Author: buildinginsights_vkv4y8

With online shopping becoming a more import part of how we get items we need during the pandemic, package theft also becomes a bigger concern. Most package theft is crime of opportunity so with a few handy tricks you can deter those pesky thieves from walking away with your family goods. 

With spring arriving and nature waking up you’ll want to make sure you keep these common pests from coming indoors! Here’s some tips on keeping them outside!

Carpenter Ants
With rising temperatures, carpenter ants come out and forage for new locations. These ants can be seen inside and outside of your home. They may be coming from an outside nest and may have already made a colony in the walls of your home. They can create tunnels in wood that may damage the structure of your home.

Pavement Ants
Pavement ants are found outside in the soil, but can also enter your home to find food. Their colonies can get extremely large.

Bees and Wasps
You may be seeing a wasp, hornet or yellow jacket queen bee that may have stayed in your wall voids and attics during winter. Once they wake up, they will look for a place where they can lay eggs and establish their colonies. Do not let these insects stay in your home.

Spiders
Spiders are commonly found in basements, garages, porches and other sheltered places. They usually come out to search for food and other insects. Their presence in your home is an indication that you have insects at home. Look for cracks in windows and foundations where they might be getting in.

Houseflies
It seems like any time a door opens, these pesky insects find a way to get inside. The only solution you might have for them is to keep the doors always close. Houseflies have a short life span and will die off quickly unless food is left out for them to lay eggs in.

Fleas
To control a potential flea infestation this spring, it is necessary to take care of the family pets. Give them their regular bath and treatments. It is also possible for pet-free homes to get an outbreak of fleas as a result of fleas coming from an outside wildlife. To get rid of fleas, use even your basic household cleaning tools like vacuming rugs where eggs lie and conduct proper sanitation. This can go a long way to limiting the potential outbreak of fleas.

Rats and Mice
Rodents are not just a problem every spring since they can be an all-year nuisance. From the house mouse to the black rat, these pests are often found to be the worst type of pests in homes. To stop them from entering our homes, better search out their entry and block any potential entry points. Areas such as ill-fitting doors, vents, roof gaps, and pipes travelling through wall spaces are a potential entry way for these pests. Make sure that all sources of food are kept and stored in tight containers. Also, store woodpiles or similar items away from your home.

All pests feed on almost anything we eat, so be certain that:

• Your food is always cleaned and cleared away.
• You keep food in the refrigerator or in a tightly sealed container.
• Food scraps are also cleared from floors or countertops.

What is an ice dam?
An ice dam is a ridge of ice that forms at the edge of a roof and prevents melting snow (water) from draining off the roof. The water that backs up behind the dam can leak into a home and cause damage to walls, ceilings, insulation and other areas.

Effects of ice dams
Moisture entering the home from ice dams can lead to the growth of mold and mildew. These can cause respiratory problems.

Prevent the growth of mold and mildew by immediately drying out portions of the house that are wet or damp.
Take immediate action to get rid of the water source, clean the home environment and maintain its air quality.
What causes ice dams?
Nonuniform roof surface temperatures lead to ice dams.

Heat loss from a house, snow cover and outside temperatures interact to form ice dams. For ice dams to form there must be snow on the roof and, at the same time, higher portions of the roof’s outside surface must be above 32 degrees F (freezing) while lower surfaces are below 32F. These are average temperatures over sustained periods of time. For a portion of the roof to be below freezing, outside temperatures must also be below freezing.

The snow on a roof surface that is above freezing will melt. As water flows down the roof it reaches the portion of the roof that is below 32F and freezes. This causes the ice dam.

The dam grows as it is fed by the melting snow above it, but it will limit itself to the portions of the roof that average below 32F. So the water above backs up behind the ice dam and remains a liquid. This water finds cracks and openings in the exterior roof covering and flows into the attic space. From the attic it could flow into exterior walls or through the ceiling insulation and stain the ceiling finish.

What causes different roof surface temperatures?
Since most ice dams form at the edge of the roof, there must be a heat source warming the roof elsewhere. This heat primarily comes from the house. In rare instances, increased heat from the sun may cause these temperature differences.

High Humidity and Your Cabinets

Wood products in humid climates are especially susceptible to expansion due to the extra moisture in the air. The wood will absorb this moisture, causing it to swell or expand. If wood products are exposed to excessive moisture for an extended period of time, they may not resume to their original size. The key to controlling expansion and contraction is to control moisture in the wood by controlling the humidity. A common issue experienced with wood kitchen cabinet doors would be that they start to rub together. The minimum moisture content for decay to propagate is 22 to 24 percent, so building experts recommend 19 percent as the maximum safe moisture content for untreated wood in service. Water by itself does not harm the wood, but rather, wood that has consistent high moisture content will enable fungal organisms to grow.

