DLH

Home Inspection Services

P.O. Box 9588

Boise, Idaho 83707-3588

208-867-0162

MAINTENANCE AND OWNERSHIP INFORMATION

Foundation Vents

The perimeter vents in the concrete walls of the foundation are operable from the exterior. It is important to keep these vents open at least 9 months during each year to assure adequate ventilation of the crawl space. Here in the Boise area vents should be open from February to December unless we have an extreme cold spell.

Each vent has a metal push-pull linkage that protrudes through its front face. This linkage is connected to a solid sheet metal flap hinged along the top inner side of the vent. When the linkage is pushed toward the crawl space, the metal flap is opened. Notches along the bottom side of the linkage can be used to prop the vent’s flap open.

To close each vent for winter, simple pull its linkage as far toward the exterior as possible and push down to secure.

Crawl Spaces

The space under homes needs to be kept relatively dry. It is wise to keep any wood or paper debris or personal property removed from crawl spaces; especially from resting in direct contact with the soils (any type of cellulose-containing material can become an attractor for wood destroying organisms).

Your crawl space should be inspected at least twice a year by peering or better yet getting into crawlspace at its access with a flashlight. This will help detect any inadvertent water flooding that might develop due to an unnoticed water leak in the supply or drain plumbing. An occasional peek into the crawl space will let you know how the gutters and downspouts are performing with respect to keeping waters from the roof and surrounding yard out of the crawl space. As most problems here in the Treasure Valley area are related to Roof water and or Sprinkler Systems.

Air Conditioning Systems

Air conditioning compressor units (the outdoor portion of the system) should not purposely be run when the outdoor air temperatures are below 45 or 50 degrees Fahrenheit (the cold oil in their sumps tends to be lifted up and into the freon, leaving none to lubricate the compressor).

When the outdoor temperatures are between 50 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit, the compressor can safely be run and some cooling will take place; but this cooling effect is due primarily to the fact that the outdoor air is cooler than the living space air – not due to and change of state of the coolant (from liquid to gas).

Air conditioning systems cannot work as designed until the outdoor air temperatures reach at least 70 degrees. For this reason, annual maintenance should not be scheduled each spring until the outdoor temperatures will be at least this warm. Heating and cooling specialists cannot tell whether the coolant charges are correct when the outdoor temperatures are below 70 degrees.

It is also important for the maintenance contractors to verify that the fine air fins of both the outdoor and indoor coolant coils (heat exchangers) are free of dust clogging. An access panel must be available to see the coils at the indoor unit. Sometimes an access must be cut through the sheet metal). Freon (or coolant) cannot be correctly adjusted unless the coils are clean.

One should avoid purposely restarting a compressor unit within the first 3 to 5 minutes after it is stopped. It is more difficult on the compressor motor to restart against a load. Allowing a few minutes for the coolant pressures to equalize helps take the load off the compressor. During power outages, it is a good idea to quickly turn the thermostat to the off position until power is restored and appears to be stable. These precautions can help prolong the life of the compressor motor.

Electronic Air Filters

An electronic air filter on a furnace must be cleaned as often as monthly. Otherwise the snapping sound may become too frequent and could cause the high voltage transformer unit to burn out.

Each of its metal trays may be removed and either hose sprayed or placed in the dishwasher. The filter elements should not be put back into the furnace and turned on until dry. Some dry them in the airflow in the furnace by simply switching the filter appliance’s rocker switch to its “off” position for a few hours first.

The metal mesh pre-filters should be cleaned at the same time. It is important to note the direction of the airflow through the filter appliance so that these pre-filters can be replaced in the correct slots. Most electronic air filters are designed for use in either airflow direction and have slots for the pre-filters on each side of the electronic filter elements.

Furnace Maintenance

Furnaces should be cleaned and checked annually. However, it is not important what time of year this maintenance takes place. Because of this it is usually most wise to have the five minutes of annual furnace maintenance done at the same time as any annual air conditioning service.

Inlaid Vinyl Floor Coverings in Bathrooms

Even though most contractors carefully seal joints between the fronts of tub curbs and adjacent vinyl flooring, water can also run to the wall. Because of this it is suggested to extend the silicon sealant bead along the bottoms of all baseboard moldings around the entire perimeters of bathrooms that have inlaid vinyl flooring.

Pocket Doors

Try to remember that pocket doors slide into pockets in the wall, leaving little room (if any) for nails or screws for wall hangings. Exercise extreme caution whenever making any penetrations in the wall panels near a pocket door. It is not uncommon to see a door panel with holes or with long scrapes and scratches due to lack of foresight.

Hinge Mounted Door Stops

Removing all hinge-mounted doorstops where possible is suggested. This type of doorstop can apply extreme power point loads to door surfaces – all too often punching through the skins of hollow core doors. However, if this style is the only kind that will work in a given situation, then it is recommended to apply one to each hinge pin and adjusting them all to share the force equally. Brass adhesive plates are also available for door surfaces to spread the point loads over slightly larger areas, or to patch door skins that have become damaged by this type of doorstop.

