Barrie Home Inspector

Home Maintenance and Tips for Home Owners

Tag: mold

Barrie Home Inspector and Thermal Imaging

Home Inspection

Barrie Home Inspector and Thermal Imaging. Combine Infrared Scanning & Home Inspection for your next Barrie Home Inspection.  Free Thermal Imaging scans of your Exterior walls and Main electrical panel included with your home inspection package.

Heat Loss at brickThermal imaging cameras detect radiation in the infrared range of the electromagnetic spectrum (roughly 9,000-14,000 nanometers or 9-14 m) and produce images of that radiation, called thermograms. Since infrared radiation is emitted by all objects above absolute zero according to the black body radiation law, thermography makes it possible to see one’s environment with or without visible illumination.

The discovery of infrared started with a prism being placed into a ray of sunshine in a dark room which then reflected the colours of the rainbow using a property known as dispersion. This is the method Sir William Herschel utilized in the 1800′s in conjunction with thermometers to discern the presence of invisible light rays. He called his discovery the thermometric spectrum later to be known as infrared.

Thermal Imaging can be used for detection of potential equipment failure by measuring abnormal temperature signatures of electrical distribution system components. By evaluating the operating condition of these components, potential failure can be located and problem severity determined as part of a structured ongoing maintenance program.

Missing Insulation in Corner

When using a thermal imaging camera a special lens focuses the infrared light emitted by all of the objects in view. The focused light is scanned by a phased array of infrared-detector elements. The detector elements create a very detailed temperature pattern called a thermogram. It only takes about one-thirtieth of a second for the detector array to obtain the temperature information to make the thermogram. This information is obtained from several thousand points in the field of view of the detector array.

Light is often said to have a colour temperature. What this means is that the colour of the light is the colour of light radiated by a so-called black body which is at that temperature. Colour temperature is measured in Kelvins and the higher the colour temperature the bluer the light. Zero Kelvin is Absolute Zero and the freezing point of water is 273 Kelvins: a Kelvin degree is the same as a Celsius or Centigrade degree. In practice the actual temperature is not the same as the colour temperature.

Thermal Imaging has evolved into one of the most valuable diagnostic tools used for Predictive Maintenance (PM). Also known as Thermography, Thermal Imaging is the production of non-contact infrared, or “heat” pictures from which temperature measurements can be made. By detecting anomalies often invisible to the naked eye, thermography allows corrective action before costly system failures occur. Portable infrared (IR) imaging systems scan electrical systems, then constantly convert the thermal images to visible pictures for quantitive temperature analysis.

The Barrie Home Inspector was the first company in Simcoe County to offer Thermal Imaging as part of a Home Inspection.  Our training, experience and knowledge make us the Premier Home Inspection company for residential or commercial property investment.

Inspecting Your Homes Attic

Home Inspection

Inspecting Your Homes Attic.  There should be an access opening to all attic spaces that exceed 30 square feet and have a vertical height of 30 inches or more. The rough-framed opening should be at least 22 inches by 30 inches. It should be located in a hallway or other readily accessible location. An attic access that is located in a clothes closet is often inaccessible due to permanent shelving installed. There should be headroom that is a minimum of 30 inches above the attic access. In some places “attic” is used more specifically to apply to lofts which have boarded floors and ceilings, and usually windows or skylights, and then “loft” is kept to mean a dark, unboarded roof-space which lacks these features.

Knee walls are vertical walls with an attic space directly behind them. You’ll typically find them in houses with finished attic spaces and dormer windows, as with 1-story houses. There are a couple of ways that you may see a knee wall insulated. The most important areas and most overlooked areas to insulate are the open joist ends below the knee wall. Air sealing reduces heat flow from air movement, or convection. Air sealing prevents water vapor in the air from entering the wall assembly. In a 100-square-foot wall, 1 cup of water can diffuse through drywall without a vapor diffusion retarder in a single year. Fifty cups can enter through a -inch round hole. Air sealing is 10 to 100 times as important as installing a vapor diffusion retarder.

Insulation performance is measured by R-value – its ability to resist heat flow. Higher R-values mean more insulating power. Different R-values are recommended for walls, attics, basements and crawlspaces, depending on your area of the country. Insulation works best when air is not moving through or around it. So it is very important to seal air leaks before installing insulation to ensure that you get the best performance from the insulation.

If you hear noises in your attic and you are unsure as to the source, it’s relatively easy to determine if it’s squirrels – squirrels are active during the daytime. Thus, if you hear scampering and scurrying noises during the day, it’s likely squirrels. Other attic-dwelling critters, such as rats and mice, bats, flying squirrels, opossums, and raccoons, are nocturnal, so they mostly only make noise at night. Flying squirrels are also nocturnal. If the noises happen at night, there’s a strong chance of mice or rats.

