Why not? Windows are considered mainly as sources for light and air. I suppose a caulked window lets in plenty of light, and air is what we are trying to eliminate. But let's not forget the third, possibly more important function of a window: Fire escape. If you can't open it easily, with blinding, choking smoke all around you, the cost to you may be high indeed.

If you caulk to eliminate air leaks, limit it to those points on the outside where the window framing meets the siding or brick. You may find small holes or slots in the bottom of the storm window frame, where it meets the sill. Those are drain holes for rain and condensation. If they get caulked shut or filled with paint, the deterioration of the wood and finishing accelerates rapidly. Leave the drain holes open.

Closing attic vents.

In some pre-1960 homes, I find little doors mounted beside or below the attic vents, apparently so people could close the vents in the winter. This illustrates how much has been learned about house science in the last few years. NEVER close an attic vent. An attic should be "unconditioned" space. The temperature we are aiming for is the same temp as the outdoors. Your insulation should be placed on top of the ceiling, to thermally separate the indoor "conditioned" space from the attic. Years ago, people didn't understand this, and some of them placed insulation so as to separate the attic from the outdoors. I find insulation stapled between roof rafters, where it cooks the shingles and traps humidity in winter. Bad idea, but we really didn't know better back in the 50's.

The worst case of bad-attic-itis I have seen was a 12-year old colonial in Macomb County. In an apparent fit of energy-conservation, the owners had placed plastic bags over the roof vents! In addition, they had a high-capacity flow-through humidifier, furnace mounted, which apparently had never been shut off. The roof sheathing, which had once been plywood, was now a mass of black mush. I could grab handfuls of it and wring out the water. Anyone attempting to walk on the roof would have fallen right through. Of course, the roofing and sheathing all needed to be replaced, immediately. This substantial expense was a direct result of deliberately blocked vents, aided by an overactive humidifier.

Hyperhumidification. (!)

That brings up the next point. People who sell humidifiers are glad to tell you how much energy they save, by making the air feel warmer. Up to a point, that makes sense. That point is 50% relative humidity. Higher than that, and you risk creating the kind of problems I just described in your attic. There are a number of airborne molds and fungi that multiply as RH goes past 50%, so you can actually create respiratory problems for yourself by running that thing too much. I will have more to say about this in a future article, but for now, just be aware that running a humidifier on a high setting isn't a smart way to save energy.

Adding flue dampers.

Oh, yes, those wonderful devices that were supposed to close off the connector pipe between the furnace and the chimney when the flame was off, thereby saving hundreds of dollars worth of lost heat. Sounded great in theory! I installed one on my own furnace in 1982. Now we know...

We know that the air moving up the chimney during furnace idle times serves an important purpose: it dries out the chimney! Who knew that chimneys needed drying out? Nobody, until we started shutting off this air flow. Then, the water vapor that is produced by the combustion process began accumulating in the chimney, saturating the masonry. What happens to saturated masonry when it freezes? You guessed it, the brick falls apart. Walk down your street and look at the chimneys, particularly the top 5 or 6 feet. If you see damaged or recently repaired brick, and the house is less than 50 years old, you can bet there is a flue damper on the connector pipe between furnace and chimney. (Changing to a higher-efficiency furnace can also produce this problem, but that is another article.) Dampers also trap moisture in the furnace itself, accelerating the rusting process, shortening the lifespan of the furnace. Some furnace manufacturers were voiding warranties for people with flue dampers. So, how much were we saving here?

We also know that these dampers, particularly the "thermally actuated" type that don't have a motor on them, tend to jam shut, causing dangerous combustion products to spill into the basement. That's right, carbon monoxide. Even new dampers can have problems if not installed correctly. My observations of hundreds of them show that about 20% were installed incorrectly. If you have one of these things, my advice is to have your heating contractor take it out.

Between now and the first snow, I will go over the smart ways to save on heating costs. Now, it's time for the monthly nag. Smoke alarms tested? Good! Spring tree crud out of the gutters? Not yet, eh? How about cleaning that A/C unit outside? And trimming the shrubs away from it. All riiight!

Questions? Comments? Friends who could use this information? Suggestions for future articles? Drop me a note at matthewb@rust.net. Also, please check out the web site.