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Siemens and Murray Breaker Issue Notice
If you bought a brand new house or updated your electrical service equipment after June of 2010, you’ll want to check if you have these breakers made by Siemans. These Siemens and Murray circuit breakers, with a June
or July date code, may have a non-conforming “spring clip” plug-in assembly that breaks or fails to provide sufficient force to maintain a proper electrical connection in the panelboard. The following link gives you all the info needed to have the breakers replaced.
Providing quality home inspection in Fort Worth, Dallas, Arlington, Mansfield, Burleson, Cowley, Joshua, Everman, Rendon and surrounding areas.
Fall Chores can be Healthy
It’s time for the Fall season, which means the annual chores need to be done. Many of us put these chores off as long as possible. From raking, to cleaning the house, to splitting firewood, to getting ready for the holidays, these tasks need to get done. Many of these fall chores are physically exhausting. But, depending on your health, they can also be a great form of exercise and calorie burners.
Here are some healthy reasons why fall chores can help you get some exercise.
Raking Leaves – on average burns 280 calories per hour. 
Whether you have to rake leaves or grass clippings from your lawn, this chore is exactly that – a chore. However, raking is a great aerobic exercise that uses upper body strength and back muscles.
Splitting & Chopping Firewood: 400-500 calories per hour
This activity is very physical and works almost every muscle of your body. From squatting to get the wood, to stacking and chopping, you are working various groups and getting a good aerobic workout. Be sure to take precautions (safety) wear gloves and take breaks.
Fall Gardening: 200 -250 calories per hour
In some areas, gardening is still growing strong. In others, fall gardening chores might include cleaning out the garden for next year. Pulling out plants, weeds, as well as planting spring bulbs all burn calories and exercise your body.
Cleaning the House: 200-230 calories per hour.
Forget spring cleaning, there are many holidays in the fall that require some cleaning for guests, decorations and more. There are various levels of housecleaning, but for purposes here we’re talking moderate cleaning of many different household tasks. (Put some music on in the background and you might make this cleaning workout a bit more effective.)
*Calories burned based on an average 145-pound person.
On my next Post, I’ll give the fall chores that need to be accomplished to keep your lawn and landscaping looking good in the fall and through the winter.
Hidden Reason to get a Home Inspection
Just another example of why you should get a home inspection prior to spending your hard earned money on your dream home. As you can see by the picture, a shoddy repair job would have given a few clues something wasn’t right. As a buyer of a house, what would you have done next?
Part of my passion as a Dallas and Fort Worth area home inspector is to get to the bottom of little things that others wouldn’t think to observe. My first move was to look at different areas located around this particular area, ie, laundry room, bathroom, etc. When looking in a very small linen closet next to this room I came across another ceiling issue the present homeowner failed to look at or hide and the next pic shows what I had found.
As you can see, we got a little growth going on. Although the growth hasn’t been tested for mold yet, we can come to our own conclusions. So we know this is a moisture problem and the next step is to isolate where the moisture was coming from. Above the area in the attic, there was only the vent pipe for the dryer coming up through the ceiling and going up and discharging through the roof. As you can see by the next picture, someone definitely had come and repaired a previous leak from the dryer vent that penetrated through the roof.
Of course none of these issues were listed on the homeowner disclosure statement. Most things I find that have been previously repaired aren’t on a disclosure statement as expected by the report itself. When we removed some insulation from this area, the issue was extending through 4 different rooms and just a new fresh coat of paint was covering it up.
If your planning on buying a home, new or used, and don’t have the construction experience to inspect yourself, you owe it to yourself to get a home inspection from a quality home inspector.
Leahy’s Inspections Proudly serving the Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Mansfield, Burleson, Joshua, Crowley, Everman, Benbrook, Grand Prairie and surrounding areas.
Draining a Water Heater
Very few homeowners realize the need to drain a few gallons of water from your water heater twice a year. Regardless of the type of water heater you have, gas or electric, water heaters can develop a build up of sediment at the bottom of the tank. This build up can cause the water heater to operate inefficiently, shortening the life span of the appliance. Prior to draining water from your tank, you need to understand the proper way and safety concerns of performing this task. It is very important that when you are doing this maintenance to your water heater, you make sure the appliance is turned off and that you protect yourself from a potential burn. Turn the water heater off for at least an hour to reduce the temperature. Wear thick gloves, long sleeves, and safety goggles, and do not touch the water draining out of the tank.
