Columbus Ohio real estate

This is a flip, and a total "remodel," of a 120 year old house.  I always expect to find things that aren't right.

AND WE WERE IN FOR SOME FUN!

After turning appliances on to get them running, I always start in the basement.  The first thing I see is the new heat pump, but it is hooked up to the old, metal duct work.  Now I am not an HVAC specialist, but you just can't do that.  The old system was oil and blew much less air than a heat pump demands.  Retrofitting heat pumps and using the old duct system is a fat NO, NO.

But right beside the unit is the thermostat.  The basement simply isn't the best place to put a thermostat.  And right beside the system and under the only register in the basement!  So it's temperature registration will not accurately reflect what is going on in the rest of the house.  I had noticed the main level was a little cooler than the basement, so my client and I had a talk about stratification and regulating temperatures level to level.

FYI, there were no duct dampers (of course, they were using the old duct work) to help that and only on return vent.  That sole return was in the floor of the hallway and 12x12".  Heat pumps require huge amounts of air.  They HAVE TO return at least as much air as they blow.  If not, you will never have a comfortable home and the unit will be killed off in a couple of years.

THE BIGGEST KEY TO EFFECTIVE HEATING AND AIR CONDITIONING IS THE RETURN AIR DUCTS AND THEIR LOCATIONS. 

We went upstairs and it was about 40 degrees Fahrenheit!  Outdoors was about 30 degrees so something was up!  And I got the question:  "Is the thermostat in the basement why it's so cold upstairs?"

My immediate response was that probably not, there had to be something else going on.  The upstairs had three bedrooms, a hallway, a hall bath and a "master bath" in the rear bedroom.  Looking around, only the center bedroom had a heating register!  Neither bathroom had one, neither of the front bedrooms and not the hallway.

"Is that why it's so cold?"

The same question again.  

"Let's look in the attic."

Up I went to see this.

You are looking over the two front bedrooms.  Of course you don't see any HVAC registers.  We know there weren't any.

Do you notice anything else missing?

I don't see insulation.

Do you see insulation?

I don't see insulation.

I see wiring for the new lights, so they were up there.

There was a new duct for that one room, so they were up there.

SOMEBODY KNEW THERE WAS NO INSULATION UP THERE!  AND NO DUCTS SERVICING THE OTHER ROOMS.

My recommendation:   A flip by a contractor does not mean the contractor knows what he is doing.  That heat pump has no chance of being effective.  This particular contractor's check list did not include installing HVAC registers or insulation. 

Do you think those were the only things he missed?  Can you see the twinkle in my eye as I ask that?

 

 

Jay Markanich Real Estate Inspections, LLC

Based in Bristow, serving all of Northern Virginia

www.jaymarinspect.com

Two nights ago, long after we were all tucked safely in bed, my husband and I were wakened by a very loud beep beep beep. Startled, we both sat up in bed and, in tandem, looked at our alarm clock. 1am. Ugh.

Once the cobwebs of deep sleep lifted, we both realized that we were, in fact, not dreaming. Our carbon monoxide detector was going off. My husband jumped out of bed and pulled the thing out of the wall. On the back of the detector, there was language regarding the various types of beeping the detector was capable of and what each type of beep meant. Huh? You have to pull the thing off the wall to read and decipher the alarms??? Our beeps were persistent but, were about 20 seconds of so apart and according to the back of the detector, were indicative of an equiptment malfunction. We breathed a sigh of relief. Yea! We were not being poisoned after all and could go back to bed.

No sooner than our heads hit the pillow did we hear more beeping! My immediate reaction was to accuse my husband of putting the defective detector back in the wall. I just could not believe his stupidity! With a sneer, he assured me that he had notput the bad dectector back and that this beeping was coming from our OTHER CO dectector! Ok, now I was fully awake and, I admit, a bit scared. All I could think of was CALL 911! CALL 911! We're being gased!

Carbon Monoxide is called the silent killer. It has no smell and it can kill quickly. Mecklenburg County requires that all homes are equipped with CO detectors, even if the house is 100% electric. The ordinance was passed in response to some very senseless carbon monoxide poisoning deaths that could likely have been prevented with proper CO detection. This night, it was our turn to be saved!  Our CO detectors were doing their job - halleluya! Wait, Tuesday night was the coldest night of the year - I think it was 14 out. We have dogs, we have cats, we have a turtle - what the heck were we going to do? It was 1am after all! Where would we go? Who would take us in? Oh my goodness!

Truly, only a couple of minutes passed when we heard the blessed sirens of the Charlotte Fire Department. Into our home walked 5 of the best looking men I'd seen in a long time (sorry honey!). The firemen immediately took CO readings all over our house and quickly determined that we not being gassed after all. Turned out, we not only had 1 defective CO detector, we had 2

You are probably asking yourself, what are the chances that one CO detector would go bad at 1am on a frigid night in December, much less two? I am here to tell you it can and does happen - it happened to us! The firemen told us that the detectors must have been maufactured at the same time and, apparently, had EXACTLY the same life expectancy. Who knew? Shouldn't we have been warned about this???

The moral of the story is PLEASE check your CO and smoke detectors regularly, especially in very cold weather. AND, if you determine that you are in need of new CO detectors, heed my advice and either buy two different brands, or buy one at a time at different stores! The life (and sleep) you save my be your own! Happy Holidays!

Kathleen Turner, ABR, CRS, ePro

KathleenTurnerRealty.com

KathleenTurnerRealty@gmail.com

Kathleen Turner, ABR, CRS, ePro

www.KathleenTurnerRealty.com

www.Twitter.com/KathleenHomes

KathleenTurnerRealty@gmail.com

 

If you enjoyed this post you'll certainly enjoy these other 'Just For Fun' posts!

