Properties, Houses and Condos for Sale in St Petersburg Treasure Island Florida

This is a 15 year old house.  My clients have lived there from day one.  They wanted an inspection, and in particular a thermal image inspection.  There are hot and cold spots.

One complaint the woman has is that when she sits at the dining room table, a mere 6' from that window, she feels a breeze on her feet.  She asked me if she is crazy.  "How is it possible to feel a breeze on my feet?"  Well, THAT is a good question.

The dining room has a bay window.  There is a center picture window, and two side double-hung sash windows.

In the thermal images to the right, cool air is represented as purple, blue and lavender.  The right image is the of right side of the bay window, and the left is of the left side.  Imagine them together.

The homeowners have done the best things they can to try to make this bay window energy efficient. 

There are double-cell blinds on all three windows, very insulative.  Notice the warmest temperature in the images is the picture window, protected by those blinds.  There are drapes over both of the sash windows.  The drapes go to the floor.  The windows are double pane of course, and as good as they could buy 15 years ago.  Double-pane windows are efficient as far as the glass goes.  Air leakage typically occurs around the window that moves where it rests in the sash.

There are some things clearly visible here, and they are instructive.  The center picture window has little insulation around it, visible as the purple stripe on the sill.  The blinds and drapes are doing very well.  The wall is basically insulated but not great.  And the floor is cold!  The purple you see is around 41F.  And look at how the cold air is crawling (breeze?) along the floor - this is exceptionally visible!

Here is another problem!

Look at the insulation under the bay window!  Very haphazardly placed batt fiberglass. Batt fiberglass is not the best insulator, but certainly common when the house was built.

Notice how the sides of the bay as it extends beyond the rim joist of the house are not insulated!

That will create more cold conditions!

As cold air flows around and through the windows, is captured by the drapes and sent to the floor, it immediately mixes with warmer air causing it to move.  Where does it move?

ALONG THE HARDWOOD FLOOR!

Hence the breeze on the homeowner's feet during the meal!

Oh, and her name is not Louise...

My recommendation:  when you feel hot or cold areas, breezes or moving air, have a thermal image examination to pinpoint exactly where the problem is and what is causing it.  And improve insulation as needed!

 

 

Jay Markanich Real Estate Inspections, LLC

Based in Bristow, serving all of Northern Virginia

www.jaymarinspect.com

I hear that all the time.  The flip side complaint is that the given room is too warm in the summer. 

This person said that the room feels fine when the heat runs, and then cools quickly.  Sounds difficult to diagnose?

It's not.  Remember, heat seeks cold.  It will move toward it.  People think that heat rises.  Well, it does, if it is seeking cold.  But heat can also go down to seek cold.

Also, interestingly, heat and cold don't mix.  I could demonstrate that with a thermal camera, but perhaps that is a post for another day.  Heat and cold separate until slowly, temperatures equalize to an ambient, common temperature.  Last year Jim Quarello posted a thermal image of a room showing the defined layers of temperatures as the heat was running and before the layers started to melt together to a common temp.  I called it layer cake!  Maybe he could post that again - it is extremely instructive.

But I digress!  Back to the bedroom in question.  It is the master bedroom, located in the front corner of the house, with two exterior walls and OVER the garage.  Rooms over garages are famously difficult to keep comfortable in extreme weather conditions. 

Investigating thermal image technology, this homeowner found me online.  A thermal image camera makes a quick, definitive, accurate diagnosis of where insulation is ineffective.  I suspected the windows were not great either - tract home, 15 years old, with big, two-panel, sliding windows.

This is a typical view of all the windows.  We waited for a nice cold morning, and outdoors it was about 20F when we began this inspection.

Notice that the panes are not bad, but not great.  The center of the pane is 58F.  But around the windows where the sliding sashes meet the frame the temps are around 41F.

And this is AFTER the client put extra weather seal in the tracks to help control air flow toward the indoors.  We could still feel air flow.

So we know the windows are a problem.

But what of the bedroom?

Since we have evidence that the windows are not sealing well, something else is going on.

First I went to the garage.  The images are taken from the garage door.  They look at the garage ceiling.

The left image is looking left and the right image is looking right. 

Those defined orange lines are heat escaping through the floor of the bedroom around joists.  "Oh, THAT'S WHY THE FLOOR IS SO COLD!" said the client.  You can see whole areas without insulation.

Why do I say without?  I think so because the coldest areas of the drywall are around 31F and those lines 62F.  They are not that much cooler than the ambient temperature of the bedroom!  The bedroom heat is seeking cold!

Next I went to the bedroom.

The left image is the left wall of the room, where the windows are.  The center image is the corner and the right image is the right wall of the room.

The coldest spot is the corner, around 30F!

And notice the walls, how the purple and lavender colors seem to be "dripping" upwards.  What's going on?  Heat is certainly exiting down.

I think the rim joist, which is a board or joist on the outside of the house nailed to the edges of the room's floor joists was never insulated.  There may be some insulation under the flooring, but it is either poorly placed or nonexistent on the outsides.

