Renovation & Design
Renovation & Design
Stained stucco likely weather related
Question: I have a vertical line of brown appearing on my stucco, from under the eaves running down the wall, that appears after rains. This just started this year with the heavy rains. I am wondering if there is a roof leak issue. I have solar panels on the roof for our swimming pool and wonder if there is a leak from the screws or something else.
-John Heke.
Answer: Discolouration of stucco after a good wetting is quite normal, but if the colour does not return to normal after it dries can be a cause for concern. The stains may be from dirt washing down from above, but are more likely due to moisture coming through the exterior wall. Pinpointing the actual source of the water may be more difficult to determine, but moisture from the attic may be the best bet.
Stucco is a widely used and generally long-lasting siding material in many locations around the world. It is reasonably quick and easy to apply, by experienced contractors, and thus is an economical choice for many homes. The base layers, typically composed of thin layers of cement-based mortar, are trowel applied over metal stucco wire. The specialize wire is secured to the exterior sheathing, over top of the building paper or Housewrap, and is crimped. This allows for a decent thickness of “scratch coat”, to serve as the base for the coloured layers. Once the initial layer dries, it will shrink, slightly pulling away from the thin membrane behind. This leaves a small cavity behind the stucco for excess moisture absorbed from precipitation. This cavity is critical to prevent moisture intrusion and damage to the exterior wall assembly.
Once the scratch coat is sufficiently cured, the coloured finish layers are applied and splattered or troweled to give the stucco its unique design. This finished product is softer and more flexible than the scratch coat, but is often more absorptive and more easily damaged. Because of these properties, stucco will readily get wet and slightly change its appearance after a good rain, or from melting snow in contact with the surface. As long as the wetting is not prolonged, and dries relatively quickly during sunny weather, the stucco should not become damaged or permanently discoloured. If it remains wet for an extended period of time, or is too frequently soaked, it will deteriorate. If that happens, the surface coats will disappear, leaving the exposed grey scratch coat. If that becomes deteriorated, damage to the wall assembly is almost assured.
Staining will occur on stucco for several reasons. The most common cause is dirt impregnating itself in the surface, typically by washing off areas above like roofs, eavestroughs, or windows. These can often be cleaned or removed with soap and pressurized water, but may become more permanent if left too long. Brownish stains, like in your inquiry, often come through various building materials before showing up on the surface. The brown colour is usually associated with various pigments that are picked up and transported by the moisture that travels through various building materials. They are normally an indication that wetting has not occurred on the exposed surface of the siding, but from within, above, or behind the stained area.
Because of the multiple fasteners required to secure your pool solar panels, and the roofing beneath, to the roof sheathing, a leak at any point is possible. Even with good quality workmanship and materials, sealing materials for these fasteners may eventually deteriorate, come loose, or disintegrate. Once that occurs, small leaks are likely. The solution to that is regular inspection and repairs, as with any well-maintained house system. The real question is whether this is the source of the moisture, or it is something more insidious?
Because you have not seen these unusual stains in past years, even though the roof and solar panels have been around for a while, they could be due to recent events, environmental or otherwise. As you have stated, this spring has been one of the coolest and wettest on record, so are the stains just due to the wet weather? Or, is the almost constant rain of the last few weeks, following one of the heaviest snowfalls in decades, causing a new leak through the outside of the house. While this is possible, and the roof, eavestrough system, and other exterior components should be closely inspected to rule it out, there may be another culprit.
This past winter had some of the longest extended periods of bitter cold in decades, with almost no days above freezing, so that should be a clue. Attics, in particular, can be adversely affected by prolonged cold spells. Warm air that leaks in from the heated living space may condense on the framing and underside of the roof sheathing. This will produce a layer of frost, in very cold weather. In a typical year, this layer may be thin and will melt at least two or three times during brief winter thaws. If the thaws don’t occur, the frost will continue to get thicker. Also, a heavy layer of snow on the roof, as was very common this winter, will help insulate the frost, keeping it from melting from the heat of the sun. When it does finally warm up, and the snow melts, the water from the melted attic frost may run down the underside of the sheathing until it hits a vertical or horizontal surface, likely above the exterior walls or soffits. If this moisture is excessive, it can drip into the exterior wall cavity, wetting the insulation and framing. That moisture should eventually escape the wall by evaporation, but if there is too much, it may drain through to the exterior. Or, the water will drip down the exterior wall sheathing, behind the stucco, wet the scratch coat, and eventually bleed through the surface, depositing brown stains from the materials it passed through, into the porous stucco.
