Barrie Home Inspector

Home Maintenance and Tips for Home Owners

Tag: basement

Home Security

Personal Interest

Keeping Your Home Safe: How To Put Burglars Off Trying To Break In

Our homes are our castles – havens against the outside world, expressions of our tastes and design choices and a place for our loved ones to live together in, hopefully, domestic bliss. So when someone threatens it, it can be extremely frightening and upsetting. There are many ways to try to stop burglars, however. Here are some ideas to consider.

Make your home harder to break into

Burglars like to be able to get in and out quickly and discretely, so anything you can do to prevent this will help. Make sure any outdoor sheds and other buildings that contain ladders, tools etc are firmly locked. No point in providing thieves with the wherewithal to get into your house. Never leave spare keys hidden outside. People who do that tend to unwittingly choose some pretty obvious places to stow them. Instead, give the spare to a trusted neighbour.

Consider switching to a gravel driveway, or have areas of gravel under your windows. Gravel makes a lovely, loud crunching sound when trodden on. Grow thorny, or spiky plants against the walls too – good options for this are roses, firethorn or juniper.

Make your home looked loved

Keep the garden neat so the house doesn’t look neglected. Mow the lawn regularly – get someone to do it for you if you are away for a long time. Weed borders; sweep up fallen leaves and empty trash cans. Make sure the house exterior is well maintained. Burglars might assume a house in disrepair is owned by someone physically unable to look after it – and therefore less able to defend it.

Don’t let the mail build up in your absence either. Ask a friend to go in to collect it for you, or arrange for it to be temporarily redirected. Keep larger items like bicycles or lawnmowers out of sight too and place curtains over garage, basement or shed windows to prevent anyone looking in.

Make your home look occupied

It stands to reason that most thieves will think twice about targeting a house that looks like it is occupied. Draw the curtains and leave some lights on (or on an automatic timer switch)  when you go out at night, or perhaps leave the radio or TV playing.

Lock all doors when you are going out or to bed, and check all windows are closed. Never leave notes on the door saying ‘Gone Shopping’. Finally, create a written inventory of your valuable possessions and their estimated value or insured amounts – photographs and purchase receipts will also prove useful in the event of a break-in.

Make your house and home security something to invest in

The range of home security equipment out there is mind-blowing, from strong locks to state-of-the-art alarm systems. Ideas to enhance security include switching to more secure window locks, replacing door locks with deadbolts, making sure door hinges are on the inside and installing a decent burglar alarm– some will link to your local police station.

Such an investment is worth doing properly – after all, it will go a long way to protect your assets, not to mention your peace of mind. If, however, you are concerned about how to pay for such measures, take some time to consider how you will raise the money to fund them. A financial advisor or broker can steer you towards a number of financing methods, such as reasonable loan arrangements with manageable repayment rates. If you own your own home, there are many excellent remortgage deals on the market – most mortgage advisors would be especially pleased to see the additional funds released spent on raising the security of the property and its contents. If all else fails, perhaps you could take on some extra work to raise the funds. This temporary sacrifice of your time will result in long-term security and happiness in your home: who could ask for more?

Basic Basement Construction

Basements

Basic Basement Construction.  Always check with Barrie Building department and apply for any required permits prior to construction. A basement is an area below the first floor with a minimum height of 6 feet 8 inches. Basements may be created using masonry blocks or poured concrete. Modern homes are typically constructed using forms and poured concrete. Many basements provide added living space, including bedrooms, bath, recreation rooms.

Basement wall damageBasements are typically the area of a structure most at risk for water damage because they are located below grade and surrounded by soil. Soil releases water it has absorbed during rain or when snow melts, and the water can end up in the basement through leaks or cracks.

The roof on your home can collect over 600 gallons per 1000 square feet after 1 inch of rain has fallen. Install and maintain gutters and downspouts so that they route all rainwater and snow melt far enough away from the foundation of the building to ensure that pooling does not occur near the walls of the structure. At least 10 feet from the building is best, and at the point where water leaves the downspout, it should be able to flow freely away from the foundation instead of back toward it, and should not be collecting in pools.

