Good Morning George:

I am the realtor that sold D&D their town home. I am also their friend....yes! they said so! I am also in need of advice/help as to what to do about mold in my apartment. I have inspected myself, washed the window sills and surrounds with clorox and cannot find any evidence of this disgusting stuff. However, I am an allergic person in general, very sensitive to that mold "smell" and have experienced that smell in my bedroom...I wakeup wheezing and sneezing and am now being covered by an incredibly persistent, itchy rash! Am over-dosing on Claritan and do not wish to continue doing so... I do believe the problem lies under the carpeting...I don't with to alert the management (completely negative at all times) just yet...until I have some "hard" fact...or something. By the way, my dog is suffering as well....and is wearing away his fur and the skin under it......

Can you be of any help? Anything at all?

Thanks.....

Building 1st Home (under construction) in Macomb Twp. NEED HELP can't take any more runarounds.

Block basement leaking from day one. Besides moist/wet walls all the way around, puddles form after rain. Setbacks put us through winter causing cracks and very slight bowing in spots (dug up necessary areas and repaired from outside after winter), now spring basement still leaking. One common answer we got (inspectors, excavator, plummer and basement guy) was grade not finished and gutters not done, this is normal, and when completed water will run away from the house so no water build up, no more leaking, no freezing water next to basement, problem solved (not). The rest of their possible reasons were all different blaming the outer guys.

City inspector said same thing with possible blame shot at every trade no definate answer. All work HAS passed inspections and they stand strong their minimum requirements are enough. Examp.(having clay in the dirt used for backfill "Everyone around here has in the backfill no problem.").

Basement guy parged the walls and added several coats of tar on top. He protests the clay holds too much water not allowing the water a path to reach drain system. And of course the waterproofing top nocth!? And so on.

Have already researched on the web. Not rich! Need advice to possible solutions, reasons, and/or who to contact for solid advice. Afraid waterproofing companies will sell their products costing thousands of unnecessary money.

John

My home was built in the 1880's. It is 1100 sq ft. It is heated with gas, forced air. My PSE monthly bills gas and electric are $200 on year round plan. I have a large pristine attic (10 ft high) with no insulation, but crisscrossed with knob and tube wiring. How do I determine if it's more cost efficient to address that problem OR just throw in a wood or pellet stove to keep my home warmer in the winter? Where do I start? (Old windows have all been replaced). Thanks! Faith

My home under construction includes a roughly 20' x 27' garage with 2nd story apartment. Appropriate footings and slab thickness. Today I noticed that contractor had cut two "stress release cuts" appr 1.25 deep x1/8" wide that run the length and the width of the garage criss-crossing in the middle. These were intended to "control or prevent unsightely settling cracks". Two problems... 1) the cuts themselves are unsghitely.

They used a hand-heald concrete saw that "ran" some, so the lines do not have uniform thickness and are frankly not that straight either. And due to the fact that the walls were already framed, the cuts do not go all the way to the wall due to the saws clearance. This gives the appearance that the whole action was an after-thought. Just believe me when I say that,in my new home, this is not going to be acceptable. 2)I have seen these types of cuts and expansion joints before but I have never ever seen them in a garage. My question, I would like to fill these holes as if they never existed. I was thinking about cleaning out these cuts, applying a bonding agent, grouting with a concrete slurry and painting the floor if it remained unacceptable. Is there a question here? How should I go about repairing these cuts to look like they were never there?

The home where I've lived for the past 18 years is built on sandy soil, with concrete blocks forming the basement walls. It's about 55 years old. There is a slight downward slope away from the house and I never have leakage of rain water into the basement unless I neglect to clean out the window wells. The basement has only one visable floor drain. It is next to the furnace and hot water heater and is very slow. The run-off from the humidifier will cause it to fill up and form an increasingly large puddle after only a few hours. So I have to keep the water line into the humidifier 3/4 closed. I've had this drain roto-rooted and power- rodded, but the line was impassable after about 25 feet. This floor drain would quickly be overwhelmed by significant water in the basement, say from a broken pipe or water heater. I want to avoid installing a sump pump, partly due to expense, but also because I don't want my basement floor chopped up to make basins or canals. Now here is the actual question: The floor outside of the furnace room is covered with linoleum tiles. Isn't it very likely that there's a floor drain under those tiles somewhere? And if so, might it perhaps still function? If I could find it, I could run a hose into it to test it out. So I rented a metal detector this morning, but it registered what had to be false positives over the entire surface of the linoleum. I kept adjusting the sensitivity, but to no avail. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Our 1650 SF rambler was built in '54 and we want to replace the old, original oil furnace with something more modern and efficient. We also want to be able to cool the house and clean the air in the house. Even tho this is technically considered a temperate climate, we don't like the hot summer weather. Additionally we live close to the airport so the pollution is an issue especially in the heat of summer. We're thinking of an electric heat pump. What is your advice/recommendation? We plan to hire a contractor to do all the work. We've had 2 estimates this week for a heat pump and one for a new oil furnace and air conditioner a few weeks ago. The estimates range from $7500-$9200 w/o tax so far. One estimate says we need more duct work for the heat pump. There's gas at the street but not to the house and we're not too keen on gas. There's so much to consider and we want to pick the right system. We're planning on staying in the house for many years. We're not rich but are willing to spend the money to get it done right. We also want to add some insulation to the attic (and possibly in the walls of our bedroom to dampen noise from the airport). Thank you for your time. Your website is a wealth of information! :)

