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GAZETTE Newspapers
By: Arthur S. Lazerow
Quickie Questions, Quickie Answers
Recent articles about moisture
problems and attic ventilation have elicited numerous follow-up
inquiries from readers. All have been answered directly, but
here are two that raise interesting issues.
Question: Samantha from Frederick wrote: “I
read your Gazette article on attic ventilation. My husband and
I are interested in installing an attic fan, but do not know
what type of professional to contact. Could you recommend a few
companies that perform this service? Thank you for your help
and insight. I thoroughly enjoy the Gazette articles.”
Answer: If
your attic has electric wiring and power in the attic already in
place, a knowledgeable general home maintenance company or
workman would be appropriate to install the attic fan and make
the electrical connections. With no electricity in your attic,
your first call should be to an electrician, who may be able to
do the entire installation. If you cannot find either, check
Contractor.com. This is a terrific source for all types of
contractors who are investigated by the website operators.
Make sure that a properly sized attic vent fan is installed.
Either too small or too large a fan would be a mistake.
Installation requires cutting a properly sized hole through the
roof near the midline of the roof about one-quarter of the way
down from the peak. The fan housing and fan will be inserted
and flashed to prevent leakage. If properly installed, the
opening in the roof should not leak. The control box should be
secured to a rafter or truss near the fan and wired into an
electrified circuit. Some fans are activated by both
temperature and humidity, which is beneficial.
One additional recommendation: if possible, the fan should also
be on an “on/off” switch to permit winter operation. During a
major snowstorm with snow on the roof, operating the fan pulls
freezing air into the attic, which keeps the underside of the
roof deck cold. This reduces heat transfer to the snow above,
which helps control nighttime melting, the cause of ice dams.
Question:
Helen wrote: “We have a terrible odor in our hallway, which we
cannot find the cause of. We do not find any moisture or water
leakage. We have had our ducts professionally cleaned and the
smell remains. How do we find a qualified company to test and
remedial action before this gets worse? Thanks.”
Answer: Here
is a checklist of possible causes of the odors you are
experiencing that are common in homes: mold/mildew growth,
rotting lumber due to moisture infiltration, a dead animal under
the flooring in the area of the odor, a dead animal in your HVAC
ducts, chemical off-gassing from newly manufactured construction
materials, sewer gases from traps that are not functioning
properly or that have lost their seal (dried out), and finally,
causes undetermined. My experience is that there is usually a
determinable cause for odors; the problem becomes finding it.
Since Helen cleaned her ducts and her husband replaced the
toilet seal (information from a second exchange of emails), the
ducts and the toilet were eliminated as the source of the odor.
The first logical step (and least expensive) would be an
inspection by a plumber to inspect all of the plumbing in the
affected area. Check traps on all plumbing fixtures. Check for
leaking drain pipes that would cause an awful odor or leaking
supply pipes that would cause mold growth and rot.
Working up the cost continuum and without doing destructive
testing (meaning removing wall board and flooring from these
areas), the next step would be a survey by a home inspector, who
can study the home for possible moisture infiltration and
perform mold testing. With air sampling at the affected areas,
when compared to a sample from outdoors, the existence of
unusual mold growth can be observed in a non-destructive manner.
The next step would be more sophisticated testing by an
industrial engineer in combination with removal of flooring
and/or walls to make hidden areas accessible. Somewhere along
the above course of action, the cause of these odors should be
found. At that point, remediation can be accomplished and the
problem resolved.
Have a question relating to a housing or environmental issue?
To contact Mr. Lazerow, click on “Contact Us” at
Albaninspect.com. Mention “Gazette Newspapers” in your
question. Every question will be answered and some will be
included in this column. Include your address and we will send
you a stain removal guide as a thank you if your question is
used in this column.
Arthur Lazerow, president of Alban Home Inspection Service,
Inc., is a nationally certified ASHI home inspector, having
performed more than 6000 inspections during the past 12 years,
is a Maryland Association of Realtors accredited public speaker
and has been a Gazette Newspapers special correspondent for the
past two years.
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