Renovation & Design
Renovation & Design
ASK THE INSPECTOR: Home's air pressure a delicate matter
QUESTION: I am the owner of a home with a cold, damp basement with no cold air returns. In your Aug 2010 Free Press article you advised that return air ducts will help to reduce the cold and dampness of a basement living area. You did not mention any concerns about creating a negative air pressure that might introduce CO2 into a house. Is this issue real?
Thanks, Garth Drake
ANSWER: Negative air pressure in a home can be quite a complex issue, and have one or more of several causes, but return air ducting in a basement is not likely one of them. We will explore the implications of this phenomenon, discuss some possible reasons it could happen and the correlation to your question about CO2 buildup.
While it may seem like a very technical scientific thing to understand, negative pressure in a home results simply when the air pressure inside the home is lower than that outside the building. This normally occurs when more air is leaving the interior of the living space than is being replenished from outside the building.
While this may happen on occasion due to unusual weather conditions, such as very high winds or severe storms, normally it is caused by mechanical means. Drawing too much air out of the home by use of exhaust fans, dryers, or through the chimneys of wood burning appliances can lead to lower air pressure inside, especially in well sealed homes during the heating season.
The reason that air-pressure differentials are so important in buildings is that severe problems can occur in a few areas if a reasonable balance is not achieved. If there is too high a positive pressure within a structure, a large amount of air leakage can occur into the exterior walls, attic and other components of the building envelope. Within this air is dissolved water vapour, which can wreak havoc if it becomes trapped in these areas. Rot, mould, and major structural damage can occur if this phenomenon goes unchecked for a long period of time.
Conversely, negative air pressure can cause uncomfortable drafts around windows and doors, back-drafting of fireplaces and gas or oil-fired furnaces and water heaters, and poor indoor air quality. This can have major health effects on the occupants of the home, especially if it is strong enough to cause products of combustion to leak into the interior air rather than harmlessly venting outside.
One solution to a negative-pressure situation is to bring in additional air from outside to compensate for the larger volume exiting the living space, no matter the cause. This can be done by installing a fresh-air intake duct into the furnace area or return-air ducting or by installation of a mechanical ventilation system such as an HRV.
Care must be taken to properly install either a passive or mechanical fix, to prevent frost, condensation or a large rise in energy consumption in the heating system. Use of insulated ducting, mechanical dampers, or a properly balanced heat recovery ventilation systems should help prevent this issue.
The largest concern with a building under a negative air pressure condition, is the quality of this air in the indoor environment. To maintain a healthy living space for occupants of any building, the stale indoor air must be exhausted and replaced with fresh air many times a day. This is necessary to reduce odours, excessive moisture, products from heating and cooking appliances, and especially products of human metabolism.
Chief among these indoor pollutants may be carbon dioxide (CO2). As humans and animals breathe, we absorb oxygen from the air and expel CO2 from our lungs. In a primarily closed system, such as the inside of a Canadian home during the heating season, we must actively remove CO2 to prevent poisoning ourselves. While this may be achieved by active use of bathroom and kitchen exhaust fans, too much ventilation can cause the negative pressure issue we are addressing. This is a common problem in some homes with countertop ranges that have powerful integral downdraft kitchen fans.
he good news is that the same cure for equalizing a differential in indoor and outdoor air pressures addresses the air quality issue beautifully. By bringing in additional fresh outside air, not only is the pressure equalized, but the problem of CO2 buildup is eliminated. Whether an HRV is incorporated into the HVAC components of your home, or a simple fresh air intake duct, ensuring an adequate number of "air changes" per hour is the key.
Adding return air ducting and registers to your basement should improve air movement in this area, and throughout the entire home, which can only help increase the warmth and dryness you desire. Anything that moves the air through the home more efficiently will also benefit attempts to maximize air changes, further improving indoor air quality.
This may have minimal affect on pressure differentials or CO2 issues, but adding a fresh air intake into the return air ducting at the same time can dramatically reduce chances that neither will be a future concern.
