How Can I Tell If I Have Hail Damage To My Roof?
I received a call from a local realtor this past week asking how to identify hail damage to her roof. It seems a recent hail storm passing through the area brought out the "roof inspectors" enmasse, many of whom were knocking on her door. We talked for a while about the storm, the aftermath, and the best ways to enlist the help of professionals to identify and repair roof damage.
My advice was two-fold as I have described below:
- Identifying true 'functional' hail damage, the kind the insurance company will be willing to pay to have repaired or replaced, can be a little tricky. Insurance companies will be determining if damage is recent, past, or a combination of multiple incidents over the life of the current roofing material.
- Hail damage will usually dent the soft metals on your roof, i.e. roof vent, exhaust caps, before fracturing shingles. Check the vinyl trim around your windows. Also, check the cooling fins of the exterior A/C condensing unit.
- Hail damage is rated in terms of degrees of damage; bruising, granule loss, edge removal, wood spliting, and fracturing of the asphalt underlayment. Granular loss alone usually does not qualify for replacement of the roof.
- Newer shingles obviously hold up better than older shingles, which have been subjected to natural elements a longer period of time.
- Shingle damage is partly determined by the strength of the substrate below the shingle. A more structurally sound decking will not flex as much during impact, thus lessening the damage to the shingle.
- The slope or pitch of your roof and the direction of the storm may result in hail damage to one side of your roof and not the other. Perpendicular impacts will cause the most damage.
- When installing a new roof, know the rating of your shingle. Class 1 is least hail resistant, Class 4 is most resistant.
As for what to do when you suspect you may have hail damage to your roof?
Have Your Home Inspected
- Contact your insurance agent. They will be very aware if the area in which you live was the victim of a recent storm. Your insurance company will want you to tell them the date you believe your home was affected.
- Confirm with historical resources like Weather Underground of the existence and intensity of a storm traveling through your neighborhood.
- Should a roofing company come knocking on your door after a storm and you are unsure if you have damage, be cautious. I would instead, ask my insurance agent or adjuster for a recommendation after they have confirmed that I in fact have damage. Or, do my own research and choose the company I like once I've confirmed references. Doing a little homework will always pay dividends when it comes to roof replacement.
Also, know that roofing materials are becoming very high tech. We recently featured on this blog a story about plastic shingles, looking like slate, and being guaranteed for 50 years!
Home Sick Home? Indoor Air Quality
"How's the air at home?" If you're like most people, your eyebrows raised and you find this to be an odd question. But you might just want to take a little time to learn more about the air quality in your home. Besides, wouldn't you want to reduce the risk of allergic reactions, chronic bronchitis, nausea, headaches, fatigue and breathing problems, not to mention minimize the chance of slow or sudden toxic gas poisoning?
Visibly, your home may seem immaculate, but there are a number of sly culprits that contribute to indoor air pollution. And in newer, more energy efficient and airtight homes, pollutants are susceptible to becoming trapped inside the home.
According to research, only 37 percent of homeowners have a carbon monoxide detector; one in eleven has a radon detector; and four in ten do not replace air filters every two to three months, as recommended.
What are some of the leading culprits that cause indoor air pollution?
- Heating systems that use gas or wood can emit carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide, which are both odorless and colorless. Carbon monoxide can be lethal if enough of it is inhaled.
- Radon, the second leading cause of lung cancer next to cigarette smoking, is also an odorless and colorless gas that can seep into the home through cracks in basement floors, foundations and walls.
- Air conditioners, humidifiers and dehumidifiers, if not well maintained, can become a breeding ground for mold and mildew, which could cause allergic reactions.
Some of the recommendations from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the American Lung Association include the following:
- Test for radon levels inside your home. Its the only way you'll know.
- Be sure that the flue is open when using your fireplace, and have the fireplace and chimney inspected annually for blockage or cracks.
- Install a carbon monoxide detector on each level of your home and ensure they work properly.
