Ice Dams

An ice dam is a ridge of ice that forms at the edge of a roof and prevents melting snow (water) from draining off the roof. The water that backs up behind the dam can leak into a home and cause damage to walls, ceilings, insulation, and other areas.
This picture illustrates unusually high heat loss from the roof. There is very little snow left on the roof and at its edge is both an ice dam and a “beautiful” row of icicles.

Ice dams can be prevented by controlling the heat loss from the home.
Dealing with ice dams

Attic Ventilation

At first it may seem odd to add insulation for warmth and then purposely allow cold air to enter the attic through vents, but this combination is the key to a durable and energy-efficient home. Here’s why: in the winter, allowing a natural flow of outdoor air to ventilate the attic helps keep it cold, which reduces the potential for ice damming (snow that melts off a roof from an attic that is too warm and then re-freezes at the gutters, causing an ice dam that can damage the roof). Proper insulation and air sealing also keeps attics cold in winter by blocking the entry of heat and moist air from below. In the summer, natural air flow in a well-vented attic moves super-heated air out of the attic, protecting roof shingles and removing moisture. The insulation will resist heat transfer into the house.
The most common mistake homeowners make when installing insulation is to block the flow of air at the eaves. NEVER COVER ATTIC SOFFIT VENTS WITH INSULATION — use rafter vents and soffit vents to maintain airflow.
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Consider installing gutters

If your home doesn’t have them,
consider this:
It is estimated that a one-inch rain fall on a typical 2000 square foot roof will produce up to 2,500 gallons of water !

That water has 3 options once it hits your roof:
1) Run off your roof and potentially drain away from your home (if your grading is working like it should)
2) Run off your roof and potentially drain into your basement
3) Run into a properly installed gutter system and flow away from the home

Sharing at Home

15 of the coolest sharing concepts and resources I’ve found to inspire you and your Family

Recently launched is Shareable, a network of people committed to making life shareable. From the about page: “We cover the people, places, and projects that are bringing a shareable world to life. And share tools and tips to help you make a shareable world real in your life.”
Coworking: In which a group of people share an office space and all the amenities like printers, tea, tables, chairs, but have their own workspace. Some are permanent and some are drop-in based. Here’s a sort of coworking clearinghouse and The Coworking Institute.
Software: From Linux to open office, open source electronic resources are created by users for users.
Yard sharing: Don’t have time to garden but would like the benefits? Share your yard with a neighbor or neighbors. Hyperlocavore and Sharing Backyards are both sites that help people find and link up with others who want to start yard sharing in their communities.
Childcare: From organized co-op preschools to informal neighborhood babysitting co-ops, people all over are sharing the responsibilities of raising children. Because after all, it does take a village. Here’s a site to help you get started.
Stores and Farms: Here’s a directory of cooperative stores and buying clubs. CSAs have been around for a while and they are a form of sharing. Many of the earlier ones required members to work some hours on the farm. Then there’s cowpooling, in which you buy a whole cow with your neighbor. It’s green because the whole animal gets used, not just the prime cuts you find in the grocery store.
Cohousing: Cohousing is often like other housing, where everyone has their own private space, but the residents all consciously choose to share public space, meals, childcare, activities, or whatever they decide. This cohousing website is for people who are in cohousing or want to be in cohousing to help them share information and resources.
Cars: Having a car when you need it and not having it when you don’t is the beauty of car sharing. There are many types of car shares from informal, free and community- or neighborhood-based to businesses like Zipcar and City Car Share. Here’s a page with listings in each city.
Bikes: Popular in Europe, the idea is catching on here with varying levels of success. Shocker! Sometimes the bikes get stolen. The Bike Sharing Blog compiles information on bike sharing from everywhere.
Travel: Like to travel, but lack the money for a hotel? Or have the money, but would rather see the “real country”? Try Couchsurfing.org.
Seeds: Preserving biological diversity and making friends are two benefits of seed swapping. You could easily save seeds among friends and neighbors. There’s an informal neighborhood seed swap that sometimes sets up at my local farmers’ market.
Homesharing: Different from cohousing, this concept is for seniors to connect with one another and share houses, resources and companies. Kind of like roommates for the older set.
Skill Sharing: Brooklyn Skill Share is a network of people sharing knowledge. Another knowledge sharing organization, Bike Kitchens are places where people can go to learn to fix their own bikes and share tools.
Dinner: Frugal Foodies are loosely organized, rotating groups of people that cook dinner together once a week.
Borrowing: Neighborrow facilitates borrowing of tools, books and other household items among neighbors.
We do this in an informal way, since we share a lawnmower with our friends. We got the lawn with the house and didn’t want it and we got the lawnmower for free from a relative. Why buy a lawnmower for a lawn we don’t want and why make our friends do the same? So we share (at least until we can transform it all into an edible landscape).
We also share a car in our household among two and we belong to a grocery co-op that requires us to work 2 1/2 hours per month.
What kind of sharing are you involved in? What’s out there in your neck of the woods that I missed? Please share your information in the comments below.
For more ideas on how you can make your life more communitarian, check out the Sharing Solution Blog and book.