Low Humidity and Your Cabinets

In low humidity conditions, wood will give off/release moisture and contract or shrink in size. During winter in colder environments, cabinetry will shrink from the dry heat produced by your home’s heating system. As the wood loses moisture, gaps will appear at the joints between the cabinetry pieces. Painted doors will also reveal seams at the joints as this natural movement occurs. Unfinished lines may appear around door panels. When the cabinetry regains its lost moisture under produced humidification or during the summer months, these gaps will often close and be less noticeable. This occurs with all wood products such as Kitchen Cabinetry, Millwork or Furniture, and will occur in any environment.

The ideal conditions for your wood cabinets is approximately 21-22°C or 70°F with a humidity level of approximately 35%-55%.

When the snow needs clearing, you get out the electric snowblower and get the job done! Unfortunately, one of the dangers of electrical devices is is mixing damp conditions and electricity. If you plan on using electrical equipment while you work outside, it is important that your equipment is plugged in to a ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI). A GFCI monitors the flow of electricity in a circuit. If there is an irregularity, even a very small one, the flow of electricity is shut off, preventing an electric shock. 

Since ground fault circuit protection was adopted in Canada over 40 years ago, the number of people dying annually from electrocution has been steadily reduced from over 800 to less than 200, and much electrical equipment and other infrastructure has been saved from damage. For this reason by federal electrical code, all outdoor receptacles must be GFCI. Be sure to test your GFCI plugs regularly with the “test” button. When they trip, you can use the “reset” button to reset the protection.

Don’t know if you have the proper GFCI plugs protecting you and your home? Book an inspection with us today and be sure!

When you’re looking into buying a new home, knowing the signs of rodent activity can save you from buying a home with furry roommates, damaged structure and possibly dangerous diseases. Cleaning up after rodents can cost a homeowner thousands of dollars! When you’re looking at buying a home, watch for these common signs of rodent activity.

Tunnels and burrows around the home can be signs of nesting inside the home. Be sure to look around and behind flower gardens and bushes where rodents can come and go while being concealed from predators. Inside the home look for evidence of nests in places like basements and attics. Look for shredded paper, plastic or insulation that rodents use for creating their nest.

Rodents like rats and mice can leave up to 180 droppings in their wake every day. These small black cylindrical leavings are possible sources of disease and should be an immediate warning sign if seen inside the home! 

If you happen to peek under the kitchen sink and see pest control products, this is a good indication there might be a rodent issue in the home. Traps and boxes of poison are also a sign that the owner has had or currently has a rodent problem. 

Rodents’ teeth continuously grow and they must gnaw at hard surfaces to reduce the size of their growing teeth. Watch for frayed electric wires and bite marks on wood trim. You may also see holes in plastic. Favourites to chew are chair legs, baseboards and insulation.

The smell of rodent urine is described as “musky.” Rodent infestations have a similar smell to an unkept pet cage. This is because all animal urine contains ammonia. If you catch the smell of ammonia, follow your nose and start to look for other signs.

Rodents tend to use the same paths repeatedly and so day after day, they will leave “grease” trails. Look for the grease left by their coats up against walls and on floors.     

Finally, even if the rodents have been eliminated from the home, their damage to foundation from burrowing, damage to wiring and frame due to gnawing may still exist. Chewed wiring poses a fire hazard and possible diseases from their droppings can pose health risks for your family. If you have any doubts about potential rodent activity in a home you are thinking of buying, book a pre-purchase inspection with us. 

Thermography or Thermal Imaging is a revolutionary tool for use in home inspections. It can detect various problems such as moisture behind a wall, air leakage related to missing or damaged insulation, problems with HVAC or electrical systems, problems with seals in windows, structural issues like missing studs or thermal bridging and even find pests or rodents. Our thermal imaging camera operates by detecting variations in thermal infrared energy.

All objects emit some form of thermal energy or infrared heat. When using a thermal imaging camera, it is the differences in infrared heat coming from surfaces that help us determine problems. The camera itself does not highlight specific problems, it instead shows a gradient of infrared heat from “cool” to “warm.” It is up to the trained eye of the operator to be able to know how to interpret the infrared map on the camera screen. When combined with the knowledge of building structures a camera operator can pinpoint an amazing array of problems invisible to the naked eye.