- Check your home routinely for trapped moisture, find the cause, and repair as soon as possible.
- Replace furnace filters regularly, every two to three months.
Learn more about radon and inspecting your fireplace and chimney. For more information on indoor air quality, visit the American lung Association or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
What Is A Zinsco Panel And Why Should I Care?
Zinsco or Zinsco-Sylvania is the name given to a brand of electrical panel that was commonly installed up to the mid-1970's. It was a very popular product and installed throughout North America. Production was halted when design flaws were discovered. However, previously purchased panels were still being installed for a time after that.
The deficiencies that became evident were serious enough to be considered both a fire and electrical shock risk. Panels were known to fail, while still conducting power. Here's the short version:
The overall design of the panel includes aluminum bus bars, which are subject to corrosion and overheating as energy demands increase. Once a breaker becomes taxed, subsequently melting to the bus bar, there is an inability of the breaker to adequately trip, and power continues to surge into the panel and associated downline circuits.
At this point, the panel is not able to be shut off manually and power is continuing to be supplied to the panel until the service can be terminated or wires melted.
It's important to note other branded electrical panels manufactured at approximately the same time as the Zinsco panels have not had the same failure rate to date. It has also been suggested that a listing by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) would never have been allowed had they been given correct data in testing.
Again, here are the major issues with Zinsco Panels:
- Certain components of the panel contain aluminum
- The connection between the breakers and bus bar is not solid
- Bus bar corrodes easily
- Breakers may appear to be off, yet internally the panel may be conducting power
If you know or suspect you may have a Zinsco brand panel, most experts in the field of electricity today recommend the panel be replaced. Even if an electrician tells you, he can replace parts, it would be wise to still opt for total panel replacement. The greatest reason being, the safety standards that were acceptable in the 60's and 70's are much more stringent today and would never be approved for use.
For a more detailed look at these issues and this product, click here.
Garbage Disposers And Hot Water
A homeowner recently became very concerned when she observed one of our inspectors conducting this ritual. He politely asked if something was wrong and she replied, "I've always been told you never run hot water into your garbage disposal."
Well, while there is some merit to what she was alluding to, it deserves further explanation.
Here's the short list of when to use cold water or when not to use hot:
- DO grind food waste with a strong flow of cold water. It will cause any grease or oils to solidify, making them 'choppable', able to be cut up before reaching the P-trap.
- DON'T use hot water when grinding food waste. Hot water causes grease and oils to liquify and accumulate, causing drains to eventually clog.
- It is OKAY to use hot water when cleaning the disposer. We have detailed previously about using equal parts of white vinegar and baking soda, then flushing with boiling water. Also, a sink full of hot water and dishwashing soap (free of food debris) released into an operating disposer is acceptable for cleaning.
- There is no issue with running hot water into an operating disposer, if not grinding food wastes.
Want to know more? We've previously outlined items that do not belong in the disposer. Click here to learn more.
And, you may also read this article from a third party source that gives great advice on maintaining and operating your garbage disposer.
The ultimate goal of proper maintenance and operation is to extend the life of your garbage disposal, while preventing plumbing and drain mishaps.
Garbage Disposal Do's And Don'ts
Garbage disposals are pretty darn useful kitchen appliances, not to mention beneficial to the environment, if used properly and maintained appropriately. Having just had a clogged disposal at my son's house during a family Valentine's Day dinner, I found myself educating my child and his wife on how to properly operate the appliance and teaching what you can and shouldn't throw into your disposal.
I believe you only have to have a clogged disposal once during a holiday event to begin permanently thinking about what you're throwing down your drain!
In the case of my son's clog, the culprit was potato peels. Doing a little research, I was very surprised at what is commonly and frequently put into disposals. I eventually came up with this list of what NEVER to put in your disposal:
- asparagus
- artichoke leaves
- banana skins
- celery
- chicken bones (bones of any kind)
- coffee filters
- cooked rice
- egg shells (never!)
