Home buyers beware

I recently started doing some remodeling work on a job that involved replacing stucco with board and baton wood siding. To properly do this we had to tear off the sheathing to put in blocking so that the siding was nailed to solid wood framing throughout. When I tore out a wall under a deck I discovered a lot of water damage. This load bearing wall was completely rotted out! It was time to investigate. I went upstairs to try to find the problem and what I found was an awning installed by the previous owner that was bolted to the wall but not sealed. This was a perfect place for water to penetrate, and it did, causing a lot of damage. As I continued the demolition process, I found further problems in the construction of the home. Improper installation of the insulation caused condensation in the walls and led to mildew and deterioration of the wall sheathing. I also found improper framing in the window openings which put load stresses on the window unit itself. This was just the beginning of the problems this unaware homeowner is now forced to deal with.
If you are in the market for a new home, always hire a home inspector before you buy. In the case of this home, a home inspector would have found many of these issues, saving the homeowners money and heartache. A home inspector evaluates structural issues, mechanical and electrical systems in the home. It is also a good idea to have your potential home inspected by an energy rater as well as a healthy built rater. These inspectors can determine energy loss in the home, detect unseen moisture and test indoor air quality. The money spent on these evaluations could save you 3 fold down the road.

DIY'ers. What you must know before adding insulation to your roof.

Recently I put a room addition on my own house and I had to insulate the new ceiling. I also needed to add more insulation to the existing roof. Our home was built in 1964 and had an R13 throughout. I recommend at least an R 38. I priced out the insulation at my local lumber yard and was surprised at how costly bat insulation was, even with my builders list pricing. So I went to my local Lowe's to price out the insulation there. To my delight I found a blown in fiber glass system that gave you free use of the blower for a minimum purchase of $200 worth of insulation. The price for me to blow in my room addition and add to my existing insulation was the same price as getting just the insulation for my addition at the lumber yard. What a deal! This system is easy to use for those who want to save a little money and do it themselves. The blower takes two people to run, one to load the machine and one to blow the insulation in the attic. Figuring out how much you need is easy. You measure the length off space times the width of space to get the number of square feet you need to cover. On the bag of insulation is a chart that will tell you how many bags it will take to fill that square footage. It only took me a couple of hours to do slightly less than 1000 sq. feet.
There are some things you must do to prepare your attic space before you add insulation. First you must make sure the framing for your attic access is as high as the new insulation height so that the surrounding insulation does not fall out. Next you must caulk all ceiling penetrations such as fan boxes, recessed can lights and bathroom fans. This will better seal up your homes envelope and lower your energy cost. Now you are ready to insulate. As you are spraying, be sure to spread the insulation evenly. You might want to bring a tape measure to periodically check the thickness for your needed R value. This thickness will also be listed on the insulation bag. The most important thing to know when blowing your insulation is to leave a 1" space between your insulation and roof sheathing. So you might want to blow it a little thinner around your eaves. It is important that the ventilation in your eaves remain unobstructed. If this ventilation is blocked it will cause your attic to get too hot and shorten the life of your roof causing your shingles to become dry and brittle. This could end up being a costly mistake. Oh, and don't forget, there is currently a tax deduction for improving the insulation in your home!