Brown stains on the surface of your stucco may show up in spring due to dirt and debris collecting during the previous fall and winter, but are more likely coming from the attic above. Trying to keep the relative humidity in the home to a minimum, during the heating season, and keeping your attic well ventilated and dry, may help prevent a reoccurrence in subsequent years.
Ari Marantz is the owner of Trained Eye Home Inspection Ltd. and a Registered Home Inspector (RHI)(cahpi.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 dish out money for a new dishwasher â just clean it
Question: My dishwasher does not get the dishes clean. Should I buy a new unit? Lauren
Answer: Before ‘dishing’ out several hundred dollars for a new appliance, consider the following for optimum results. The filter and basin need cleaning on a regular basis. Rinse dishes before loading the dishwasher. Powdered detergent is often more effective than liquid. Name brand anti spot agent helps the unit run better. Water temperature should be at least 49 C and no hotter than 60 C. Pour four-cups of vinegar into the basin every few months and run the cycle. Unclog the spray arms and scrub the holes with a toothbrush.
Question: How can I wash my socks so that they stay white and remain soft and free of pilling? Roberto
Answer: Separate white socks and coloured textiles, and avoid washing them with dark colours. Soak socks in a teaspoon of lemon juice, one tsp. of heavy duty detergent and enough cool water to cover them. Turn socks inside out, and wash them using warm or cold water. Avoid setting the dryer to heat and instead opt for the gentle cycle, or hang the socks to dry.
Question: My latest attempt at home repair was to make my own crown moulding for the ceiling. The moulding looks fine until you look to the corners where the miters don’t line up. There’s a big gap where the sections meet. How can I cover them up? Thanks, Tyson
Answer: While some professionals recommend using clear or white silicone to hide miter corners, I prefer using drywall compound. Purchase a small bucket of it at any hardware store. Using a putty knife, apply enough putty to the corners to hide the miters. Allow the mud to dry and then gently sand the corners. Use touch-up paint to cover up the area.
Handy hints!
To clean pet hair off furniture, use a short, bristled brush. Brush towards you, collect the fur in your hand and compost or throw it into the garbage. Another option is to wrap your hand with Tuck Tape, don’t pull the fur, but instead, dab the furniture. — Jordan
I had a stuffy nose and instead of using nasal spray, I rubbed vapor rub on the bottom of my bare feet. I was skeptical, but it actually helped clear my nasal congestion. — Jordan
I used borax and sugar on my yard to kill ants, but the combination killed the grass. I have since learned to puncture holes onto each side of an empty sour cream container (125 ml). Fill the container with three tsp. sugar and one tsp. borax. Place the container onto the area where ants are a problem, to get rid of the insects. Replace as needed. Make sure to keep pets and children away from the combination. — Brian
A nutcracker is a great tool when opening plastic beverage bottles with smaller tops, cola, juice, milk etc. The nutcracker acts as a pair of pliers thus giving a secure grip. Cheers. — Vincent
When baking a pie, bake it until it is golden brown. People often don’t bake their pie long enough. You want a crisp crust. Sprinkle sugar onto the crust, this helps make the pie look more appetizing, and helps result in a crispier pie. — Dominique
One of my favourite tips when baking is to keep instant coffee on hand. I don’t drink coffee, but I add coffee to the icing and to the batter to give the dessert a rich and delicious flavour. Dominque
Note: Every user assumes all risks of injury or damage resulting from the implementation of any suggestions in this column. Test all products on an inconspicuous area first.
Have a great suggestion or tip? Please send an email. Reena Nerbas is a popular motivational presenter for large and small groups; check out her website: reena.ca.
info@reena.ca
Renovation & Design
Stud wall inside ICF foundation a good call
Question: I’m in the process of preparing to finish an ICF basement and was going to frame the basement with 2x4 finger-jointed lumber. The rationale is that I plan on being in this house for several decades and I want to have the flexibility to change things down the road. Who knows what technology will bring in 20 or 30 years, and what appliances or devices you will want to mount, and what power requirements might be? I want the flexibility to be able to run cables inside the walls, if required. I plan on using the finger-jointed material because they are much truer and straighter than traditional spruce studs.