Insulation lesson:  TO BE EFFECTIVE, INSULATION NEEDS TO COMPLETELY SEAL A SPACE.  IT'S JOB IS TO TRAP AND HOLD AIR.  THAT TRAPPED AIR ACTS AS THE THERMAL BARRIER.  ALSO, IF IT IS UNDER A FLOOR, LIKE IN THIS BEDROOM, THE INSULATION MUST, ABSOLUTELY MUST, TOUCH THE UNDERSIDE OF THE FLOOR.  ANY GAP THERE WILL ACT AS IF THERE IS NO INSULATION AT ALL.  IDEALLY THERE IS A VAPOR RETARDER SOMEWHERE.  IF IT IS A PAPER-BACKED INSULATION, THAT PAPER VAPOR RETARDER SHOULD BE TOUCHING THE UNDERSIDE OF THE FLOOR.

At this point additional insulation is needed.  It might not be as hard as you think.  We had the same problem in the bedroom in our house over the garage.  To solve the problem my insulation company came and drilled holes between the joists at each edge of the garage ceiling and blew cellulose insulation into the space.  It completely fills any cavities, nooks and crannies and provides a great secondary seal.  It worked for us.  It would probably work for these folks.  The holes are then plugged with Styrofoam, which acts also as a fire seal.

My recommendation:  If you have cold, or hot, rooms, call an experienced thermographer to come have a look.  It is worth every penny to see what is going on.  And, if you recall, there aren't that many of us because one of the entrance requirements into the order is utter cuteness. 

Yes, we're all cute.

 

 

Jay Markanich Real Estate Inspections, LLC

Based in Bristow, serving all of Northern Virginia

www.jaymarinspect.com

     Galvanized drains installed prior to the mid 50’s are likely to be at the end of their life.  These are fairly general guidelines that the inspector will use when he or she finds them in your dream house, to let you know that you should be prepared for replacement of the pipes----even if they seem to be draining OK at the time of inspection.

     These pipes usually do not spontaneously start leaking.  In fact, failure happens pretty much continuously over the life of the pipe, gradually deteriorating on the inside, until small pin-holes start to develop.  These tiny leaks will seal themselves with rust until they corrode through again and then start to leak again.  Eventually the leaks can’t seal themselves any longer and the pipe leaks all the time.

     It is common to see these holes patched in a variety of ways from duct tape and tar to banding clamps.  I have sometimes seen repairs that would cost more than replacement of the pipe----well except that the plumber would have to be paid for his time.  So the homeowner looks at the leak, and will spend 40 bucks or 10 bucks and figure out a way to beat a little more life out of the pipes.

     These pipes drained just fine at the time of inspection-----and were not even leaking----and they are certainly WAY past the end of their expected life.  The inspector would be remiss to not recommend replacement NOW.

     For arguments sake, let’s just say you are a “Pipe-Beater,” and you really need to get a little more life out of the drain before you call in the plumber----and then have to fork over the big bucks.  The stainless steel no-hub couplings that one can see in the lower picture cost about $4.00 each, of which there are four----for a total of $16.00.  To replace that same section of damaged pipe with new plastic pipe would have required about $1.00 worth of pipe and two connectors for a total of $9.00----assuming you didn’t have to buy a hack-saw.

     Those of you that read my blog religiously will recognize the Asbestos wrapped pipes below the leak----the subject of yesterdays post.

     Will the plumber be willing to work around the stuff?  Good question.

 

Charles Buell

 

 

 

 

Click on the Rose to check out:  AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

PS, for those of you that are new to my blog (or for some other "unexplained" reason have never noticed)all pictures and smiley-face inserts (emoticons) (when I use them) have messages that show up when you point at them with your cursor.

DeCroe, is my "etherial" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

 

 

     I have no idea what the “Bar” in REBarCamp stands for.  I do know that there were no piles of beer cans around, no “Barflies,” no “Bears”-----and no members of the Bar in sight either.

     Of course as a builder and inspector I can’t look at the title and not think of concrete reinforcement rods----but that ain’t it either.

   

      I do know that in terms Social Networking (so cool to actually meet some of the people we hang out with on ActiveRain) and for what is happening in the world of SEO, Blogging, and general use of the Internet (for everything we do in the world of Real Estate)----REBarCamp is cutting edge.  It takes the idea of “free” that we have all come to expect from the internet, into the realm of learning and sharing with each other in the real world.

     Someone at REBarCamp Seattle this past Friday defined the event as a, "Spontaneous, eclectic event of people who are passionate about what they know and are willing to share freely with those that are hungry to know." 

     It almost sounds like the internet doesn’t it? 

     This is the way of the future, a paradigm where people come to find that the more they give away the more that will come to them.

     One of the interesting things that came out of the many discussions was that the next generation of buyers is going to be the embodiment of the internet and if your business model doesn’t include use of the internet these people are not going to find you or even be interested in finding you.  They WILL have done their homework already and if they have not gotten to know you ahead of time through your transparency on the internet----YOU WILL BE INVISIBLE to them.