- grease of any type
- green onion tops
- onion skins
- potato peels
- shrimp shells
- tea bags
A common comment in reading other blogs was, "I've thrown everything into my disposal for years and never had a problem." I look at that statement skeptically. They may have never had a problem yet, but I believe one is lurking just out of sight, not to mention the downstream affect.
The items in the list above combine to damage the appliance (example bones), plug the drain piping (example peels), and load up the local waste water utility. New York City banned garbage disposals during the mid-90's because of the difficulty of properly treating the water. Even though this ban was eventually rescinded, it is still widely accepted among municipalities nationwide the energy and water usage required to process food scraps is substantial.
While there is a valid opposing point of view regarding food scraps sent to the landfill creating methane gas, considered to be a greenhouse gas, the larger argument says food waste is something of which we should all be cognizant and take appropriate steps to dispose of properly.
What can you do? Only allow down the drain what is being washed off the plate. Use cold water before, during, and after the disposal process. Scraps should be introduced into the system slowly and sparingly. Once a week, fill your disposer with ice cubes, then run with water. Once a month, place two tablespoons of baking soda, followed by 1/2 cup of white vinegar into the disposal. Rinse with cold water after a couple of minutes. Never buy a disposal that's less than 1/2 horsepower (HP); 3/4 HP would be better. Lastly, consider a compost bin.
And please, never put coffee filters or tea bags down your disposal.
Thanks for listening. Here's to trouble free family holiday dinners in the kitchen!
Help, My Sink Drain Smells Like A Sewer!
With the holidays just around the corner, you're likely to have company dropping by, perhaps even a few surprise guests. You know, the guests that you must impress! The last thing you want is for your relatives and friends to be overcome with offensive odors emanating from your sink or shower drain? Keeping your drain pipes flowing freely is one of those reoccurring maintenance tasks accomplished with little effort.
First, inspect the sink bowl or floor drain area for any buildup of sludge on the stopper, drain cover, or top of drain pipe. On sinks, as you pull the stopper out, you'll know pretty quickly if this is your issue...let's just say, gross! When you have this issue, the foul odor may also seem to disappear at times, but rear it's ugly head as you run warm water. This can be remedied by just flushing with a tea kettle of boiling water every month or so.
Next, have you considered a buildup of hair and sludge at the sink stopper level just inside the drain? Usually a small, stiff wire at least 10 inches long and bent into a ‘U” at one end will allow you to fish out any obstructions. Be mindful not to throw this back into the drain system, but rather place with trash. Again, flush the drain with boiling water.
Lastly, consider the configuration of your DWV (drain, waste, ventilation) system. In many instances this is most easily accomplished by looking under the bathroom, kitchen, or utility sink. It will be more difficult to determine this with showers and tubs as their drain configurations are most likely contained within finished walls. You may have to do a little more exploring. What you expect to see when viewing a household drain near the point of entry is the presence of a trap. The trap keeps sewer gas at bay by "trapping" water in the U-shaped portion of the pipe, forming a water seal. The water blocks the movement of upward sewer gas and prevents it from migrating through the trap, the sink and into the room.
The sewer-like odor or gurgling sound is most commonly experienced with non-vented S-traps (right), as opposed to vented P-traps. S-traps, even though they are no longer permitted to be used in new construction, are prevalent in older homes. The problem with an S-trap is that the water seal may be lost due to siphonage. The action of the water discharging into the drainpipe removes the air from that pipe and thereby causes a negative pressure, or vacuum, in the drain line, resulting in siphonage of the water from the trap. Once the water seal is lost, sewer gas can flow freely into the room.
Siphonage is unlikely when a vented P-trap (right) is used. The horizontal portion of the trap is connected to a plumbing vent pipe, which extends through the roof, so there is always atmospheric pressure on the downward side of the drain.
Should you find, as in many older homes, you do have an “S” trap configuration and have frequently noticed sewer gas smells, I suggest the services of a professional plumber to install the correct and acceptable configuration.