It takes more than a thermal imaging camera to be able to properly identify issues with a structure – it takes years of experience and knowledge of building problems, knowing how heat escapes and moves through building materials to properly make use of the technology of thermal imaging. Don’t trust just anyone with a camera! Trust the experience and home inspection certification of Building Insights to help you inspect your building with thermal imaging!

If you’ve found yourself the owner of an older home, or are looking at one, you may have a type of wiring called Knob and Tube. While modern homes have copper-based wiring covered in a plastic insulation sheathing, knob and tube wiring was created before our capabilities with plastics was at this level and so the wire was insulated with rubberized cloth fabric. The wire needed to flow through large open spaces to allow the heat of the wire to dissipate and so ceramic tubes and knobs were used to ensure the wiring did not touch the wood.

Unfortunately, Knob and Tube wiring had several drawbacks, not the least being that the wiring could not touch anything lest the heat conduct and start a fire. As we renovate and changeup older homes, the risk of fires from Knob and Tube wiring increases by any materials that end up close to this wiring. In addition, the rubberized sheathing loses its elasticity over time and can leave the wiring exposed. This is not only a shock hazard but an additional fire hazard. This wiring also did not support ground wiring and so outlets that are Knob and Tube are only two prongs and will not be compatible with grounded devices.
Your insurance company has likely told you to have this wiring replaced if you have a home that contains it and the likelihood of home fire increases the more you modify your home or any of the wiring of Knob and Tube. If you’re buying a home with Knob and Tube wiring, do have an inspection done first. We can let you know for sure if this outdated wiring is in your future dream home.

Your insurance company has likely told you to have this wiring replaced if you have a home that contains it and the likelihood of home fire increases the more you modify your home or any of the wiring of Knob and Tube. If you’re buying a home with Knob and Tube wiring, do have an inspection done first. We can let you know for sure if this outdated wiring is in your future dream home.

We’ve had yet another thaw this winter followed by a deep freeze and a common issue that causes cracks in foundations is the freezing and thawing of moisture in the soil around your foundation. Cracks are started when the concrete of your foundation, which is porous, has water in it that freezes. Freezing water expands and causes deterioration of your foundation. With multiple freeze-thaw cycles like we’re getting this winter, this process is repeated many times. Eventually, these cracks can get larger and become a real problem with the stability of your foundation.

The culprit in this cracking is excess soil moisture. Depending on factors like the drainage of your soil and how well the water coming off your home roof is routed away from the foundation could determine how much water is getting access to your home foundation. If you’ve seen how an overfilled ice cube tray freezes, then you’ve seen freezing water at work. Water is one of the few liquids on earth that expands when it freezes and there is very little, including concrete that can resist the pressure of the force of freezing water. 

A well-graded property, combined with well-maintained water spouts from roofs with water directed away from the foundation are great ways to reduce the water in the soil around your foundation and hence reduce the chance of cracking. Keep your foundation dry and safe, and your home investment will stay sound! If you’re concerned about foundation problems with your current home or an upcoming home purchase, have us inspect your property and give you a full report. 

Another cold snap is on the way and when it does our furnaces work very hard to keep our families warm! The last thing you want when your family is expecting to come home to a nice warm house is furnace problems, so here are a couple of the common issues homeowners experience and some possible solutions to get the heart of your home working at its most efficient! 

Here are some of the most common furnace problems and how you can solve them to get the most heat out of your furnace!

Furnace only blowing cold air or not generating enough heat:

• The air filter could be dirty. Check and change at every 1-3 months depending on the type of filter you have and how many humans and pets you have in your dwelling.

• Air distribution could be uneven. Check to see if other vents have heat and think about partially closing some to distribute heat better

Furnace won’t turn on / only works for certain periods of time:

• Your air intake could be blocked by snow or other obstructions and the furnace can’t get air. Go outside and check the intake pipe.

• Your thermostat could be faulty or the schedule not set properly. Try changing the batteries as a first step.

Problems you can’t fix yourself 

Your furnace is noisy:

• There should be no squeaking or rattling! This could mean there is a clogged burner or something loose in the mechanical aspects of the furnace.

Your furnace is setting off the CO detector:

• This dangerous situation should not be avoided! Exhaust pipes or the heat exchanger may have cracks and may be leaking dangerous gasses into your home! Do not ignore this problem and call for maintenance or inspection immediately!

If you suspect problems with your furnace or air distribution, why not have us inspect your HVAC and give you a full report on the health of your system!