The winter chill has
arrived. It's not too late to tend to a home's seasonal needs.
Using binoculars, inspect the roof for damaged, loose, and missing shingles.
Check the flashing around roof stacks, vents, skylights, and chimneys for possible sources
of leakage.
Drain exterior water lines, hose bibbs, sprinklers, and pool equipment. Do not leave hoses
connected to bibbs.
Look for leaking, misaligned, or damaged gutters, downspouts. hangers, gutter guards, and
strainers. Clean the gutters after all the leaves have fallen.
Cutback any tree limbs and shrubbery touching the home's exterior
Check all doors and windows for proper caulking and weather-stripping.
Schedule annual service for the heating system.
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There is a simple
calculation to determine the amount spent to heat a home's water. Divide the total energy
bill by seven. The result is the amount spent to heat water. With separate utility bills
for gas and electricity, use the gas bill for this calculation if you have a gas water
heater; use the electric bill if you have an electric water heater. Of course, you may
think this cost is a small price to pay for the convenience of a hot shower. But during
the course of a year, expenses add up. And when you consider
that 95 million households in this country pay the same percentage, it's easy to see how
much money - and energy - is used to heat water Future issues of this newsletter will
discuss ways to reduce the cost of heating a home's water.Alban Home Inspection Service conducts all home inspections in
accordance with
the Standards of Practice of the American Society of Home Inspectors.
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Can
a clothes dryer be vented into a crawl space?
The dryer should be vented to the outside.
If you exhaust damp air into a crawl space, it can cause mildew and rotting wood.
It's alright to run the duct pipe through the crawl space, but it should end
outside and be no more than 15 feet long. |