There are two valves on your water heater. The one near the top is a safety valve that release pressure - DON’T TOUCH IT. The one near the bottom is for draining and the only one that should be opened for this purpose. Connect a hose (garden hose) to the water heater drain valve and set it to drain into a sink, or to drain outside where it can not hurt anyone. Once the drain is safely in place, turn the valve counter clockwise to open the drain. Remember the water is going to be very hot! In a few gallons, the water will become clear as the sediment washes out. Close the valve by turning clockwise and make sure you close it completely so there are no drips. Turn the water heater back on and task is done.
The Truth about Replacing Windows
I’ve listened to some outrageous claims from window replacement companies. The usual sales tactic is how much return on your investment by replacing your windows you’ll get. The fact of the matter is the new windows could take anywhere from 13 to 20 years to receive your investment back. Unfortunately, a lot of consumers believe the window company’s claims. I hear this myth repeated many times while doing home inspections throughout the Dallas and Fort Worth areas.
Don’t get me wrong, new windows can be a very good thing, but it miffs me just a bit that a vast amount of dealers in the market try to hype the return to make it sound as if your investment will be recouped in no time at all.
When it comes to our hot climate in the Dallas Fort Worth areas, with the best energy efficient window, you can control the temperature within your home and make the space cooler during hot summer days. The right windows will allow sunlight to pass through, but block heat, helping you save both energy and money on air conditioning.
Follow the tips below when choosing the type of energy efficient windows that work best in hot climates.
Selecting Window Frames
The type of window frames you use will have a great impact on the energy efficiency of your windows. Frames may be made of several different materials, including aluminum, fiberglass, vinyl and wood. Aluminum frames, though widely used in modern construction, are the least energy efficient. Fiberglass frames are moderately efficient. Wood and Vinyl frames are highly efficient. Wood frames are costlier while vinyl frames are affordable.
Window Glasses for Energy Efficiency
The glass panels contributes to the energy efficiency of a window. There are 3 factors to consider for the types of glass:
■Visible transmission (VT)
■Solar Heat Gain coefficient (SHGC)
■U-value
VT is the amount of sunlight that is transmitted through the glass, while SHGC is the fraction of total solar heat that can pass through the glass. U-Value is a measure of transfer of heat through the glass through conduction, convection and radiation.
Glasses with high VT allow significant daylight into the house thereby reducing the necessity of lights during daytime and hence help in saving energy. The recommended value for VT is 60 to 80 percent. For hot climates SHGC must be as low as possible. Glasses with low SHGC let a lesser fraction of solar heat into the house and thus help in saving the air-conditioning bills. SHGC of below 0.40 is recommended for places with hot climates. The glasses with low U-Value is recommended for all climates.
Use of Multi-Pane Glasses
Single pane glasses are highly inefficient and no more used. Use of double or triple pane glass is recommended for energy efficiency. The vacuum created between different panes of multi-pane windows is what causes insulation and hence helps in saving energy.
Low Emissive Glasses
Low emissive glass panes are also used to improve energy efficiency. Low emissivity glass has a coating of metallic oxide layer on the inner side. The low emissive coating prevents heat transfer between panes i.e. from glass of high temperature to the glass of lower temperature. For places with hot climates, the low-e coating needs to be applied to the inner side of the outermost pane. Low solar gain low emissive glasses reduce the incoming heat and form the best energy efficient windows for hot climates.
Beyond that, replacement windows have value that adds up in ways other then energy savings. The Curb appeal of your home, in your mind and those of prospective buyers might be greatly increase with the addition of any of the many readily available replacement window styles. Come sale time, those dollars invested can have a substantial return.
Warm-Climate Window Tips on saving extra money from energy loss
•Install white window shades, drapes, or blinds to reflect heat away from the house.
•Close curtains on south- and west-facing windows during the day.
•Install awnings on south- and west-facing windows.
•Apply sun-control or other reflective films on south-facing windows to reduce solar gain
