Renovation & Design
Renovation & Design
Address issues with home before warranty expires
Question: We've been living in our newly built home for about a month now. We have a home warranty that will cover some of the problems we might find and I just came across some issues that I was hoping I can get advice on. I noticed one of our guest bedrooms has a vent covered with carpet. As I stepped on the carpet I noticed a soft spot underneath cut out in a shape of a rectangle beside another vent. I'm assuming the builder will fix this. After noticing this, I pulled off all the floor registers for all the vents in the house and noticed two of our vents upstairs on our third floor have no duct work inside. Is this normal? I figured this may be a return vent, but if so shouldn't there be some kind of duct work inside? Also, I noticed our two guest bedrooms, which are smaller than our master bedroom, have more vents to heat the room. Is that normal or abide by code rules?
From the two vents we have in our master bedroom, only one supplies heat and the other vent is one of the vents that have no duct work inside. Is this normal? Do you know any guidelines that lay out all the codes that state what the requirements are for how many should be installed in a room? I just want to be prepared when I bring these issues to our builder. Hope to hear from you soon. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you, Liselle Vicedo
Answer:
One of the least-changed items in our homes over the last half century is the forced-air heating system. Requirements for heating ducts are relatively straightforward and licensed technicians should have all the information required to properly install them in a new home. Despite this, problems such as the ones you have discovered are common and should be immediately addressed to prevent long-term consequences.
In new homes things often get overlooked or mistakes are made, which should be brought to the builder's attention immediately. Most new homes in our area are covered by some form of home warranty. These programs normally require the builder to address and correct issues or errors found within the first year of occupancy. It may be your responsibility to point these out, but the onus is on the contractors to correct any mistakes or omissions.
The difficulty most homeowners run into is builders are often unlikely to return quickly to address these issues, either due to a lack of time or resources.
Regardless, you should immediately contact the builder and alert them to the need to correct the extra opening you have found in your bedroom floor.
There are two possibilities for the presence of the extra rectangular hole in the floor sheathing beneath the carpet in your bedroom. The first is that someone improperly measured the location of the return-air duct and cut a hole in the floor sheathing for the register in the wrong spot. This may also have occurred if the opening was cut and the heating technician decided to move the register, for whatever reason. Since you have a register located beside the other opening, this is the most likely scenario.
In that case, the builder should immediately send a service person to pull back the carpet and patch the opening with a small piece of plywood or OSB sheathing, before re-stretching the carpet to its original location. This quick repair is very important to prevent injury to anyone who may inadvertently step on the void.
The second possibility is the original opening is in the correct location, and the current register was installed in an area where the ducting was improperly thought to be. In that case, the carpet will have to be cut away from the other hole, and the register moved over to the proper location. The difficulty with that situation is repairing the carpet over the improper hole. It may be necessary to replace the entire carpet, or seam a larger section, to make it look good. While the cosmetic aspect of the floor covering may be important to you, the possibility of a missing return-air register will be a more serious concern for proper heat distribution.
In our area, it is acceptable to use the space between the floor joists for the sides of the return-air duct for the forced-air heating system. The bottom of the joist cavity should be covered with metal or foil-covered cardboard, but sometimes only the backside of the drywall ceiling below may be visible. While this configuration may not be allowed in other jurisdictions, the dryness of our ambient air during the heating system prevents this from creating major problems. To determine if the current register is located correctly, you can perform a simple test. When the furnace fan is running on high speed, hold a single sheet of toilet paper or a long-necked lighter just above the register. If the return-air ducting is properly configured, the paper or the flame of the lighter should be drawn toward the register. Care must be taken to prevent the paper from being sucked into the cavity. The lighter test should only be done for a few seconds, at most, to prevent burning the register cover or other components.
There are codes and requirements for proper sizing and capacity of heating ducts, but that should be left up to professionally trained technicians. The location and number of registers for individual rooms may vary depending on proximity to the furnace, size of the rooms, number of windows and other variables beyond the scope of knowledge of most homeowners.
Testing with simple household items to ensure proper airflow is coming in and out of the appropriate registers should be within your skill set. If these simple tests prove negative, or if you find certain rooms have uneven heating or cooling relative to others, contact your builder to review and correct any deficiencies before the expiry of the one-year home warranty provisions.
Ari Marantz is the owner of Trained Eye Home Inspection Ltd. and past president of the Canadian Association of Home & Property Inspectors -- Manitoba (cahpi.mb.ca). Questions can be emailed to the address below. Ari can be reached at 204-291-5358 or check out his website at trainedeye.ca.
trainedeye@iname.com.
Renovation & Design
Don't cry over spilled milk or mouldy bird feeders
QUESTION -- Can you please tell me how I can prevent mould from forming in my hummingbird feeder? Orve, Winnipeg
ANSWER -- The easiest solution for resisting mould in feeders is to move the feeder into the shade. When it comes to hummingbird feeders, the rule of thumb is to change the solution every three days. However, if mould readily accumulates in the feeder, the feeder needs daily cleaning and changing. Boil and cool the water before adding sugar. Keep in mind that the stronger the sugar content in the feeder, the faster the mould forms. Clean the feeder with either vinegar and water or bleach and water. Rinse well.
QUESTION -- I would like to make newspaper logs for an outdoor fireplace. Is it safe for people and the environment to burn newspaper? I appreciate your response. Evelyn, Winnipeg
ANSWER -- According to the EPA, burning newspaper is safe. In fact the EPA recommends, "Start fires only with newspaper, dry kindling and all natural or organic fire starters. Never start a fire with gasoline, kerosene, or charcoal starter."
