This was a very informative course, and gave me a different outlook on how different components in a building affect one another. I feel like I can inform my clients better on how to maintain their home, and give ideas for better energy efficiency because of this class.
This photo illustrates a completely unsealed penetration from the basement area into an adjoining crawlspace. This cold air duct was run through the basement wall after a large hole was opened up to fit it through. But as you can see, there are many square inches of space left around the return which have never been sealed up. I recommend framing in the perimeter of this opening, then securing drywall onto the framing. This will seal off the huge majority of the opening, and the small cracks around the perimeters can then be caulked with a firestop caulking.
For this writing assignment, I chose the topic of insulation. The first article was on insulation and R-values. It was very informative as to not only how R-values are calculated, but also how the R-value is only accurate when properly installed – a point that I was guilty of overlooking for several years. Specifically, if you compress insulation into a space smaller than it is intended for, then you also lose some of its R-value. The second article was on Vermiculite. I have encountered vermiculite in many many homes that I have remodeled, never knowing that it was an asbestos hazard. This information will certainly affect how I deal with this substance in future remodel projects! Knowing not to allow it to become airborne is very important for remodelers, but also knowing that dry sweeping and even vacuuming it increases potential dangers much more than a wet cleanup.
Here are a few photos from an inspection I did last month when I climbed up into the attic area towards the end of my inspection. As you can see several issues in this picture from insulation covering the open junction boxes to lose wiring running in every direction not being tacked down, but for this post I’m going to address the lack of insulation through out the attic and the areas where the heat from the house is escaping from the home into the attic area.
Upon exiting the attic I sat down with the potential buyer and explained to them, while going through the photos, they should consider seeking the help from a licensed electrical contractor to look further into the electrical issues that I’d be putting into my report. I also suggested they talk to someone about the loss of energy due to poor insulation after the electrician was finished.
This is a picture that shows the gable vent and the dryer vent. The gable vent was the only view I had of the ventilation system of the home. I couldn’t get into the attic to check because of the access door being blocked. The picture also shows that the dryer vent was to the outside of the home.
InterNACHI Home Inspection Report Checklist
Copyright © 2013 InterNACHI. All rights reserved.
Client name: Sarah A. Wallack
Inspected property address: 607 Kennel Lane, Jacksonville, NC 28540
Date and time of the inspection: 9/12/2015 10:54 AM
Weather conditions: Cloudy
Approximate outdoor air temperature: 84 F
People present at the time of the inspection: Client
Estimated year built: 1974
Type of structure inspected: Single Family Home
Company name: Old North State Inspection Services
Inspector name: Howard R. McAdam
Company phone: (910)545-1104
Company email: onsisc@gmail.com
Company address: 607 B Kennel Lane, Jacksonville, NC 28540
ATTIC, INSULATION & VENTILATION
Inspected: IN Not Inspected: NI Not Present: Not in the scope of the inspection: NS
Inaccessible: IA Unsafe: US
I inspected the insulation in unfinished spaces: NP
I inspected the ventilation of unfinished spaces, including attics, crawlspaces and foundation areas: NP
I inspected the mechanical exhaust systems in the kitchen, bathrooms, and laundry area: IN
DESCRIBE
The type of insulation observed can be described as:
fiberglass blanket: blown–‐in fiberglass: loose–‐fill fiberglass:
mineral rock or slag wool: blown–‐in cellulose loose–‐fill cellulose spray–‐foamed or foamed–‐in–‐place: structural insulated panel:
concrete block insulation: foam board or rigid foam: insulated concrete forms:
natural fibers: Other: NP
REPORT
When the home was built, I guess the builder decided not to insulate the home. The heating and cooling of the home was very inefficient. The attic was inaccessible , due to the access door was completely blocked. I couldn’t see if the attic was insulated or not. Recommend a licensed contractor investigate further, and correct the issues.
The ventilation could only be observed at the exterior of the home, by seeing the gable vents on the north and south sides of the home. Recommend a licensed contractor investigate these issues further.
The Kitchen exhaust fan is vented to the outside, I think, but I could not find an exhaust penetration on the side of the home, or the roof. The dryer is vented to the outside of the home. The bathroom exhaust fan was removed to add a den to the home. Recommend a licensed contractor investigate further and correct these issues.
The crawlspace was flooded from rain yesterday, from what I could see, on the edges of the crawlspace there was no insulation evident. Recommend a licensed contractor investigate further and correct these issues.