I'm not ready to do a bid process right now but need to find out a rough estimate of how much it costs to tuck point. The basement and garage are in need of a fair amount of such work. Each probably doesn't need everything tuckpointed, but a good portion does need it, and some bricks need to be replaced. The basment is approximately 40lx26wx9h and the garage is approximately 20x20x9. Are you able to give me any kind of a rough idea how much a job like this would cost? In Omaha, NE.

We're having a home built that is supposed to be "all masonry construction". Phase I homes were all masonry: cement block, wrapped in a brick facade. We're in Phase II of construction. Because of the cold Chicago weather, the developer wants to change the construction materials so that he can start development now. He wants to use a wood frame, wrapped in Tyvek, with a brick facade. I believe that the all masonry construction is better because it will last forever, is better protection against fires and is quieter. Does all masonry construction have a longer life expectancy? Amtrak and a Freight train runs across the back of the home. The models in Phase I with the masonry construction did a good job of muffling noise. Will the Tyvek construction muffle the noise as well? Finally, can they change the construction materials without our consent? There were many advertisements saying this would be "all masonry construction", but our contract says they can change the materials with equal or better value. Its been eight months since we signed the contract.

Dear George and Associates,

What is the proper installation of a "seamless?" laminate shower that does happen to have a horizontal seam in it at a height of five feet.

I have a new installation of a seamless laminate shower in a bathroom remodel. The product is molded horizontally and is only five feet wide or tall as you look at the shower pan to ceiling shower. Thus there are two horizontal pieces to this shower. The Seamless Shower Walls, Inc. out of Fresno, California, put the bottom piece over the top piece with a four inch overlap. At this height a lot of water will hit that seam. Then they put a molding around the horizontal seam and sealed it with silicone. However, before the rest of the other part of the bathroom remodel was done the bottom piece of the shower had pulled away from the wall on the longest or back side of the shower. The company then came back and tried to reglue the wall and pushed a frame on it to hold until it was dry. Since that did not work they say they will redo the bottom section using more glue.

The contractor I am working with for other projects and who properly prepared the shower area for this company states that he believes the overlap should go the other way like shingles on a roof or siding on a house, whereby the top piece overlaps on top of the bottom piece so the water will run down and off. Or he says some kind of z-molding engineering should be done to assure water will not creep behind the bottom half.

The company states this bottom over top is perfectly fine and that the glue will last for years and seal the wall perfectly. At the same time they are saying they can easily remove the bottom half and redo it.

With this bathroom remodel we have corrected many leak problems in the walls and flooring and we are anxious that this installation of a shower will not repeat the past troubles. Unfortunately we are already tied in with this company and I am not sure they are giving us the right information. They also have been fairly rude stating that our contractor does not know what he is talking about.

The situation today is that the contractor is suggesting that I request them to pull the whole thing out and put the top over the bottom. The company is insisting that they only do the job one way, bottom over top and that they are going to schedule in the time when they are going to return.

I want the job done correctly and I need some leverage that comes from knowledge and what is the proper installation technique. California code is that the wall be waterproof to six feet. The company is saying that I have to do the maintenance for the seam to last. Then they said that they would come out and do the maintenance and if it does not work replace everything ... all damage. They say over the phone that their product lasts 10 years, but on the back of the estimate, it states five years for the product and one year for the installation. I have already paid for the product as the installation was completed.

I will appreciate your input into this confusing situation.

Sincerely, Elizabeth

Hi George--

we have a question about a new addition to our home. We want to add a living area upstairs; it appears that the home originally had only one floor but someone converted the attic (at the highest point, with normal high ceilings) into a couple of small rooms.

We want to add two dormers the full length/width of the house to increase the living area (with full steps going up). At present the floor-ceiling is composed of 2x4's. In order to make it an up-to-code living space, what are the minimum requirements for the floor joists? Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you. (If you can recommend any book we can read on this subject, that would be great).

Kim and Jose

We are building a new home and the foundation has already been poured. We would like to add 8-12 in to insure we can get full 8' ceilings. The question is, can you add concrete blocks to poured foundations to get more height or would we look to dig deeper, which could be a problem as it is so rocky in CT?