Budget home improvements can certainly help in this real estate market, particularly when you're busting at the seems and need more storage space.

Why not consider a closet organizer? If you are planning to sell, a well organized home will look better and sell faster. A small home improvement can go a long way for you.

Installing a closet organizing system also one of the few do-it-yourself projects that can easily end up looking professionally installed - while you save as much as 80 percent off the cost of having a professional closet company install a closet for you. So the payoff for your sweat equity is significant.

Whether you're going to hire a closet organizing company or do it yourself, start by looking at the closet space you have.

Is it a walk-in closet or does it hug the wall? Is it tall or short? Narrow or deep?

Matching the use to the size and shape will help make the most of a particular closet. Take careful measurements of the height, width and depth of each closet. Note the height, width and depth of doors, and if there are any obstructions, such as a pipe or column, that could interfere with your closet design.

What's in your closet? Once you've opened up your closet, take a look at the types of things you keep in it.

One of the biggest problems we have with closets is we try to overstuff them - usually with items we don't need in each season. For example, you might have ski equipment in your mudroom during the middle of spring and summer.

In a bedroom, you might have long and short hanging items, shoes, tall boots, thick sweaters, underwear and socks, pajamas and black tie dresses. You might even store extra pillows and blankets. In a downstairs coat closet, you might find you've stored your children's lunch boxes and school junk into a box on top of winter and summer gear.

Try to separate out items that don't need to be in a closet year-round with those that do.

Look at the types of clothing or items that you will need to store and measure them. Do you need to hang your pants straight down or can you fold them on a hanger so you can double-hang your closet to maximize hanging space?

How are you going to use your closet? Start by counting your shoes. Women typically have 10 to 20 pairs of shoes (or more!), while men often have either 6 or 12. Three pairs of women's shoes will fit onto a shelf that's 24 inches wide. If you have 20 pairs of shoes, you'll need to have at least 7 shelves just for your shoes - or you might want to figure out another place to keep them.

Do you want drawers or baskets? Do you want to keep your jewelry in a shallow drawer or do you want it somewhere else? Do you need a place for your belts and purses? And, what about those tall boots. Figure out what you need to get to most often, then design a solution that makes these items accessible.

Look at sample closets. Most home improvement companies all have samples of closets that have been built out so you can actually see what each component looks like.

If your friends have built out their closets, invite yourself over for a tour. Ask them what they like and don't like about their closets and how they would do it differently the next time. What you want to do is develop a design that work for the items you have and how you use them.

Draw it out. If you're going to have a closet organizing company install a closet and make the home improvement or home repairs, most companies will send a design associate to go to your home, take the measurements and provide you with a closet design at no charge. If you're going to do it yourself, take a look at the half a dozen or so standard components and start moving them around to create the kind of closet that will meet your needs.

If you're having trouble visualizing how the closet will come out, take some construction paper and measure out the components to scale. The idea is that you build a model of your closet, so you can figure out how well it will work for you. Some of the manufacturer's of closet components offer websites that can help you with your design.

Read the contract. If you're going to hire a closet company, read the fine print on the contract before you sign it. Most national closet companies have a standard contract that provides for a full or limited warranty on closet pieces. Make sure you understand what the warranty covers and what you have to do to qualify for a replacement or refund.

Don't pay everything upfront. Closet companies understand that savvy customers aren't going to pay until they're satisfied with the job. If you have to pay up front, choose a credit card that gives you six months interest free.

 

If your closet installer insists on payment in full before the job begins, consider looking for another closet company.

Prepare your closet. If you decide to build out your closet, you'll have to dispose of your old closet system first. That can cause some damage to your walls. If you don't want your new closet looking shabby from the get-go, take the time to patch, prime and paint before the installers get there. Otherwise, you may not be quite as thrilled with the result.

 

Take a look at the many videos we have on home improvement projects:

How To Keep a Home Renovation on a Budget

How To Paint A Room In A House

 

You might want to consider our eBook on helping you de-clutter your home:

The Clutter Collector: How To Get Rid of Clutter Everywhere In Your House and Personal Finances

As homeowners take up the carpet and move back to hardwood and hardwood laminate floors, it would be a good idea to be mindful of what type of floor is underneath.

I have had numerous clients complain that slab on grade homes that have hardwood or hardwood laminate on that slab is cold.   In most cases the carpet and carpet pad have been removed so the previous owners did not realize as cold a floor.

Now that the new floor has been installed it is an expensive undertaking to try to add heat to that floor.

I suggest that a heating system be added before the hardwood or hardwood laminate is installed.  Other precautions can be taken during constuction that may help but most are updating the property well after construction.

 

 

A great deal of my inspections of late have been for heat loss or cold rooms here in the Columbus, Ohio area.  What I have been finding the biggest issue is the misunderstanding of how to treat the crawl space.

If you have vented your crawl space to the exterior then all walls and floors contacting living space must be insulated and all heat ducts and water pipes in that crawl space must be insulated.  The opening must be closed with insulation on the door or panel.

This method should also be used if you don't have a vent to the exterior and are not keeping the space conditioned (heated in the winter, cooled in the summer).

The preferred method is to close the space to the exterior, insulate the exterior walls, including the rim joist, open the access panels by using doors with holes, cloth covered frames, or no door at all, and condition the space by opening a heat vent slightly in the crawl space.  There would be no need for insulation with vapor barrier between the crawl space and floor above.  This will keep the floor above much more comfortable.

This condition is found in about 75% of my inspections... last weekend.... 100% of the inspections.

Most tell me it was like closing an open window once the issue was corrected.

The following drawing was found on the internet.