So, I was going to frame the exterior walls over the inside of the ICF. I also plan to run all of the wiring cables within the framing and put in additional insulation before drywalling.
I’d appreciate your comments on what I’m proposing.
Thanks, Marc A.
Answer: Planning ahead and installing a complete 2x4 wall inside you ICF foundation should have no negative repercussions, but one issue may provide some questions. If and where to install a polyethylene air/vapour barrier may be a difficult decision and there may be debate about the necessity, even among building professionals.
Insulated concrete form (ICF) foundations are a modern method of using rigid polystyrene for insulating a concrete foundation wall, by providing that material as the forms for pouring the wet concrete into. Instead of removing the forms once the concrete cures, like traditional forms, it is left in place to form an insulated surface inside and outside of the foundation wall. That finished product, with embedded plastic ties and nailing flanges, may be covered on the inside with wall sheathing without any further framing or air/vapour barrier. Due to the unique design, with foam on both the exterior and interior surface, the concrete will be warmer in winter than a typical concrete wall. That property, and the polystyrene inside layer, will eliminate the possibility of condensation inside the foundation, and negate the need for installation of standard 6MIL polyethylene on the studs, before the wall covering.
While it is not a requirement, there is no reason not to frame an entire stud wall inside an ICF foundation, except for the loss of the few inches of extra space inside the perimeter of your basement. The benefits are well laid out in your question. That extra few inches of wall cavity make it much easier for installation of electrical wires and components, as well as many other parts of typical systems. The one main drawback of using ICF for a proposed finished basement is the need to cut out the foam for installation of electrical wires, light and receptacle boxes, and any other components desired inside the finished perimeter basement walls.
By installing a traditional 2x4 stud wall inside the foam-covered foundation, you will create an excellent space for running not only any electrical components, but low voltage cables for some alarm, sound system, and other home components. Also, if you are planning to add a basement bathroom, wet bar, laundry sink, or other components requiring plumbing, you will make that job much easier, as well. It will be possible to run water supply piping inside an exterior wall without the risk of frozen pipes. While this may have also been possible by gouging out channels in the ICF foam, that would have required added damage protection. Metal protective plates, or similar items, would have been required over water pipes and wires that would have been subject to damage from wall fasteners, due to the proximity to the front face of the wall covering. With a full stud wall, there will be plenty of depth to drill holes and mount any of those components out of the reach of screws or nails used for attaching the drywall.
Insulating the new walls will also not be necessary, but will be a good idea to provide maximum thermal protection and keep heating bills to a minimum. I suspect that you are planning on using friction fit fibreglass or mineral fibre batts, for that purpose. While those provide very limited air/vapour intrusion protection, the inclusion of a thin layer of plastic sheathing inside the studs should not be necessary to prevent warm air intrusion from the home. While warm air may penetrate this wall cavity, the chances of excessive cooling and condensation are minimal, because of the double layer of integral foam sheathing in the ICF. Having foam on both sides of the foundation will prevent loss of heat from that rigid wall to the exterior, keeping the concrete relatively warm, even in the dead of winter. The design, with the foam directly connected to the inside of the concrete, will also prevent a significant amount of warm air from penetrating the finished foundation wall. Both of those properties combined are the reason why 6MIL poly is not normally required by the manufacturer, prior to installation of wall coverings.
There may be some contractors or building officials who disagree with this omission, in some jurisdictions, so be prepared to defend this position. A case may be made by following the ICF manufacturer’s specs, as they should have tested their product according to various Standards for air permeability and other criteria. Regardless, there may always be some debate when newer building products are introduced to professionals used to building in a certain way.
Your decision to build a complete stud wall inside your ICF foundation does have merit in allowing additional insulation and a better cavity for installation of electrical, plumbing, and other components. While a 6MIL poly air/vapour barrier should not be necessary for inclusion in the wall assembly, opinions from some in the building industry may be contrary.
Ari Marantz is the owner of Trained Eye Home Inspection Ltd. and a Registered Home Inspector (RHI)(cahpi.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