QUESTION -- My friend had her car for three days and then she spilt a whole quart of milk in the back seat. The smell is AWFUL. Any ideas? Lori (Giroux, MB)
ANSWER -- The first solution is to use heavy-duty laundry detergent (bleach free) and water to blot the entire area that smells. Leave the windows open so that the surface fibers dry. Next slice up apples thinly and lay them all over the entire surface of the milk mess. Leave for a few days, this has had great results! The smell will need time to evaporate. Another option is to blot the area with hydrogen peroxide and ammonia but remember to test this on the upholstery first! Worst case scenario, bring the car to an automotive centre, they will zap the smell with an ozone machine.
QUESTION -- What is the best way to store photo albums so that they do not warp over time? Brent (Brandon, MB)
ANSWER -- You want to get the most out of your photo albums and all of the hard work that you put into making them a lasting memory. Store your albums where you spend most of your time, not in attics or in the basement (where water damage is always a threat). Position albums up and down, vertically, your photos will become warped if stored on their sides.
Handy Hints of the Week
Create your own finger paint by combining together yogurt with food colouring or powdered drink mix. The texture is perfect, and clean-up is lickity split. Submitted By: Merle
Cheese graters can be a hassle to clean. Rub the grater with the pulp side of a lemon and watch the cheese residue come out. Submitted by Max.
I enjoy your questions and tips, keep them coming. Missed a column? Can't remember a solution? Need a Corporate Presenter on the topic: Harness the Power of Words? Check out my website Reena.ca.
Renovation & Design
Solutions: Fixing stains and wobbly locks
QUESTION -- I have four butter knives from the American Silversmiths Collection, and they have stains on them I can't remove. They look like smudges. Can you help? Janet (Winnipeg)
ANSWER -- You may want to purchase the commercial cleaning product recommended by the company. If not, combine two cups of whole milk and one tablespoon of cream of tartar. Soak for 30 mins. Rinse with water and polish with white vinegar. Or take a pan, line it with crumpled aluminum foil and add one teaspoon of salt, one tablespoon of baking soda, half a cup of white vinegar and half a cup of hot water. Place the cutlery onto the foil, making sure every part of the cutlery touches the foil. Wait five mins, then remove and polish.
QUESTION -- My door lock wobbles, and although the door is locked, it feels unstable. How can I stop the lock from wobbling? Adolf (Grunthal)
ANSWER -- Try to tighten the set screw just behind the handle. A lock is only as strong as the door it's attached to. If your door is hollow, consider installing a solid or metal door.
QUESTION -- Is it true brown eggs are healthier than white eggs? I notice brown eggs cost more, so I want to know if they are worth spending a bit more to be healthy. Myron (Rosenort)
ANSWER -- White eggs are just as healthy as brown eggs. The colour of the egg has nothing to do with health properties. However, if you purchase brown eggs one week and white the next, you will easily be able to tell which were purchased first. This works great for people who have difficulty reading small print.
Handy hints of the week:
-- We have "Try on jeans day" in my house, and whatever doesn't go on easily or fit comfortably is donated to charity. That said, zippers can be sticky regardless of the fit, so after nicking a second nail, I pulled out an old crochet needle and voila, problem solved. Charlotte of Charlotte's Place (Winnipeg)
-- Never iron again. Instead of ironing clothing, wet them and throw them into the dryer. Take them out and put them on, wrinkle-free. Hildegard (Morden)
-- Prevent seat cushions from sliding forward by pinning a towel to the base under the cushion. This creates a slip-resistant surface. Tim (Russell)
-- Remove tea stains from teeth by occasionally brushing them with lemon juice. Mona (Winnipeg)
I enjoy your questions and tips, keep them coming. Missed a column? Can't remember a solution? Need a speaker for an upcoming event? Check out Reena.ca.
Renovation & Design
Housing Forum proves highly informative
The Manitoba Home Builders Association conducted its annual Housing Forum last week at the Victoria Inn. There were 19 educational seminars presented.
The day started with keynote speaker Ron Buist, former marketing director for Tim Hortons, informing the crowd about the humble beginnings of the industry giant and how the Roll Up the Rim to Win promotion came to fruition.
Topics included energy efficiency in new homes, on-site project leadership, sales-tracking strategies, communications, marketing plans, healthier workplaces, generational differences and changes to workplace safety and health codes.
One of the highlights every year is the housing-market outlook presented by Diane Himbault of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. Diane spoke in detail about Manitoba's economy and the factors influencing it. Provincially and locally, she looked at the new and resale markets, single-family detached housing and multi-family.
New-home starts have shown a decline in 2014 from the record numbers of last year, with a levelling off for the next two years. An interesting development in new-home construction is the continued growth in percentages of starts by the multi-family (condominiums, apartments, row houses, town homes) sector. The panel consisted of representatives of the building community, the development community and the City of Winnipeg administration.
The panel began with an economic-impact study showing residential construction accounting for 27,300 jobs in Manitoba and 5.9 per cent of the province's GDP. Then, a number of public misconceptions were presented, including new-home margins and who pays for what in a new development.
A study from the Greater Ottawa Home Builders Association was shared with the audience.
Ottawa's numbers are very similar to Winnipeg's. Watch for future columns on housing affordability.
Mike Moore is president of the Manitoba Home Builders' Association.
