We try to focus on topics and issues, rather than stories and anecdotes... but you'll still find a few of those.
Homeowners, builders, and insulation contractors spend lots of time trying to seal up every little air leak in to a house, but then the building code requires this big hole that allows cold air to just dump in to the basement. Silly, right?
Read MoreIn a recent blog post about fall maintenance for Minnesota homeowners, I mentioned having your furnace inspected / tuned up by a qualified heating contractor annually. One reader sent me an email asking if this was really necessary - here's his original question:
Read MoreI've discovered a dryer transition duct that is far superior to anything else I've ever seen - it's called DryerFlex. The DryerFlex dryer transition duct is a cross between foil and semi-rigid aluminum, but it outperforms both of those materials in every way possible.
Read MoreA dryer transition duct is the flexible material that can be used to transition between the dryer and the duct. Transition ducts should be used sparingly, stretched tight, not smashed, and replaced periodically.
Read MoreClothes dryers are responsible for approximately 15,000 home fires each year. Improperly installed and improperly maintained clothes dryer ducts are one of the most common issues that home inspectors find, but it's not that difficult to keep your clothes dryer safe.
Read MoreI inspected a house in Minneapolis yesterday with an old gravity furnace. The furnace had supposedly been certified, and the seller left the paperwork sitting on the kitchen table. Here's the form:
Read MoreIt may surprise many of you to learn that cleaning your HVAC ducts may actually increase the amount of particulate mater in the air and lead to actually more contaminated air being delivered to the home.
Read MoreWithout question, the biggest problem that I find with boilers on old Minneapolis and Saint Paul homes is leaking exhaust gas. While every heating contractor knows to look for backdrafting at the vent while performing maintenance checkups on boilers, I've found that many contractors don't bother to check for exhaust gas leaking around the jacket of the boiler, which can be just as serious of an issue.
Read MoreIn approximately 99.2% of the houses that I inspect, there's a 3/4" hole in the air conditioner ductwork that lets air blow out where it shouldn't. Can you guess what it is? Here's a clue.
Read MoreAre super expensive furnace filters really worth the extra money? Their job is not to purify the air you breathe. Furnace filters protect equipment; not people.
Read MoreWhen I think of homeowner maintenance, the first thing I think of is changing the furnace filter. At least one out of five homeowners is diligent about doing this, but for the rest of you...
Read MoreThe most common question that I get when I find a backdrafting water heater is "How can this be fixed?" There are many potentials reasons for a water heater backdrafting, but there are several basic things to check - any one of these conditions could be enough by itself to cause a water heater to backdraft.
Read MoreDo you know what happens after a furnace gets red-tagged? Nothing. The gas company won’t lock the gas off at the meter, they won’t notify the gas gods, and no demerits are handed out.
Read MoreAfter doing some research on the semi-rigid dryer transition ducts, I've learned that they might not be allowed in Minnesota. So why are foil ducts allowed?
Read MoreI took home a furnace that had a cracked heat exchanger, and I removed the heat exchanger cell that had the largest cracks. You can see the cracks for yourself below - click on any of the photos for a larger version.
Read MoreIn my blog about window replacements, I made it clear that you'll never get a return on your investment by replacing windows. So what about furnaces? If you're replacing your furnace, is it worth installing a high efficiency furnace? We'll see.
Read MoreFor the last two weeks I've blogged about HRVs. In part one, I covered what HRVs are for and how they operate. For part two, I covered HRV maintenance and operation. Today I'll discuss installation defects.
Read MoreLast week I blogged about why houses need HRVs. This week I'll write about maintenance and operation of HRVs, and I'll try to cover the stuff you should know if you own one.
Read MoreAs most people know, new houses are constructed much tighter than they used to be - they don't leak air all over the place. Today I'll share some basic information about how HRVs operate and why they're needed in today's newer, tighter houses.
Read MoreFor the last 800 years, building codes have allowed bathrooms to be built without exhaust fans. It's time for a change. It's time for bathroom exhaust fans to become a requirement in Minnesota, at least in bathrooms that have bath tubs or showers.For the last 800 years, building codes have allowed bathrooms to be built without exhaust fans. Exhaust fans aren't even a requirement here in Minnesota! This is a great example of how building codes are only minimum standards.
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