Foundation weeping tiles are actually not tiles but 6 inch diameter plastic pipe with small holes in it. Weeping tile pipe is placed against and level to the bottom of the foundation footing. Once the weeping tile pipe is completely installed, coarse gravel is placed on top and level with the top of the footing.

Newer homes basements are typically protected using a black dimpled product which is attached to perimeter of basement walls. Most home owners think this is a water proofing barrier designed to keep water away from their foundation. The wrap is actually designed to allow water to quickly drain down void, created by the dimples, and enter weeping tile. This prevents any hydraulic water build up against concrete prevent water intrusion.

Sump Pump Installation by Barrie Home InspectorA sump pump is a pump placed in the basement of a home used to pump water from the basement to the outside or drain into the home’s drainage system. Sump pumps usually work in conjunction with a sump pit, which is a hole dug in the basement of a house which collects water during a rainstorm. The pump then pumps the water out of that sump pit.. A sump pump is usually necessary either in cases where the home’s basement is below the water table level, and or when the home is located in a place where flooding is common. In Ontario a sump pump is required by Ontario Building Code and must be installed unless waived by the building official.

Home that are located in areas where a high water table exists typically will have a backup sump pump installed in case of pump failure.  Also a battery back up is sometimes used in case of power failure.   During the home inspection process these are both indicators that a high water table exists and the home owners may have had water issues in their basement.   These are only clues and cannot be the sole evidence used to indicate water issues,  but are a strong indicator that further investigation is required.

Although there are many great books and part time college courses that now teach Home Inspections,  nothing will replace experience and first hand knowledge obtained through building homes and renovation projects over a life time of inspection and construction experience.   Caveat Emptor –  Buyer Beware !

 

For actual inspection pictures of defects please visit the Barrie Home Inspector’s site

Your Home’s Structure

Exterior

Your Home’s Structure.  In North America, modern house-construction techniques include light-frame construction (in areas with access to supplies of wood) and adobe or sometimes rammed-earth construction (in arid regions with scarce wood-resources). Some areas use brick almost exclusively, and quarried stone has long provided walling. To some extent, aluminum and steel have displaced some traditional building materials. Increasingly popular alternative construction materials include insulating concrete forms (foam forms filled with concrete), structural insulated panels (foam panels faced with oriented strand board or fiber cement), and light-gauge steel framing and heavy-gauge steel framing.

Houses may be supported by a crawl space, full or partial basement or a floating slab on grade. Basements can be constructed of wood, poured concrete or masonry blocks. Poured concrete is becoming the norm for most housing and is far superior for cost and strength.

Most common wall framing is either balloon or platform type framing. In platform framing, the joists comprise any number of individual floors or platforms that wall framing components are constructed on top of–hence, the term platform framing. Platform framing is the most common method of frame construction. The floor, or platform, is made up of joists that sit on supporting walls, beams or girders and covered with a plywood or OSB sub-floor. In the past, 1x planks set at 45 to the joists were used for the sub-floor. Balloon framing is not permitted anymore due to lack of fire-stopping between floors.

Foundation made of concrete typically will have some cracks that are visible. Most cracks are the result of settling or shrinkage of the concrete during its curing stage. Diagonal cracks that grow in width, especially ones that are wider at the bottom than at the top, indicate settlement. Diagonal cracks over windows indicate a weak header. Diagonal cracks in a poured concrete foundation that are fairly uniform in width or are hairline-type are caused by shrinkage and, though they may allow water entry, do not constitute a structural defect. Some home inspectors think that if the crack follows the mortar joint, rather than going through the brick or block, the crack isn’t a problem. This is false. Walls crack at their weakest point. If the mortar is stronger than the brick, the wall will crack through the brick

The structural support of a roof is typically provided by either stick built rafters or engineered trusses. Collar tie is a colloquial phrase that you usually won’t find in construction or engineering documentation even though the words are commonly used among builders, architects and homeowners. The correct phrase as used in textbooks and when specified is collar beam. Collar beams are usually installed in the upper third of the roof between opposing rafters.