The squirrel often finds bedding material by shredding roof or wall paper, and shredding vent ducts and insulation around pipes. The biggest problem is that they chew, and I’ve seen dozens of cases in which they’ve chewed electrical wires. It’s estimated that half of house fires of unknown origin are due to rodent chewing on electrical wires.

Most people will have no reaction at all when exposed to molds. Allergic reactions, similar to common pollen or animal allergies, are the most common health effects for individuals sensitive to molds. Flu-like symptoms and skin rash may occur. Molds may also aggravate asthma. Fungal infections from building-associated molds may occur in people with serious immune disease but this is very rare. Most symptoms are temporary and eliminated by correcting the mold problem in the home.

When your home is inspected by a Professional Home Inspector they are checking for proper ventilation, presence of moisture, proper insulation, mould, proper structural support and signs of rodent or animal entry. Bat feces or vermiculite insulation removal can run into ten thousand dollars or more for removal. Compared to the cost of hiring the Barrie Home Inspector for $200.00 this is a really cost effective way to protect yourself and ensure Peace of Mind on your next Real Estate purchase.

 

Flooding in the Home

Plumbing

Flooding in the Home.  We had an unusually cold winter this year with lots of ice. Previous winter seasons were generally calm to chilly, but this recent winter, it was a catastrophe! The storm was raining ice, accumulating up to two inches of ice on trees and damaging our electrical lines causing a blackout for four days. Well, we were fortunate unlike the others who had to suffer without electricity for two months. We had fire to keep us warm through the night, and enough to cook our food. Still, we had no hot water for cleansing. At one point, it was 42 degrees in the rooms we had closed off. After the ice melted, the kitchen and laundry sections of the house started to have this smell of fungi. We realized there was a leak in the house yet we had no idea where it was. We searched the source of the leak for days, until we came upon a pipe connecting to the washing machine. It broke down because it got brittle after the freezing. Yet, it already made a huge mess. We paid a lot to have it repaired and today, all is back to normal.

Flooding and <a href=”http://www.napoleon.cc/cottage/”target=”_blank”rel=”external”title=”Midland Cottage Inspections” >waters leaking inside the house has many causes, however the chief perpetrator is the washing machine. It is a no-brainer that this is a serious and health threatening situation, not to mention the expense. A substantial loss may be incurred from unattended leaks in faucets, toilets, hoses, hot water heaters, washing machines, roof pipes or pipes connecting from the meter to the house.

Imagine, 20 gallons of water each day wasted because of a faucet that was not closed tightly! If in a year, 7,300 gallons of water is washed away for nothing, you won’t find me laughing. It’s a tremendous quantity, don’t you think? What’s worse than that is a toilet with water seeping out. In a day, it can waste 100 gallons of water. If you total that in a year, that’s 36,500 gallons, imagine that!

One way to determine if there is a water leak in the house is to examine your water bill. If the amount does not correspond to your normal consumption, which is too high, then it is better to doubt that you have a leak. To know if there really is a leak in the house, simply shut off all the faucets and sources of running water in the house. Write down the reading on your water meter, this will serve as your basis. After almost an hour, come back and record the reading on the meter again. If the reading is higher, then you have a leak somewhere in the house.

It’s not hard to notice if the leak is big, but it can be difficult if the leak is small and nonstop. You’ll be able to know only if the floors are starting to come off or if it is starting to have a mold and mildew smell.

Examining your pipes under the sinks and tubs, dishwashers, and washing machines for indications of fractures and deterioration are just a few of what you can do with regards to locating leaks in the house. Blocked pipes are usually caused by hair and debris stuck on shower drains, trash trapped in toilet bowls, and hardened grease or food remains jammed in the kitchen drain, and these can be the reasons for leaks in the house. Check all pipes and hoses running from appliances and outdoor faucets, and install water alarms, automatic water valve shut off units, automatic shut off for washers (wish we had installed that one!), and replace washer hoses with flood check hoses.

Water related damages cause millions of dollars a year in losses. Generally, most insurance claims submitted are for damages caused by poor plumbing systems and almost 2,000,000 households have that. Don’t let your home be one of these statistics.

Do you want to ensure that you never find a drip repeatedly when you get home? Acquire Floodchek hoses at Safe Home Products.

Maintaining Your Furnace Filter

Heating

Maintaining Your Furnace Filter

The first step in checking furnace filter is to check and make sure your filter is properly sized for your furnace. Ensure that the filter completely fills the holding area, with no gaps at top, bottom or sides. Also the filter should be thick enough to seal off any avenues for air to bypass the filter. You can typically look at the filter in place by removing bottom panel of furnace. This should only be done once power is shut off. Newer furnaces have a safety switch on their fan compartments but turning power off is always advised.