The two articles I read where Vapor Barriers and Dryer Vent Safety. Vapor barriers are an important part of moisture control for interiors. A better word would be vapor-diffusion, because barrier suggests that the material stops moisture intrusion, all material lets small amounts of moisture through. In cold climates the vapor barrier should be on the interior side of the wall, while in hot and humid climates the vapor barrier should be on the exterior side of the wall. A perm rating of 1 perm or below qualify as a vapor barrier. Aluminum foil and polyethylene plastic are the most popular materials. Clothes dryers evaporate water by passing hot air while the clothes are tumbled in a spinning drum. Heat is provided by and electric heating element or gas burner. The exhaust vent must be vented to the outside of the home. Fires caused by dryers in 2005 were responsible for 13,775 house fires (418 injuries and 15 deaths and approximately $196 million in property damage).
As you can see from the attached pic, this home had two roof vents installed but it had absolutely no soffit venting. To make this matter worse, there was no access to the attic as it was a finished attic with the upper level ceiling connected directly to the roof rafters. There was no way there was adequate insulation or ventilation.
Condo in the desert with bronze frames and single glazed. Not a good choice for cutting back conduction.
Reading assignment was on Chinese Drywall.
Condo in the desert with bronze frames and single glazed. Not a good choice for cutting back conduction.
Reading assignment was on Chinese Drywall.
I read “The Science Behind the House-as-a-system Concept” and “The Benefits of the House-as-a-system Approach” both on this website Canada Mortgage
The Canadians are pretty serious about this topic.
Here are a couple of pictures I took of a wood burning forced air furnace with an electric a supplemental heat. The home is a rural property and likely very dry in the winter, the buyers are going to replace the existing with a new natural gas furnace and central air.
As a musician with guitars and a baby grand piano my concern is moisture, too much or too little can be damaging to instruments. The first article explains a lot about moisture in your home, I keep mine at about 40% to 45%. Instruments sound best at that level.
The attached picture is the insulation in an attic. A plastic vapor/air barrier is underneath the insulation and greatly reduces air loss from the conditioned space. The newer can lights are sealed to prevent air loss as the older units did. I noticed on this home, no markers were installed by the insulation contractor to help gauge the amount of insulation blown-in.
As part of the course, we are to select two articles and summarize them. One was “10 Easy Ways to Save Energy”. As I was reading the material the thought came to mind, this is all common sense. As the words started flowing here, another thought came to mind, common sense depends on the persons background. I remember teaching my six-year old grandson to remind dad to remove his garden hoses from the outdoor water faucets before winter. We had a cool day recently and he asked me if I had removed my garden hoses yet. I laughed and asked him how he knew about that idea. He responded, he was not sure, but thought it was common sense and he told me about how water freezes and expands. Hmm, we need to remember common sense may not be common at all.
This is a photo of a moldy attic in a house in Toronto, Ontario. While inspecting the exterior, I observed that the visible soffit vents as seen under the eaves were painted over, thereby restricting the airflow through the baffles into the attic space. When inspecting the attic, the hatch did not fit properly and was loose, with no weatherstripping or insulation. There was a flow of warm humid air from the house into a poorly ventilated attic. The result was the mold that was observed on the roof sheathing.
Although this attic had good level of insulation the soffit vents were blocked in a few locations. The attic had a mixture of expanding foam, blow in and batt insulation and was sealed very well other than this issue.
For additional reading I read Insulation R-Values and an article on Tyvek. The large differences in R-Values versus depth of insulation is something to definitely take into account especially when you are dealing with one type of insulation over another. I also learned that tyvek does have some fire retarder tendencies which i did not previously know.
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The required assignment for this class:
The HVAC system is a split system design fueled by electricity. The exterior coil of the heat pump is shown on the right in this first photo. The interior coil is located in the attic and shown in the second photo. Both pieces of equipment were found to be in good working condition at the time of the inspection.
Here is a baffle between rafters preventing the mineral wool insulation from blocking the soffit vents. The insulation depth is 14". Since blown mineral wool has an R-value of 3 per inch this insulation provides an overall R-value of 42. Western North Carolina is in Zone 4 and this house has an electric furnace. Energy Star recommends an attic R-value between 38-49 for this location and type of heat, so this attic falls within the recommendation.
The R-value is a measure of a substance’s resistance ® to heat flow. To achieve the published R-value of an insulating material requires proper insulation. Compressing twice as much blanket insulation between ceiling joists does not double the R-value. Likely it has not changed.
In addition, wall studs allow heat to pass through easier than the insulation between the studs, forming thermal bridges. Windows are another more obvious thermal bridge. Thus the R-value of a wall is less than the R-value of the insulation of that wall. Attics need to breath and soffit and roof vents allows them to by circulating air, in through the soffit vents and out through the roof vents. Baffles keep the soffit vents open by preventing insulation from blocking them.