|
Wood Decks
Exposed wood decks are very
susceptible to abuse, because of the constant exposure
to the rain and sun, especially here in Western
Washington. Many people mistakenly think that if their
deck is made with pressure treated wood or is made with
Sunwood, that it is maintenance free. This is not true. All exposed wood decks should be treated every year. I
prefer any sort of linseed oil base product, or
petroleum base products, except Thompson’s Wood
Preservatives.
Composite Siding
Material
This type of siding can be a
liability for you, if you decide to sell your home.
Composite Wood Siding is still used in the industry.
Weyerhauser and Louisiana Pacific (LP) were some of the
manufactures of wood composite siding. LP is the
most common of the composite sidings. LP Siding comes
in basically two forms: Lap Siding and Smart Panel
(4'x8', 4'x9', and 4'x10' panels). LP has made
several changes to the product, because of the law suits
against them, but, from my experience, it has not solved the
problems with the product. The product will work
fine, if, and only if the product is carefully installed
according to the manufactures instructions and painted
on all exposed parts, including the bottom edges.
This is where most of the siding fails: at the bottom
edge. I have an old neighbor who
installed his LP lap siding in 1992. He carefully
caulked all of the bottom edges and seam splices.
He carefully painted it twice by hand. He has never had
any problems with his siding. However, based
on my observations and inspections, I believe many
of the installations of LP siding done today will fail
in ten years or so, however, LP representatives assert
that it will not fail. The proof will be out in
ten years. The good news is, LP has changed their
warranty on products installed after 1996. The
supplier is now providing the warranty on the product.
The warranty is good for 30 years and is transferable. If you have LP siding on
your new home, my recommendation is to have it repainted this year and/or call
me for an inspection of the product. I personally
recommend using Hardiplank siding, a cement composite
board, which has a limited 50 year warranty.
Siding Paint
This is the first line of
defense against deterioration. If your paint starts to
go, so does you siding material, especially if it is
wood. Stay on top of this, and it will save yourself lots of
money and trouble. Use a high quality Acrylic or Oil
based paint. I prefer Sherwin Williams and Benjamin
Moore paints. I do not recommend Parker Paints, even
though they are made here, and supposedly for the
Northwest climate. Parker Paints develop mold very
quickly. Also, check your caulking at siding
joints and window and doors. If these are cracked
or are missing, water and pest can enter in behind the
material and start your home on a destructive path.
Interior Paint,
Carpeting and Environmental Issues
More and more people are
realizing that the inside of their homes is a toxic waste
land. Most interior paints emit gases over the life of
the paint. New carpeting is highly toxic,
releasing formaldehydes and other chemicals. New carpet should not be installed in
homes of pregnant women. Much of the interior woods
are particle board or MDF (medium density fiberboard), which is loaded with formaldehyde,
which also is gassing off.
What should you do? Well,
for indoor painting I recommend using any zero VOC rated
paint. I have had good success with Rhoda’s
Horizon paint. (I believe that Kelly Moore also has a
zero VOC paint) After painting my own home, and waiting
two days, I could not smell the new paint. All I
could smell in the house was the plywood on the floor!
There are other products that can be applied to already
painted areas, and seal off the gases that are normally
emitted. One such product is call "Safe Coat".
You can purchase it at Environmental Products Store. For
carpeting there are special sealers that can be spayed
on the top and bottom sides of the carpet and lock the
gases inside, before you install your carpet. If
you are interested in this, please call me at
253-279-1535
or email me.
If you are building your next
home, stay away from particle board products (OSB is not
particle board) and insulation which is not formaldehyde
free. If you have family members that are sensitive to
chemicals, or who have severe allergies, do your
homework on the products installed in your next home.
It can really make a difference! I hope to have more
information posted on these issues in the near future.
Another consideration is your
heating source and how your home is sealed. Most
building codes require homes with electric heat to be
completely sealed with visqueen after the insulation is
installed. This makes the home more airtight and
heat efficient. It also raises the toxic gas levels
that are trapped in your home, which creates "Indoor
Pollution". It also traps moisture in the walls so
bad that you can some get water to drain out of the wall
by poking a hole just above the baseboard with a
screwdriver. This moisture also adds to any mold
problem you might have and causes the wood in the wall
to rot out. What are your options? 1) remove the visqueen after it is inspected (best option)
before the sheetrock in installed, 2) install
an "Air to Air Exchanger" in the home, 3) Select a
different type of heat source so that your builder
does not have to install visqueen on the walls.
Moisture problems can be a real problem in newer built
homes.
Roof Sheeting
Next to the foundation, your roof is the most
important structural system in the home. If the
roof fails, the rest if the structure will decay because
of abuse caused by rain.
If you are build a new home, I recommend using
1/2" or 5/8" plywood on the roof instead of using 7/16"
OSB. OSB (Oriented Strand Board) is the most common and cheapest material.
However, in Western Washington, with our moist climate,
most OSB panels will start to show signs of sagging
between the trusses, if the truss spacing is 24" o.c.,
which is the norm here. This sagging is evident
within about 5-7 years. OSB is fine for exterior
walls and shear walls, in fact it is stronger in the
lateral direction than 5/8" plywood, but is not the best
material for a roof sheeting.
If you are remodeling an existing home, where a
shake roof has been replace with a composition roof, it is very common to see OSB over skip
sheeting, which is 1x4 or 1x6 boards with 4" to 6"
spaces between the rows which run perpendicular to the
trusses or rafters. This is a very good and sound
roof. The OSB will not sag because the skip
sheeting is supporting it so well.
Septic Tank
Filters and Pump Systems (Maintenance)
If you have a Pump System (2 or
more tanks), it is very likely that you have a sock
filter, approximately three feet long. This filter
should be removed and rinsed with a hose every six
months. If it plugs up, your septic alarm will not
detect it, because the alarm is in the other tank.
This filter has a handle and is found in the second
tank. Remove the lid from the tank, and the handle
should be above the effluent and is usually white. The
filter sock is
all plastic, approximately 4 inches by 36 inches long.
The filter grid is usually red or black. Rinse
thoroughly with a garden hose over the septic tank
opening.
It's a good idea to wear rubber gloves when doing this.
Be careful not to fall into the tank or allow little
children near the tank when the lid is off. A
normal tank is 6 feet deep.
Gutter and Down Spouts
(Maintenance)
Most people forget about gutters and downspouts
until it is too late. They should be cleaned once
per year, preferably in the winter or late fall, after
all of the leaves have blown off of the trees.
The most important functions of gutters, down spouts and
drainage, are protecting your foundation from erosion,
and your siding from water damage.
If your home does not have gutters and downspouts and
correct drainage, your home can be easily undermined by
the rain water. If your gutters become clogged,
your fascia boards and roof eaves will eventually rot
out. I have seen this happen several times.
If you have any
questions about constructing your new home, feel free to
contact me.
Email
Bob
|