Ari Marantz is the owner of Trained Eye Home Inspection Ltd. and the President of the Canadian Association of Home & Property Inspectors - Manitoba (www.cahpi.mb.ca). Questions can be e-mailed to the address below. Ari can be reached at (204) 291-5358 or check out his website at www.trainedeye.ca.
trainedeye@iname.com
Renovation & Design
SOLUTIONS: Be selective when picking a pillow
QUESTION: I have allergies, and I am wondering if you can give me your opinion on the best pillow to buy? Does the pillow make a difference? Jane (Cartwright, Man.)
ANSWER: You are smart to be selective about your pillow choice because if you consider how many hours your face is pressed against the fibres of your pillow, it can definitely aggravate allergy symptoms. Consider purchasing a hypoallergenic synthetic or latex pillow. Another option is to purchase a pillow protector. There are some pillow protectors that are impermeable and even pouring boiling water onto the protector doesn't allow water to absorb into the pillow.
Do your research and study consumer reports before selecting a pillow. Keep in mind that the most expensive pillows don't necessarily have the best consumer rating.
QUESTION: We recently purchased a used trailer. After the purchase and before the possession date, the owner spilt a bottle of air freshener onto the carpet. The carpet now has a small white patch on it. How can I remove this stain? Anonymous (Brandon, Man.)
ANSWER: It sounds as though the carpet is bleached and unfortunately you are not dealing with a stain that needs to be taken out. Instead, you will need to put colour back into the carpet. Because the area is noticeable, but small, you can easily hide the mark. Head over to your nearest paint store with a remnant of the carpet or an item that is the same colour as the carpet. Purchase the smallest available container of latex paint and gently sponge the paint onto the carpet. Remember that paint always dries a few shades lighter, so be sure to colour match before applying the paint.
QUESTION: I am excited to once again create my own hummingbird food and want to share the recipe with your readers. Into my feeder I put one part honey, four parts water and three drops red food colouring. The hummingbirds love it and I love watching them. Bernice (MacGregor, Man.)
ANSWER: I agree, hummingbirds are one of the most exciting and fun birds to watch. I do want to caution you that honey in a hummingbird feeder has the potential to cause sores in birds' mouths. Also, it is not necessary to add red food colouring to the mixture as it has not been satisfactorily tested for safety.
You are definitely on the right track, but substitute honey for plain old white sugar and leave out the red food colouring. Boil the solution for two minutes and cool before pouring it into the feeder. Most manufactured hummingbird feeders are red and this should be enough colour to attract those beautiful birds.
Fabulous tip of the week
-- A rattling ceiling fan is often caused by a moving glass light fixture and can be prevented with a rubber band. To stop the noise, stretch elastic around the neck where the screws go in.
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 my brand new videos/blog/website:
www.reena.ca!
Renovation & Design
Getting to the guts of rain gutters
With spring rain season ahead, gutters have become a hot topic.
Gutters and downspouts funnel water away from foundations or basement walls. An eavestrough system is a main line of defence in protecting a house from the elements of rain, snow and ice.
Options include fast-flow "V" shaped funnels that are installed to open the eavestrough leading to the down pipe two to four times bigger than the normal size. The higher flow can carry debris through the downpipe.
Drain guards may also be installed about three feet (0.9 metres) above the ground and are designed to catch the last small debris pieces and allow the water to run through into the drain. They are easily cleaned by simply sliding out the basket and removing the debris.
Gutter grates are another popular option, they simply attach to the top of the gutter and sit flush with the roof to deflect debris that would normally be blown into the gutters.
One-piece seamless gutters keep debris out while letting rain into gutters. They are made of heavier aluminum, are professionally installed and are a permanent solution that saves owners from paying to have their gutters professionally cleaned.
-- Postmedia News
Renovation & Design
Ask the inspector: Home inspections not just for buyers
QUESTION: My family lives in an older home in a well established older neighbourhood in Winnipeg. I have a dilemma that I hope you can help me with.