George - I have a unique situation. My home is situated along a road with significant traffic and the subsequent sounds. The interior of my home is well sound insulated with minimal sounds inside. My house has an interior courtyard with pool and spa. The sound from the road is significantly more noticeable with the open air above. Is there a way to reduce the noise via a spray dampening product or a barrier. The home owners association frowns on exterior changes, but changes within the courtyard are able to be made. The walls are made of stucco at this time and the material on the outside cannot be changed except for a spray material. A 4 foot wall has already been added, but the courtyard still receives more noise than we wish.

George, We added an office for my wife to the side of our Modified 2 Story Home. Our house was originally built in 1995 with the addition completed in 2004. Recently, we discovered we had condensation problems in the roof (dead space between the ceiling and exterior roof). The roof was constructed utilizing Engineered I Beams. These I Beams are basically trapped between the roof's underlayment and the sheetrock in the office. We discoverd the condensation problem when water started dripping out of one of the recess lights during cold weather this fall. Upon further investigation, we concluded that the problem had to do with inadequate venting near the top of the roof on this addition. We have vents in the soffits, but there were no vents at the top of the roof to let the heat out. This week we had 3 roof vents installed at the top of the roof. Vents were put in line with the 3 rows of recess lighting we have in our addition. We are assuming these lights were adding to the condensation problem by generating heat that was getting trapped in the roof. We assume adequate insulation was put into the roof as it was inspected and signed off on during construction. We will soon know whether or not our condensation problem has been addressed. My question to you is that now that we have what we hope will be adequate ventilation (although I have my concerns since we basically have rows of trapped dead space based on each set of I Beams being trapped between sheetrock and the roof underlayment), I noticed that I now have drafts coming in around the recess lights, especially during windy days. Good news, it does appear that air is traveling through the roof via the vents. However, if I am getting drafts into the house during windy days, I assume I am also allowing heat to enter this dead space and potentially causing condensation. Since the recess lighting was added during the contruction, I cannot remove the cans to add additional insulation around them. The decorative trim caps help seal the area somewhat, but I can still feel the drafts inside the cans. Was wondering if I should try and inject the liquid, expandable insulation (stuff in a can) around the perimeter of these cans from inside to try and seal up these passage ways? Or do you have other suggestions to address this problem? Or do I just consider these drafts and potential heat loss normal for my home. My real issue is that I do not want to continue to have any type of condensation problem in my roof as well as I do not want to be wasting enery via heat loss around these cans.
If you need additonal information, please let me know.
Your thoughts and assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Dennis

Dear George,
My house has just been resided with red cedar shakes. In the planning stages of this project, the subject of pre-treatment came up, i.e., dipping the bundles of shakes into a preservative or stain. The men who did the project assured me that red cedar didn't need any pre-treatment, especially as I'm having a standing-seam copper roof put on soon as well. They said that rain washing over the copper and onto the shakes would help preserve their already self-preserving qualities.
I was watching "This Old House" last night and was alarmed to see a sample of non-treated red cedar shakes siding after many years. It looked awful - blotchy black and dark orange. They recommended bleaching oil to solve that problem. My shakes are brand new so I assume that I don't need bleaching oil, but I gather now that I do need some sort of protection for them. Is it too late? What about warping and decaying due to partial coverage. What would be the best thing to put on them now, if any - stain? semi-transparent stain? Paint? Needless to say, I'm really scared - this was expensive. And while we're talking about expense, I just heard from a builder friend that copper rooves don't hold up to acid rain. I'd thought that copper would not only be beautiful, especially as it aged, but hold up forever. Have I just made the most expensive mistakes I could possibly have made?
With much appreciation for any encouraging words and advice you might be able to offer, I am Sincerely yours, Meg

George,
We are looking at a home and the inspection revealed that there was standing water in the crawlspace (the inspector did not complete the inspection due to unsafe conditions).

I went into the crawlspace to take a look for myself and noted the following:

-height of the crawlspace is 4 1/2 feet. -there was 1-3" of standing water throughout. -uniform discoloration (dark) along the mason blocks showed that at times an additional 6" of water is in the crawlspace -concrete pilings show discoloration about 18-20 inches above the existing water. -mold and mildew was present. -one of the main support beams had wood that crumbled under thumb pressure. -The bottom row of mason blocks in the crawlspace entrance area (outside)had significant deterioration. -It appears that water has been an issue under the house for a long period of time--years, not months. -No apparent cracks or deterioration to the blocks in the crawlspace.

We are in a drought here for the last several months so improper roof drainage is highly unlikely. It looks like there is a spring near the side of the house by the crawlspace entrance.

What measures would be required to keep the crawlspace dry? What expectations would you have in terms of wood damage in the crawlspace? I only did a spot check on some of the wood but did not see any obvious subfloor damage. If you were a prospective buyer, would this exceed your risk tolerence?

Hope I'm not piling too many questions on here!

Thanks,

Dave