     My advice?  Get with the program (literally).  Places like ActiveRain are at the cutting edge of what these consumers are looking for.

     Rumor has it that the next REBarCamp will be in Portland in April----make plans now to be there if you can----it is worth the trip.

     Don’t be invisible.

 

Charles Buell

 

 

Click on the Rose to check out:  AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

PS, for those of you that are new to my blog (or for some other "unexplained" reason have never noticed)all pictures and smiley-face inserts (emoticons) (when I use them) have messages that show up when you point at them with your cursor.

DeCroe, is my "etherial" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

      It is routine for me to record the temperatures of refrigerators and freezers in the course of the Home Inspection.  Many inspectors don’t perform this service for their buyers.

     For food safety it is recommended that refrigerators be kept at approximately 38 degrees Fahrenheit and that freezers be kept at around 0 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

     I frequently find temperatures much warmer than these recommended temperatures----often even in the 50’s for the refrigerator.  Freezers are less often inadequate because people can judge temperature by how hard the ice-cream is.  If the ice-cream digs out without breaking the spoon it is probably too warm.

                                                                                            

     Some of the newer refrigerators come with digital read-outs that keep track of the freezer and refrigerator temperatures----sometimes even these are not accurate and should not be “relied” on----they should be checked periodically with an actual thermometer.

     OK----now go and check the temperatures of your refrigerator and Freezer.

 

Charles Buell

 

 

Click on the Rose to check out:  AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

PS, for those of you that are new to my blog (or for some other "unexplained" reason have never noticed)all pictures and smiley-face inserts (emoticons) (when I use them) have messages that show up when you point at them with your cursor.

DeCroe, is my "etherial" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

 

    I have posted in the past about attic ventilation and how there are many ways to achieve good attic ventilation.  Ventilation can consist of passive means that utilize soffit vents, roof vents, gable vents and ridge vents.  Sometimes mechanical means are utilized with the installation of wind driven turbine type vents, and sometimes electrically or solar powered vents are installed.  See these three links to past posts to learn more about roof ventilation:

     When the trades don't talk to each other, @#$% happens!

    What is Giovanni Venturi doing in my attic?  

    Not all "short-circuits" are electrical!

    For my money, any time passive approaches can be utilized to do the job this should be encouraged as the use of electricity is costly.

     By far the best passive approach is the use of soffit vents in conjunction with ridge vents.  I have done several posts in the past regarding the Venturi effect that is created with the use of ridge vents and how this effect helps this approach be superior to roof vents and gable vents.  I have also posted as to why combinations of systems are a problem.

     At a recent inspection of a 5 year old townhouse, inadequate ventilation of the attic was evidenced by the beginning presence of mold or mold-like/fungal growth on the roof sheathing.  Movement of air through the attic needs to be sufficient to prevent moisture laden air to stagnate where it can condense on the cold roof surface.  Moisture was likely finding its way into this attic through poorly sealed ceiling fans and an attic access hatch that was not weather-stripped.  The ventilation system was not adequate to keep this moisture flushed out of the attic space.  Moisture laden air can also move into the attic from the exterior as well.

     In this first picture one can see the darkening of the roof surface between the trusses where the mold or mold-like fungal growth is beginning to form.

     The interesting thing about this structure was that provision for a ridge vent was made for installation of a ridge vent but it was never installed.  Note the gap at the ridge in the next picture.  The black area is the roof felt paper covering over the hole that was left for the ridge vent.  At the center bottom of the picture can be seen the lone gable vent that is cut in half by the end wall framing----further compromising the effectiveness of what was already inadequate.

     While most aspects of home construction are not in themselves “rocket science,” the building science aspect of the home comes pretty close.   All of the trades----all of those putting the pieces together, should have proper interdisciplinary training in Building Science in order to better understand how the building works as a whole.

     In this case all openings into the attic space will need to be properly sealed and/or weather-stripped, the continuous type ridge vent will need to be installed, and the gable vent will need to be removed.

 

 

 

Charles Buell

 

 

 

 

Click on the Rose to check out:  AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group

PS, for those of you that are new to my blog (or for some other "unexplained" reason have never noticed)all pictures and smiley-face inserts (emoticons) (when I use them) have messages that show up when you point at them with your cursor.

DeCroe, is my "etherial" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.

Why should you pay for home inspection? After all Dad knows pretty much everything there is to know about houses. Part 5 in a continuing series...

In contrast to a real estate appraiser, a home inspector zeroes in on safety and soundness aspects of your new home. A home inspection will determine if the structure, construction, and mechanical systems are safe as well as working correctly. In addition, your professional home inspector will point out immediate and pending repairs with the associated estimate of cost.

Here is where real estate agents can help a lot. Take advantage of their expertise. They have been trained how to write an offer in good faith that protects you if it turns out the home needs repairs.

When you find a house you are serious about buying, request that your real estate agent... Don't miss part 6, Kate

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