Nailing It Down
By Dave Murnen and Pat Beaty
With all the water outside lately, it might surprise you that, as housing experts, we’re mostly concerned with wate getting trapped inside your foundation, living space and attic.
Last week, we talked about the negative effects of moisture trapped under your house, concentrating on the foundation vents and the proper formula to figure out how much venting is optimal.
Today, we want to take you on a tour outdoors, to the sides of your house, to identify potential damage being done by a wet, silent beast and other hidden threats that thrive with water.
WHAT DO YOU SEE?
Your home’s exterior siding protects your home from the many wraths of nature, just as your clothes protect you. When properly installed and maintained, most of the siding material types are generally durable and long-lasting.
But worn, cracked siding material, a bad paint job, UV light from the sun, exposed or poor caulking, and rusted or ill-installed flashing and moisture buildup can all damage your house.
What do these bad boys of the siding world have in common? They could have been prevented. Good ventilation and timely maintenance are the best offensive weapons.
SIGNS OF A GOOD OFFENSE
Here’s what you want to see as indicators that your home is well protected:
• A great paint job on every surface.
• Good doors, windows and trim.
• Good gutters and downspouts with splash blocks to convey the water away from the foundation.
• Black plastic ground cloth in the foundation covering all soil.
• A sealed pipe and flapper vented to the outside for the dryer, the kitchen range hood and each bathroom fan.
• High and low attic venting at 1 square foot of vent for each 150 square feet of attic floor area.
• Same for foundation vents in the skirting.
• No woodpiles against the house giving shelter to bugs.
• Happy neighbors admiring your well-kept home.
So, what should you do if you see something that is not on the desired list?
Well, for starters, if you see peeling paint, or curling composition shingle roofing, you may have a moisture control problem.
Maybe it is finally time to install black 6 mil. plastic under your house, add foundation or roof vents, and actually connect all the fans blowing steamy air into the attic to metal piping vented through the roof in proper flapper vents.
If you already have fans and the dryer is vented, make sure they are not leaking moist air, and that each flapper opens and closes properly when the fan is on.
Are the little bathers and busy cooks using the fans — and leaving them on for at least 20 minutes after finishing?
And finally, did you know dryers put out huge volumes of sticky steam full of lint that can stick to and build up on the inside of the vent pipe and flapper — to the point where it takes a long time to dry your clothes or clogs the whole system? This is also a fire hazard. An annual cleaning of the dryer vent system is easy to do — and it helps prevent rats from making your dryer into their nursery, because they can’t get through a flapper that actually closes when the dryer is turned off.
INSPECTION TIME
Inspect your siding, windows, roof and gutters for signs of leaks.
What if you see rusty siding nails or bleed marks? It may mean someone used the wrong siding nails. It also can also mean you have a moisture issue behind the siding.
Once you have found and corrected the sources of moisture, countersink the old nails, fill the old holes and re-nail as you go with galvanized nails. Applying a stain blocker over the rust marks before painting works well to hide and seal out moisture.
AVOID WOODPILES
NEAR HOUSE
Woodpiles or lumber stacked near the house can create additional problems: extra moisture and bugs. However, it’s an easy fix to move the wood as far from the house as you can — 25 feet if possible.
Now look for bugs, fine sawdust or bug holes of any kind on the house. These can indicate infestation, which usually means a consistent source of moisture. Find and stop the source, then repair any bug damage. Consulting a certified pest control applicator to prevent future infestations can be a good idea.
Remember, heavily damaged wood may be hidden in a wall or in the floor. So you will need to follow the signs of moisture-related damage — rot, staining, peeling paint, rusty nails, dampness, dry rot, dead or active bugs — until you get to the root of the problem. This is where a professionally trained and certified pest control inspector is the appropriate source of information to identify the pest and what’s allowing it to thrive, and to make recommendations for treatment after the source is corrected.
Other common maintenance problems to look for include missing or damaged siding or trim. It’s important to repair and replace these materials to avoid moisture intrusion, causing deeper component structural problems and more unnecessary expense.
If you own vintage housing stock, pay close attention to broken or missing window parts. The sash surrounding the glass panes must be kept well glazed and painted.
The “stool sill” draws the rain away from the siding and must be smooth, rot-free and well painted. The trim boards around each window make a weatherproof transition from siding to glass. They, too, must be tightly caulked and painted. When these parts fail it can result in leaks, leading to wall and floor damage.
When you observe, repair or replace window parts, make sure to stab-test the wall sheathing just under the windowsill, fixing what you find as soon as possible.
Close observation of your home’s exterior components is the key to maintaining a tight, waterproof shelter that always looks great and keeps you warm and dry in winter.
Dave Murnen and Pat Beaty are construction specialists at NeighborWorks of Grays Harbor County, where Murnen is executive director. This is a nonprofit organization committed to creating safe and affordable housing for all residents of Grays Harbor County. For questions about home repair, renting, remodeling or buying, call 360-533-7828 or visit 710 E. Market St. in Aberdeen.