Tamper Resistant Outlets

Why Tamper-Resistant (TR) Receptacles are safer than other preventive measures

• Once installed, they are permanent, offering continuous protection unlike plastic outlet caps that can be removed
• Shuttered wallplates add layers of material between blades and receptacle contacts. Underwriters Laboratories (UL) has withdrawn its listing from tamper-resistant wallplates
• Tamper-resistant receptacles are certified and subjected to severe and documented testing procedures defined by UL
• Automatic protection whenever a plug is removed
• Get your FREE Tamper-Resistant Receptacle Tester here!
• View a NEMA video: http://www.childoutletsafety.org/video.html
• You have to watch this one!

Metal Roofing

Because metal roofing is a premium home product, you can expect your new roof to cost roughly two to three times what an asphalt shingle roof costs. However, a metal roof is comparable in price to tile roofing or cedar shake roofing. If you currently have a slate roof, you can expect your metal roof to cost less.
No matter what kind of metal roofing style you choose, you’ll never have to worry about your roof again. Most come with a true 30 to 50 year warranty. Plus, your new metal roof will add to the resale value of your home, save you money on your energy bills, and give you piece of mind that you’ll likely never have to re-roof again.
A metal roof can withstand decades of abuse from extreme weather like high winds, heavy snow, hailstorms, and even wildfires. Metal roofing has a 140-mph wind rating, meaning it can withstand wind gusts up to 140 miles per hour. Under high wind conditions, says architect Jim Mitchell, “Metal roofing systems have wind resistance and uplift resistance that is above the new building code requirement. That gives us a sense of relief in that we can use the best material to meet those criteria.”
In locations that see heavy snow, metal roofing has been the choice of homeowners for years. It sheds snow fast, which protects the structural integrity of the roof. And it can eliminate ice damming at the eves, so water can’t back up and collect under the roof then leak into your home.
If you live in a part of the country that is prone to wildfires, metal roofing can protect your home should burning embers land on your roof.
If you need to know more about metal roofs, here’s were I found my information.
Related articles by Zemanta

• A new roof over our heads (scientificamerican.com)
• Metal Roof Saves Money for Grandma (treehugger.com)
• Building material could withstand wildfires (cnn.com)

Sealing Air Leaks

Many air leaks and drafts are easy to find because they are easy to feel — like those around windows and doors. But holes hidden in attics, basements, and crawlspaces are usually bigger problems. Sealing these leaks with caulk, spray foam, or weather stripping will have a great impact on improving your comfort and reducing utility bills.
Take a look at what the Energy Star program has to offer to save you money & energy.
Click on the home to enlarge the picture.

Fireplace safety

Fireplace Safety

When you’re buying a home, be sure to have a chimney professional check the fireplace to make sure it is functional and does not need repairs. After you’ve moved in, have a chimney sweep clean and inspect the fireplace annually to make sure it’s safe. Between professional inspections, do your own checks and maintenance to monitor and enhance the unit’s performance. Creosote is a flammable substance that is hard, dark, and crustlike. It is produced during incomplete combustion of wood. An accumulation of creosote can cause a dangerous chimney fire, so it must be removed. You can minimize creosote by burning dry hardwoods, since their lower moisture content promotes more complete burning. A hot fire produces less creosote than smoldering woods. Increase the air supply if necessary so that wood burns more completely. This is a major safety issue!

Humidity Control

In the winter, moisture generated by our activities can lead to too high humidity levels in the house. High humidity levels within the house can cause moisture to condense on windows, water staining to show on walls, and rust and rotting within your house. High moisture levels also promote mold growth. A good rule of thumb for controlling relative humidity in the winter: if frost or condensation forms on your windows, the humidity is too high and you should turn down the humidity. If your hardwood floors start to separate, the humidity is too dry and you should turn up your humidistat. You may need to regularly adjust the humidistat setting and the HRV setting to properly control the humidity in your house. Typically you should not need to use a humidifier in the winter because of the amount of moisture that is generated during your daily activities. However, if you find that the humidity is too low, you may need to resort to using your humidifier.

Frost Proof Faucets

If you live were the outside temperature drops at or below 32 you want to consider installing frost proof faucets. And in many areas of the country it is code. So check with your local authorities about this topic.
Over the last 25 years, outdoor faucets (sill cocks) have undergone two great improvements.

First, a frost-proof sill cock (Fig. A) puts the faucet’s flow valve well within the heated walls of your home. That means if a sudden freeze occurs or you forget to shut down and drain the faucet’s water line for the winter, your chances of having a pipe burst drop dramatically.

FIG. A FROST-PROOF, ANTI-SIPHON SILL COCK
The frost-proof feature works by shutting off water flow back at the stem bottom (inside a heated space). The antisiphon feature is built into the spout. Install the sill cock through a wall with a slight downward pitch to allow any remaining water to drain out through the spout.

Second, an anti-siphon device (or vacuum breaker), now required by all building codes, is built into some new sill cocks (or can be added on to existing ones; Photo 8). It prevents unsanitary water from being pulled back through a garden hose and contaminating your water system.

List of winter things to do for your house

1. Clean or replace furnace filter.

2. Check and clean mechanical ventilation system (HRV/ERV). Check your manual and follow manufacturer’s recommendations.

3. Check exhaust fans.

4. Clear air intakes, exhausts and meters of snow, debris, etc.

5. Remove excess snow from roof to prevent ice dams.

6. Check adjustment of door thresholds.

7. Observe humidity levels and adjust the setting on the humidistat or air exchanger controller as needed to eliminate condensation or frost on windows.

8. Call your home inspector for a thorough exam of your home to make sure it is as energy efficiant as possible for winter.

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