House electrical panels rarely change their original location. Even when upgrading it to a larger size, they remain in the same spot. However, while remodeling our house interior, we sometimes completely forget – or just don’t realize – the mistakes we’re making. We just pick the best possible location for the new bathtub, toilet, and [...]
If you are living in an older house, its plumbing might contain cast iron drain lines. Compared to the newer PVC pipes, cast iron drains are much quieter during operation; but at the same time they might prove to have significant, and quite expensive, problems. Some of a cast iron pipes have a tendency to [...]
Is your clothes dryer vent discharging air from the appliance? Is your dryer vent clean? Does it take long to dry your clothes? Have you checked your clothes dryer pipe in the attic or crawlspace? There are still many home owners that fail to comply with current building code requirements concerning their clothes dryer vents. [...]
Your house’s plumbing vent’s purpose is to remove sewer gases from the drainage system and equalize its atmospheric pressure. Without the plumbing vent, our toilets and all other home plumbing fixtures might not be draining properly, can cause unusual noises (like gurgling or belching as and after they discharge), and could be responsible for an [...]
A quick answer would be yes for the crawlspace venting and not-venting. However, there are many supplemental conditions that would support each “yes” answer, and there are ways to make any condition favorable to either – the only thing in your way is usually just the cost. Summer in Illinois is often hot and very [...]
Let’s wrap it up – this is the last of my Crawlspace Inspection posts and I’ll take care of the items 9 & 10 from my Top 10 list. They are somewhat correlated, at least partially. Top TEN Crawlspace Problems: 1. Cracked foundation / possible structural problems 2. Leaking foundation 3. Drainage problems / flooding [...]
When remodeling, upgrading, or changing the house exterior, we often forget to consider that some of the components that used to be safe prior to the completion of our new project may become quite dangerous when we’re finished. One of those components is an electrical service connection to our property … you know, those thick [...]
Early detection of a structural pest infestation in our crawlspace may have a huge impact on the structure of our property and in our wallet. And most importantly – we are only a couple clicks away from seeing the daylight … 1. Cracked foundation / possible structural problems 2. Leaking foundation 3. Drainage problems / [...]
We are getting closer to the end of crawling through the Crawlspace Inspection. In Part Six, we’ll take a closer look at the floor framing and floor structure support … 1. Cracked foundation / possible structural problems 2. Leaking foundation 3. Drainage problems / flooding crawlspace 4. Plumbing components issues – leaking water supply lines, [...]
The crawlspace inspection continues (Part Five) as we take a quick look at the electrical components down below. 1. Cracked foundation / possible structural problems 2. Leaking foundation 3. Drainage problems / flooding crawlspace 4. Plumbing components issues – leaking water supply lines, drain pipes, crawlspace water heater installation problems 5. Heating system issues 6. [...]
This post, concerning heating system issues, is my fourth in the series of crawlspace inspections … and we’re in the middle of our crawlspace evaluation, with some more bad things on our way. 1. Cracked foundation / possible structural problems 2. Leaking foundation 3. Drainage problems / flooding crawlspace 4. Plumbing components issues – leaking [...]
Welcome again in the Crawlspace Problems series, and this is Part Three (item #4). 1. Cracked foundation / possible structural problems 2. Leaking foundation 3. Drainage problems / flooding crawlspace 4. Plumbing components issues – leaking water supply lines, drain pipes, crawlspace water heater installation problems 5. Heating system issues 6. Electrical components issues 7. [...]