As a side note, should you decide to clean your drain with chemicals before calling the plumber, be very careful to choose a non toxic and environmentally safe drain cleaner. A little research to find the right product will go a long ways in protecting you, your home, and the environment. For simple clogs and sludge build-up, strong chemicals aren't really needed anyway--hot water and stiff wire are cheap and work best.
Do Foam Outlet And Switch Box Gaskets Work?
Recently, I performed a home energy audit here in SE Michigan. The customer was bothered by many cold spots throughout the house. I set up my blower door in an entry door to test for air leaks. I turned on the blower door and then went hunting for those air leaks. I found air leaks at some electrical outlets and switches on the exterior walls.
This infrared photo of a quadruple switch box and a duplex outlet shows how cold air is leaking into the house through these boxes. The temperature readout on the switch box is just below 40°F! That's cold.
What to do?
The utility companies have been pushing the outside wall foam outlet and switch gaskets for years as a way to cut down on air infiltration. I though about it and realized that I don't have any at my house. Aha, opportunity. Let's find out if these things work. I walked to the local hardware store, bought a package of outlet gaskets and a package of switch gaskets, and walked home. I chose a triple switch box and two duplex outlets in my plaster walls, and double switch box and a duplex outlet in my drywall walls. In some cases the multiple switch boxes had overlapping gaskets. I set up my blower door and turned it on. I took infrared photos of the of the switches and outlets before and after gasket installation with the blower door running. They are shown side-by-side below.
Pictures of my outlets without Gaskets are shown on the left, then after gaskets on the right.
Observations
There is a definite thermal difference between pre-gasket installation and post-gasket installation. All infrared photos with gaskets have a higher temperature reading than those without the gaskets. Gaps outside the cover plate compromise gasket operation. They do not eliminate all air movement. Covers should be installed snug with the gaskets.
Conclusions
It appears that the gaskets do work, but not perfectly. I will install gaskets in all of my exterior wall outlets and switches. Consider repairs to openings that are larger than the cover plates.
Related topics
Read more from Gordon on: Blower Doors and Infrared Cameras
Preventative Maintenance Tip Of The Week: Sealing Stucco
Stucco siding is a sand-based siding and is very porous. Stucco is installed in several ways, such as: over concrete block, over wood frame with a metal or plastic lathe, over Styrofoam on wood frame called EIFS, and the list goes on. Stucco like any other masonry surface develops typical cracks from various reasons such as shrinkage after it dries, poor installation mixture, or normal settlement.
Probably the most important factor in maintaining stucco siding is the paint. After the cracks are sealed, we recommend a good quality coat of paint such as an "elastomeric (rubberized)" style of paint. This will seal the stucco, or weather proof it from moisture intrusion. Anyone can purchase this paint at hardware stores. I believe that Sherwin Williams sells a good quality paint for this purpose.
During the Florida (where I'm from) hurricanes of 2004 a lot of houses had moisture coming through the walls, right through stucco and block walls. This was later discovered to be due to a poor grade of paint used. Since then, stricter code regulations have been enforced to to make sureuse higher grades of paint are used. As I said earlier, stucco is a very porous siding. Heavy wind, blowing moisture against the walls over time, will go right through the walls into the house if a good coat of paint has not been applied.
Probably 99 percent of the houses we see today with stucco siding have cracks here and there, usually around the windows. If these cracks are not sealed, moisture is sure to enter. Once the moisture enters, deterioration begins, even on concrete block walls, but especially on wood frame walls. Hollow areas develop around the cracks on block walls as it separates from the block, then falls off - exposing the block. I inspected a house several years ago where a crack in the stucco siding had allowed so much moisture intrusion through the block wall that mushrooms were growing in the carpet along the wall inside of the house.
Stucco siding can be deceiving in that everything looks fine on the outside but damage is right behind it. This is especially true for wood frame homes.