Having your home inspected prior to purchasing is one of the most important items of the transaction. You want to protect yourself from shoddy workmanship or major problems with your homes systems. A house is comprised of many different products installed by various tradesmen and sometimes do-it-yourself type renovators. To ensure Peace of Mind in your next Real Estate transaction use the Barrie Home Inspector for your protection and Peace of Mind. If you have a wood burning appliance then contact www.wett-inspection.com for your insurance companies required WETT Certification.

What is Radon – Is It in Your Home

Home Inspection

What is Radon –  Is It in Your Home
Radon is a gas produced by the radioactive decay of the element radium. Radioactive decay is a natural, spontaneous process in which an atom of one element decays or breaks down to form another element by losing atomic particles (protons, neutrons or electrons). When solid radium decays to form radon gas, it loses two protons and two neutrons. These two protons and two neutrons are called an alpha particle, which is a type of radiation. The elements that produce radiation are referred to as radioactive. Radon itself is radioactive because it also decays, losing an alpha particle and forming the element polonium
Elements that are naturally radioactive include uranium, thorium, carbon and potassium, as well as radon and radium. Uranium is the first element in a long chain of decay that produces radium and radon. Uranium is referred to as the “parent” element, and radium and radon are called “daughters” or “progeny.” Radium and radon also form daughter elements as they decay. The progeny of radon are called radon decay products, or RDPs.

The decay of each radioactive element occurs at a very specific rate. How fast an element decays is measured in terms of the element’s “half-life,” or the amount of time for one-half of a given amount of the element to decay. Uranium has a half-life of 4.4 billion years, so a 4.4-billion-year-old rock has only half of the uranium with which it started. The half-life of radon is only 3.8 days.

If a jar were filled with radon, only half of the radon would be left after 3.8 days. But the newly-made daughter products of radon (or RDPs) would also be in the jar, including polonium, bismuth and lead. Polonium is also radioactive. It is this element which is produced by radon in the air and in people’s lungs that can hurt lung tissue and cause lung cancer.
Radioactivity is commonly measured in picocuries (pCi).

Because the level of radioactivity is directly related to the number and type of radioactive atoms present, radon and all other radioactive atoms are measured in picocuries. For instance, a house having 4 picocuries of radon per liter of air (4 pCi/L) has about eight or nine atoms of radon decaying every minute in every liter of air inside the house. A 1,000-square-foot house with 4 pCi/L of radon has nearly 2 million radon atoms decaying inside it every minute.

Radon levels in outdoor air, indoor air, soil air and groundwater can be very different. Outdoor air ranges from less than 0.1 pCi/L to about 30 pCi/L, but it probably averages about 0.2 pCi/L. Radon in indoor air ranges from less than 1 pCi/L to about 3,000 pCi/L, but it probably averages between 1 and 2 pCi/L. Radon in soil air (the air that occupies the pores in soil) ranges from 20 or 30 pCi/L to more than 100,000 pCi/L; most soils in the United States contain between 200 and 2,000 pCi of radon per liter of soil air. The amount of radon dissolved in groundwater ranges from about 100 to nearly 3 million pCi/L. Natural Radiation Exposure

Since the beginning of time, all living creatures have been exposed to radiation. We live in a radioactive world. There are many natural sources of radiation which have been present since the Earth was formed. In the last century, we have added somewhat to this natural background radiation with artificial sources. However, the naturally occurring sources contribute about four to five times more radiation than human-made sources.

The three major sources of naturally occurring radiation are:

• cosmic radiation;
• sources in the earth’s crust, also referred to as terrestrial radiation; and
• sources in the human body, also referred to as internal sources.