Freeze-Proof Hose Valves

Many types of sill cocks (exterior hose valves) are designed to allow all water to drain from their barrels each time the water is shut off. This allows all water that would otherwise be exposed to freezing air temperatures in the winter to drain away safely before it can freeze and expand to cause damage to the piping.

However, in order for this type of hose connection to function correctly, any hoses or other obstructions such as additional valves must be removed during cold weather to allow the valve barrel to freely drain when the valve is shut off.

If hoses are inadvertently left attached during freezing weather, one can check for freeze damage after the piping is thawed by placing a tight fitting cap over it’s hose bib and turning the valve on. If any water sprays or leaks out either to the exterior or into the crawl spaces or wall cavities around the freeze-proof barrel, the valve must be replaced as soon as possible.

Roof Valleys and Gutters Over Sloped Shingled Roofs

We suggest that roof valleys and gutters be cleaned seasonally. If too much debris is allowed to stand in the valleys, the shingles may let water through into the attic or living spaces. If the gutters become too full of tree debris, water may leak back under the shingles along the eaves causing damage to the fascia, soffits or living spaces.

Condensation on Aluminum Framed Windows

Aluminum frames around windows will usually become colder than most other surrounding surfaces during the winter months. As a result, moisture held in the warmer living space air will tend to condense on these surfaces. Often times this condensation will form water droplets that gather and run down to form puddles on the windowsills. If this condensate puddles deep enough or often enough, it can damage the finishes of the windowsills or even discolor the surrounding wood or sheetrock.

There are several precautions homeowners can take to minimize the formation of condensation around these windows: 1) keep humidity levels in the living spaces reduced to a reasonable level by utilizing exhaust fans to discharge humid air from the house that is produced by cooking or boiling liquids, bathing and showering, 2) position window coverings in such a way that some warmer air can circulate between them and the colder window surfaces, or 3) allow more outside air vapor to be mixed with inside air each day. Since the colder outside air cannot hold as much water vapor, once it is brought up to living space temperatures its relative humidity drops dramatically.

Rust Stains on Concrete from Water

If water available for irrigation has a lot of iron (ferric ions) dissolved in it or rust (ferric oxide) particles suspended in it, constant watering of adjacent lawn or landscaping areas may result in reddish brown deposits accumulating on the concrete from the nearly unavoidable over spray. Although these stains are difficult to remove, they tend to wear away in time if something can be done to minimize the repetitive wetting of the concrete. Often times, and adjustment of the landscaping will help.

Decorative borders can be installed adjacent to the concrete flatwork of the driveways, walkways, patios, etc. that don’t require watering and which provide enough separation to eliminate the occasional over spray of the watering systems.

The rust colored stains can usually be greatly reduced, if not eliminated, by treating them with chemical cleaners designed for that purpose. Check your local home improvement store for available products.

Rust Stains on Concrete from Fertilizer

Some palletized fertilizers containing iron will leave small rust colored stains if not swept off the concrete before the next rain or sprinkler operation. I recommend sweeping or vacuuming all fertilizer pellets off concrete flat work surfaces immediately after application.

Small Shrinkage or Settling Cracks in Sheetrock Surfaces

It is completely normal for new homes to acquire small cracks here and there in sheetrock surfaces due to initial settling and shrinkage. Usually, these cracks will begin appearing within the first year and 80% of their total movement will have occurred within the first three to five years.

The homeowner can usually fill these cracks with matching painters caulking. Elmer’s now makes painters caulk in a large number of colors that are designed to match today’s wall colors. The matching caulking should be pressed as deeply as possible into the cracks and all excess caulking should be immediately wiped from the surrounding surfaces with a damp cloth. In doing this only the visibly contrasting black shadows of the cracks are eliminated. If excess caulking is left on the wall or ceiling surfaces next to the filled cracks it will be too visible. Even a closely matching caulking color will appear very different if enough surface area is in view.

Draw String Window Coverings

Any of the popular window coverings that incorporate drawstrings to raise and lower them can be operated in a manner that will greatly extend their expected lives. Rather than using only the tension of the draw strings for raising the window coverings, one may do most of the lifting by placing one hand under the center of the window covering’s bottom rail to support most of the weight while simultaneously keeping only mild tension on the draw strings. In doing this the window coverings are not raised by the stings, only held in place by them.

Conversely, when lowering the coverings, one may hold the drawstrings in their release position with only very slight tension. Then rather than applying enough downward tension on the strings to cause the locking cams to release, one can then gently lift the center of the bottom of the window coverings to release the cams. This way very little actual tension is required on the draw strings to release the cam.

By following the procedures outlined above, very little wear occurs on the draw strings as they follow around their pulleys and very tugging is done on the window coverings attachment hardware to the window casings or walls. The window coverings will last much longer.