Vents in crawl spaces can cause rot in floor framing
Q. I live in a house that is about 40 years old in the Chicago area. The man who built it built seven or eight other houses on our street. Our house has a three-quarter basement and one-quarter crawlspace with no vents in the crawlspace. Should there be some vents? The other houses have vents in their crawlspaces. In the summer it smells musty; would the vents help the smell? We do put a dehumidifier in there to help, but why no vents?
A. Crawlspace vents used to be installed as a common practice, and are still required by some outdated building codes. They have been found to cause more problems than they were supposed to prevent. If the crawlspace floor is covered with a concrete cap or 6-mil plastic, there is no need for vents. Vents allow summer moisture to build up in the floor framing, and this has caused severe rot, particularly in more humid Southern climates. Using a dehumidifier during the summer should control the mustiness.
Q. We would like your advice on replacing a forced hot air gas furnace. We have a typical Cape Cod home, approximately 1,350 square feet. The house has good insulation with a wrap, vinyl siding and new windows. The first supplier has offered a York furnace (80,000 BTUs, 80 percent efficiency) for $3,800. The second supplier has offered both a Goodman furnace (70,000 BTUs, 80 percent efficiency) for $3,000 or a high-efficiency (95 percent) for $3,900 (qualifies for tax credit). The third company has offered a Lennox high-efficiency gas furnace with 90,000 BTUs (80.5 percent) for $3,300. Do you recommend one brand over the other, and what is the right size for us? The furnace we have now is original to the house. We appreciate any advice you can give us.
A. I suggest that you select a high-efficiency furnace that qualifies for tax credit. A furnace with an AFUE (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency) of only 80 percent is not efficient by any standards, and I would stay away from it. What is surprising to me is that any HVAC contractor would even suggest such low-efficiency furnaces in this day and age. The difference in cost between a low-efficiency and a true high-efficiency (mid- to upper-90s AFUE) should be recovered by the 30 percent tax credit you can claim for the high-efficiency furnace. The fuel savings will make the choice even better as the years go by.
The brand is not as important as the service provided by the installer and how long the installer has been in business. Always ask for references and check them out. Goodman is a brand in the mid- to low-range, found mostly in mass-produced homes, according to my contacts. York, Lennox, Carrier, and Trane are brands that have been around for many years, but the availability of parts and the service provided by the installer are still the most important factors to consider. It may be time for you to consider some other improvements.
A 48-year-old house could benefit from energy-efficiency upgrades that would result in the need for a smaller furnace and smaller fuel bills. A new furnace should be sized just right for the calculated heat loss of the house - but not oversized - to ensure plenty of heat in the coldest temperatures. If I knew more about your house (type of siding and windows, etc.) I could offer some suggestions on improvements.
Q. I would like to know your opinion on the EdenPURE portable and the Amish Heat Surge.
A: These heavily advertised heaters you mention, some endorsed by showmen, are still electric heaters, and you are paying a high price for a heater that you can buy for a lot less in a hardware store. The Heat Surge in the "stylish Amish cabinets" and the EdenPURE will make the room they are in more comfortable - if you lower the thermostat in the rest of the house. Any electric heater will do the same for a lot less money; all these expensive national ads are paid for by the huge markup on these foreign-made heaters. All their ads mention savings of "up to 50 percent," which gives you a range between 0 and 50, depending on a number of factors. The Amish cabinet by itself may be worth the high price as a nice piece of furniture, if you need one and want it.
Q. We got a little paint on our brick patio (not much). Any way we can remove it?
A. If it's latex paint, try OOPS! remover. If the paint is alkyd (oil-base), use a semisolid paint remover and follow directions. If the paint has penetrated deeply into the brick's pores, you may need something more aggressive like Peel Away, available at hardware and paint stores.
Q. In 1995 we built a house here in Williston and installed 172 squares of IKO Chateau Chapel Slate, Aristocrat 25 shingles that were supposed to last 25 years. Today, they show severe wear in several places. In a phone call with IKO, the representative said if there was a legitimate claim, the company would only be responsible for about 23 percent of the material cost. She sent a claim form and instructions on how to remove shingles to be sent to them for inspection. I am not inclined to remove worn shingles and replace them with new ones on the chance they MAY find my claim justified, nor do I feel the 23 percent of material cost only is realistic. If there is the possibility of a class-action suit or other recourse, please let me know.
A. One hundred and seventy-two squares of roof? That's 17,200 square feet! Some house! The only way that you will be able to file a claim is by including samples of the failed shingles. The place where they will be removed can be temporarily covered with any spare shingles left at the time of the installation, which is usually the case since it is nearly impossible to end up without leftovers. If you don't have any, whoever removes the samples of damaged shingles can use metal or any other material that will withstand the weather and sun.
Your shingles have been on for 15 years, 60 percent of their warrantied life. You should be given a refund of 40 percent. Unfortunately, it is customary for shingle manufacturers to pay only for materials. Labor to remove and put on a new roof is, sadly, on the customer.
Q. My husband and I are in the process of researching a wood insert for our fireplace. After a rep from the company came out to do a site inspection, we were told we have a negative draft in the house. We do have problems with smoke seeping back into the house when we use the fireplace, but now we see this is a bigger issue of losing a lot of heat from our home. Whom can we contact about fixing this problem?
A. A negative draft occurring when you use the fireplace indicates that your house is tight enough not to allow replenishing of the air going up the chimney through cracks and crevices around the building envelope. Solve this with a make-up air system installed by a mason or chimney sweep near the fireplace. Or crack a window near the fireplace when using it. If properly sized, it would satisfy the insert's needs. But of greater concern is where is the smoke seeping back in the house coming from? Do you have a second fireplace, or is the smoke being drawn back down through a heating-appliance flue? In either case, it sounds as if both flues are in the same chimney and the unused one is sucking down the gases from the used one. This is a potentially lethal situation. If it is due to a chimney cap that covers both flues, it should be removed or changed to a different type. If you will send me a photo of the top of the chimney, I may be able to make more accurate recommendations.
• Henri de Marne was a remodeling contractor in Washington, D.C., for many years, and is now a consultant. Write to him in care of the Daily Herald, P.O. Box 280, Arlington Heights, IL 60006, or via e-mail at henridemarne@gmavt.net.
© 2009, United Feature Syndicate Inc.