Another item to check is your owner’s manual for the furnace and check that you have the right style of filter for your furnace. Some people buy universal re-usable filters that might provide too much resistance for the modern high-efficiency furnaces used today. If no manual is available check on the internet for manufactures site and look up specifications for model of furnace you have. If no specifications are available, send them an email, most companies gladly provide information on requests from customers.

Clean or replace your disposable furnace filter periodically, during the winter, check the filter monthly. Brush and vacuum the heat exchanger surfaces every year, if recommended by your owner’s manual. Before the heating season, clean the blower blades and seal any air leaks in ducts with several wraps of duct tape. (use the metallic duct tape only)

Types of Filters

Pleated – Experts typically recommend this type of filter as a bare minimum requirement. Pleated filters should also include the metal wire to perform electrostatic dust control. The pleat feature allows greater filtration because of greater surface area which creates less air restriction.
Disposable fiberglass filters – These filter are the least expensive – and also the least effective, designed to block only large dust and dirt particles to protect your furnace. Smaller particles, like pollen and mold, pass right through.
Electronic air cleaners Electronic air cleaners are expensive but are the best at removing harmful particles and pollutants from the air. In many cases, the initial cost can be offset with lower medical bills for allergy suffers.

Filter Ratings

What is an efficiency or MERV rating?

Most filters are labeled with a MERV (Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value) rating number, which measures a filter’s ability to trap particles ranging in size from 3.0 microns to 10.0 microns. This number is derived from a test method designed by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and is intended to help people compare filters.
Residential filters commonly have MERV ratings of 1-11. The higher the MERV rating, the more efficient the filter is, and the more particles it can filter.

A MERV rating of 6 means the filter is 35% to 50% minimum efficient at capturing particles, sized 3.0-10.0 microns.
A MERV rating of 8 means the filter is 70% to 85% minimum efficient at capturing particles, sized 3.0-10.0 microns.
A MERV rating of 11 means the filter is 85% to 95% minimum efficient at capturing particles, sized 3.0-10.0 microns.
MERV is an industry standard rating, so it can be used to compare filters made by different companies.

A little maintenance goes a long way toward keeping your forced-air equipment working properly. Start by cleaning or replacing the filter. With forced-air furnace systems, air returning to the furnace’s blower first passes through an air filter designed to catch dust and debris and help clean the air before it’s recycled to your home.
On new homes, check all your ducts by removing grills and vacuuming any debris that you can reach. If extremely dirty, notify the builder and have him clean the ducts. This is only possible on new construction and ducts should be inspected on your Pre-Delivery Inspection.

When typical filters become clogged with debris, they cut down on a furnace’s efficiency and, over time, can cause parts to wear out faster. Change filters quarterly or sooner if they look dirty. Pleated fabric filters are a good, inexpensive choice for reducing dust and allergens. Most experts recommend a pleated filter with wire for electrostatic performance. If you buy filters that are 3 for .00 then you probably could read a book looking through them, so you can imagine how useful they would be. Also check your manufactures recommendations before installing a washable filter, some type restrict too much air on high-efficiency furnaces and may cause premature failure of fan motor.

Steps to changing your furnace filter:

1) Turn off the power to the unit. Every furnace is required to have shut off switch.
2) Look for the door or panel that conceals the blower; sometimes this is marked “Filter.” Lift this door or panel off of its holding hooks or unscrew its retaining screws to remove it. Some furnaces have a custom sized filter which is held in place by wire screen in bottom compartment of furnace.

3) Standard filters are mounted next to or under the blower motor. Newer furnaces have the filter installed on exterior of furnace on supply side. A good installation will have a metal cover over side of filter to prevent air leakage. Remove cover and slide the filter out along its tracks. Check to see whether it is a disposable filter or intended to be cleaned and replaced–this should be marked on the filter’s edge, along with directions for cleaning if applicable. If it’s a disposable filter, its size will probably be printed on the frame’s edge also. Make a note of its size.

4) Buy a replacement and slide it back into place, noting that arrows stamped on the side indicate the proper direction of airflow; be sure you face these in the proper direction. If your smoke detectors or carbon-monoxide detectors start going off after cleaning your filter, you have installed the filter facing the wrong direction. Remove and reverse filter, this will resolve your detector alarm problem.

If someone in your family has allergies and you move to a new home that had pets living in it, cleaning your ducts might be advisable to remove build up which will then allow your filter to perform to its optimum ability. The most recommended type of duct cleaning is with brushes, which are sized according to the duct they are cleaning. This will allow filter to prevent dust and particles from circulating in your home.

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