My husband and I are debating the merits of renovating our older home as opposed to adding an addition for more space, demolishing the house and building a new one on the lot, or moving to a larger home altogether. We have admittedly let several things in the home slide over the years, as we have been very busy with normal family and work commitments. As our children have matured we have outgrown the home, need more space, but love the area and have no desire to leave.
We have contacted a contractor we like who has recommended the demolition-and-rebuild option, partly due to the slope in the home. There is a very noticeable slope in the floors, and we are not sure if there is anything that can be done to fix this, or whether it is due to a damaged foundation. We are also in need of several major upgrades like eavestroughs, windows, kitchen cabinets and flooring.
We are not sure whether it is worth spending the money necessary to fix all of these items, or to knock down the old house and build new. We love our street and our large lot with mature trees and are not fond of newer subdivisions.
Could a home inspection help us answer these questions? Thanks, Carol Yamron
ANSWER: A thorough home inspection may not provide you with the wisdom to make the best choice for your family, but will certainly help identify the number and severity of items in your home that need repairs or upgrading. A Registered Home Inspector (RHI) will also be able to advise on the practicality of provide an opinion as to the possibility of repairing your sloped-floor problem.
It's quite refreshing to receive an inquiry like yours, which is asking for advice from a home inspector before jumping into a major renovation or reconstruction project. Too many homeowners are seduced by the idea of a shiny new kitchen or home without understanding the work and anxiety involved. If you think there is stress in the decision you're facing, think about what's involved in living in a home without a functional kitchen for several weeks or moving out for a year or more while your house is knocked down and rebuilt.
Anyone who has lived through such a situation can attest to the disruption caused to home life by such major changes. While not a part of a typical home inspection, these intangible issues should play a big part in your decision.
Every year I get more inquiries about doing inspections for current homeowners, rather than buyers. Many of these clients are looking for advice, like you, about items that need attention to maintain their homes in good condition. Many have received conflicting quotes and advice from contractors, friends, neighbours and family members about the need for various renovations.
The benefit of hiring a home inspector is that the information gained is completely unbiased and based only on the condition of the home. Home inspectors are trained to differentiate between an item in need of immediate, major repair from less-urgent ones that may be attended to over time. Inspectors that have construction or trade experience may also be able to help you decide whether repairs are practical and cost-effective. This would help you decide about the possibility of repairs to minimize the slope in your floor.
Another benefit of a complete inspection is to help you prioritize the repairs and upgrades, should you decide to stay put. While it sounds like an ideal situation to repair everything at once, doing so may be so disruptive that you'd ave to put many of your possessions in temporary storage for the work to be completed. It may even be necessary to move out of the house for a period of time while the work is being completed.
If you take a more balanced approach and do the repairs one or two at a time, moving out should not be required. Based on the results of the inspection and report, you can address the most pressing repairs first. This would also be the best method if budget issues are a concern.
As far as correcting the slope in your older floor system, some improvement is likely by trimming basement partition walls and adjusting teleposts, but that may be as far as you can reasonably go. Once an older home built on footings on our clay soil settles, there's not much that can be done to level it without major structural repairs. It's difficult to lift and level a floor system that has the ends of the floor joists embedded in the concrete foundation. Complete underpinning of the foundation would also likely be required to prevent further movement.
While a visit from a Registered Home Inspector to your home will not provide a conclusive answer to your dilemma about renovating versus rebuilding, it will certainly provide invaluable guidance. A detailed report on the condition of your home will allow you to prioritize repairs and upgrades and get cost estimates. This should also help you total the cost of these repairs, add them to the current value of your home and weigh that against the costs of demolition and starting fresh.
Ari Marantz is the owner of Trained Eye Home Inspection Ltd. and the President of the Canadian Association of Home & Property Inspectors - Manitoba (www.cahpi.mb.ca). Questions can be e-mailed to the address below. Ari can be reached at (204) 291-5358 or check out his website at www.trainedeye.ca.
trainedeye@iname.com