Obviously, if moisture gets to wood, it is going to deteriorate it and it will probably go unnoticed until major damage is evident. And don't forget that moist wood is a Termite magnet, and Termites can get through a space as small as the thickness of a credit card, or, incidently, the typical size of a stucco crack.
So, the moral of the story is to seal all cracks and keep a good coat of paint on the house to prevent moisture intrusion, which can and will lead to costly problems. As I always say "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."
Radon - How Often Should You Test?
As part of our "coverage" of National Radon Action Month, I thought we could take a look at a question that seems to be getting some discussion lately—How often should you test your home? A colleague of mine shared an interesting analogy with me that helps put frequent testing into proper perspective. She compared radon testing to medical checkups. You get your teeth checked twice a year. Women and men get their respective cancer screenings, usually annually. We don’t just do these one time and then say cool, I’m in the clear.
Radon: What can change over time?
Seasonal Influences - Well, many things can cause the radon level to change in your home. For one, there are seasonal changes. If a short term radon test was performed in the spring, one should consider doing another test during a different heating/cooling season, like fall or winter. And then test every couple of years. It isn’t expensive or difficult to test for radon and it’s the only way to know if any change has occurred to the level of radon in the home.
Home Changes - The EPA identifies the following major ways that radon can enter a home: cracks in solid floors, construction joints, cracks in walls, gaps in suspended floors, gaps around service pipes, cavities inside walls, and the water supply. So if renovations, changes in ventilation, earthquakes, settling of the ground beneath the building, or even just time have effected or disturbed any of these items, radon could essentially be finding new ways to enter your home, and you should retest just to be sure.
In fact, according to the EPA, "If you are planning any major structural renovation, such as converting an unfinished basement area into living space, it is especially important to test the area for radon before you begin the renovation. If your test results indicate a radon problem, radon-resistant techniques can be inexpensively included as part of the renovation."
Otherwise, in the above example, if you finish the basement and then test, you might end up needing to tear out finished portions of the basement in order to install the mitigation pipes.And, once again, because major renovations can change the level of radon in any home, always test again after work is completed.
Living Pattern Changes - Not only can radon levels undergo changes, but your living patterns may change. If you plan to or begin living in a lower level of your home (closer to where radon enters your home), you should retest the home on that level.
Some Final Thoughts
So in the end, you may not need to test your home as often as, say, you visit your GP or your dentist, but—especially since it is inexpensive—it is a good idea to test every couple of years. Get information on how to test your home for Radon here.
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Have Questions?
US Inspect is a leader in the radon industry. In fact, we started out as a radon testing company way back in 1986 and we also design and build our own radon monitoring devices. So, feel free to contact us through this blog or otherwise if you have any radon-related questions.
What exactly is Radon anyway?
Are you new to this topic and want to know more about why we test for Radon at all? Check out these links to the EPA's Web site below:
The Basics: What is Radon? Why is it a concern?
How does Radon get into the home?
How to Lower the Radon Levels in Your Home
The risk of living with Radon
Can Running the HVAC Fan Continuously Save Energy? (Part 3 of 3)
ON mode may actually increase radon gas levels!
You and your family can’t see or smell radon gas but it’s present in every home. Radon is a cancer-causing gas which comes from radioactive elements (uranium and radium) present in soil. Radon gas enters through the home’s foundation due to pressure differences between the inside and outside of the home.
Operating your HVAC system in ON mode may lower the pressure on the lower levels (e.g., basement, first floor), causing more radon gas to be vacuumed into the house.
That's not good because radon is dangerous. According to the EPA, radon is the #1 cause of lung cancer among non-smokers. A family whose home has high levels is exposed to 35x more radiation as the NRC would allow if that family were standing next to a radioactive waste site!
Thankfully, radon testing is simple and straightforward. And if we do find elevated radon levels, it's easy to mitigate.
- Play our Radon Risks game to learn more about radon.
- Don't risk yourself or your family - schedule our Radon Gas Test.
Check out Part 1 of 3 or Part 2 of 3.