Cosmic

The Earth and all living things on it are constantly bombarded by radiation from space, similar to a steady drizzle of rain. Charged particles from the Sun and stars interact with Earth’s atmosphere and magnetic field to produce a shower of radiation, typically beta and gamma radiation. The dose from cosmic radiation varies in different parts of the world due to differences in elevation and to the effects of the Earth’s magnetic field. Cosmic radiation comes from the Sun and outer space, and consists of positively charged particles, as well as gamma radiation. At sea level, the average cosmic radiation dose is about 26 millirems (mrem) per year. At higher elevations, the amount of atmosphere shielding cosmic rays decreases and, thus, the dose increases. The average dose in the United States is approximately 28 mrem per year.

Terrestrial

Radioactive material is also found throughout nature. It is in the soil, water and vegetation. Low levels of uranium, thorium and their decay products are found everywhere. This is called terrestrial radiation. Some of these materials are ingested with food and water, while others, such as radon, are inhaled. The dose from terrestrial sources also varies in different parts of the world. Locations with higher concentrations of uranium and thorium in their soil have higher dose levels.

The major isotopes of concern for terrestrial radiation are uranium and its decay products, such as thorium, radium and radon.

There are natural sources of radiation in the ground, rocks, building materials and potable water supplies. Radon gas is a current health concern. This gas results from the decay of natural uranium in soil. Radon, which emits alpha radiation, rises from the soil under houses and can build up in homes, particularly well-insulated homes. In the United States, the average effective whole-body dose of radon is about 200 mrem per year, while the lungs receive approximately 2,000 mrem per year.

Internal

In addition to cosmic and terrestrial sources, all humans are born with naturally occurring radionuclides, such as Potassium-40, Carbon-14, Lead-210, and other isotopes. The variation in dose from one person to another is not as great as the variation in dose from cosmic and terrestrial sources. The average annual “dose” from internal radioactive material is about 40 mrem.

Ionizing Radiation Exposure to the Public

This chart shows that of the total dose of about 360 millirems per year, natural sources of radiation account for about 82% of all public exposure, while man-made sources account for the remaining 18%.

Government of Canada Radon Guideline
Did you know?
The Canadian guideline for radon is 200 becquerels per cubic meter, If the radon level is found to be high, it can be fixed.
Health Canada collaborated with the Federal Provincial Territorial Radiation Protection Committee (FPTRPC) to review the health risk from exposure to radon. The risk assessment is based on new scientific information and was the subject of broad public consultation. Using the risk assessment and feedback obtained from the public consultation, the Government of Canada is updating its guideline for exposure to radon in indoor air. This updated guideline provides advice that is more broadly applicable and more protective than the previous FPTRPC guideline.
The Minister recommends that
• Remedial measures should be undertaken in a dwelling whenever the average annual radon concentration exceeds 200 Bq/m³ in the normal occupancy area.
• The higher the radon concentration, the sooner remedial measures should be undertaken.
• When remedial action is taken, the radon level should be reduced to a value as low as practicable.
• The construction of new dwellings should employ techniques that will minimize radon entry and will facilitate post-construction radon removal, should this subsequently prove necessary.
• In addition to residential homes, the term “dwelling” in this guideline also applies to public buildings with a high occupancy rate by members of the public such as schools, hospitals, long-term care residences, and correctional facilities. The following settings are excluded from this guideline:
o Uranium mines, which are regulated by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission;
o Other mines (e.g., fluorspar mines), which are regulated by provincial mining authorities; and
o Other workplaces which would be addressed by existing guidelines for naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM). Details are given in theCanadian Guidelines for Management of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM) and a copy may be viewed or downloaded.
• The “normal occupancy area” refers to any part of the dwelling where a person is likely to spend several hours (greater than four) per day. This would include a finished basement with a family room, guest room, office or work shop. It would also include a basement apartment. It would exclude an unfinished basement, a crawl space, or any area that is normally closed off and accessed infrequently, e.g., a storage area, cold room, furnace room, or laundry room.
• The aim is to remediate and reduce the radon concentration to less than 200 Bq/m³. If the radon concentration is found to be greater than 600 Bq/m³, the remedial actions are recommended to be completed in less than a year; between 200 Bq/m³ and 600 Bq/m³, the remedial actions should be completed in less than two years.
• “As low as practicable” refers to what can be achieved with conventional radon reduction methods in a cost-effective manner. This is consistent with the ALARA (As Low As Reasonably Achievable) principle, whereby reasonable efforts are made to maintain radiation exposures as low as possible, with social and economic factors taken into consideration. In most situations, a final level less than 200 Bq/m³ will be readily achievable. In a small number of cases, it may happen that the application of all reasonable remediation techniques will still leave a residual radon level greater than 200 Bq/m³. It is not the intention of this guideline to recommend excessive or unreasonable remediation costs in order to achieve a marginal increase in benefit. Such situations should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
• This Government of Canada guideline is based on the guidance approved by the FPTRPC. The guideline is based upon current scientific understanding. It will be reviewed and updated as appropriate. Further information on the Federal Provincial Territorial Radiation Protection Committee is available.
Brought to you by the Barrie Home Inspector – Your Radon Specialist for Barrie, Alliston, Orillia, Midland, Penetang, Bradford, Newmarket and Aurora

Different Materials to Use for Basement Flooring

Basements

Different Materials to Use for Basement Flooring.  Basement flooring is obviously the foundation of the process of remodeling your basement. If basement flooring is not done right, you are just going to waste money and effort in trying to make your whole basement look good. The great thing is that there are several options on how you can have a beautiful, worth it flooring.

Water is Enemy

Water in whatever form – be it from underground moisture or drainage issues – is a bane to basements. Before doing any remodeling, have your basement drainage system checked thoroughly and fixed by a plumber. You’d not want it to have a well created basement only to understand that water starts to creep in. Sometimes water slippage can come from the exterior drainage outside the house.

Due to the damp nature of most basements, moisture is really a usual headache. Moisture can cause stains to tile floor, mildews and molds to carpet floor and damage to plywood and hardwood floor. At any rate, moisture can weaken the bond of the adhesive utilized to stick whatever flooring material you’ve. Thus, prior to totally performing any remodeling, do precautionary tests on the wetness of the floor.

Test the Floor

One way to test the wetness or the moisture level of the floor is to use a waterproof material that is about 4 inches-by-4 inches in size. Place flat the waterproof material, preferably the type of flooring that you have in mind to use, on the basement floor. Seal it in such a way that no air gets in. Put it in several corners of the floor walls and one in the center area of the floor. Leave it for at least a day and then check if there is any moisture coming in.

If you notice any type of moisture, then you need to figure out and fix the floor issue first before proceeding with remodeling. It also means that your floor is naturally damp. At this point, it is ideal if you ask the opinion and suggestion of a basement flooring expert. You can probably make do by changing the type of flooring material to be utilized or install a vapor barrier.

Flooring Materials

There is no such thing as perfect flooring material. It is always a case-to-case basis. It also depends on the desired look and really feel that you want for your basement. Whilst that being stated, here are some typical flooring options and their usual attributes:

1. Wooden Subfloor – It’s inexpensive but is prone to rotting when there’s no vaporizing barrier installed.

2. Carpet – It’s extremely easy to install but is prone to mildew and molds.

3. Painting the Subfloor – You can do it your self in the event you know how you can paint walls. But you may need to keep re-painting after a couple of months.

4. Stained Basement Floor – This gives you room to be very creative with several styles and colors obtainable. But you may have to invest a bit much more compared to, say, using a wooden material.

5. Tiled Floor – This also allows you much more room for creativity and is a viable option for wet basements. But this material would not help a lot in lessening the coldness of the floor so you may need to use rugs.

Another essential consideration with regards to basement flooring is if who’s performing the flooring function: you or a hired expert? If it’s you, keep in mind that tiles and stained basement floor might take more effort to haul and install. The latter supplies also need specialized skills and equipments.

Find out more about basement finishing system. Explore more online sources on basement finishing systems.

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