February 27, 2021
Dear Readers: Snow can be an insidious mischief-maker this time of year and cause all kinds of distressing issues if not kept at bay. Let’s review some ways to ward off intrusion:
Wind-blown snow can invade your home and settle in out of the way places you don’t often check; the attic is the most vulnerable. Sometimes snow will blow in through one of the attic vents—either the roof-type or gable-style in the end walls—and accumulate in a mound on top of the loose insulation. As long as the attic stays cold, no problem. But as the weather warms up, melting will allow water to percolate through the insulation, saturate the sheet rock and stain the ceiling; these are usually not serious. If you do see an isolated, yellowish stain on your ceiling, let it dry out for a week or two, then spray on some primer—like KILZ or Bullseye--and repaint it. Our dry conditions here allow the insulation to dry out with little or no effect, but it is worth climbing up into the attic sometime to take a look. The best defensive barrier is a cheap furnace filter stapled or taped over the offending vents. It will still allow a little air to waft back and forth but will keep wind-driven snow out.
The crawl space is the other most susceptible spot. Snow will come in through the most northerly-facing exterior vents and also collect in little piles. The potential for damage is much less than the attic upstairs, but the presence of snow is an indicator that cold air is blowing through the space. That can lead to frozen water pipes, and of course, it also sucks expensive heat out of your house. So it’s a good idea to close off all but one or two vents each fall—and then open them all in the spring.
Finally, your window wells can accumulate drifted snow. It’s not OK to simply let it melt. That would introduce unacceptable amounts of moisture under your foundation—which is precisely where we don’t want it. Wet soil can expand and cause heaving of your concrete basement slab and maybe even the foundation. I know it’s a pain, but this snow must be dug out, first thing.
The best window wells covers include a grate of crisscross metal ribs or wood slats strong enough to walk on, topped off with a clear plastic bubble to keep out not only snow, but also leaves and other trash.
If you have a high efficiency furnace or water heater, snow buildup can also be troublesome. Many of these installations use PVC (white plastic) flue and air intake pipes that run out through the side of the house. Trouble is, they are relatively close to the ground. If snow drifts against either of these pipes, the furnace or water heater will go into a fault mode and simply shut down.
Dear Ken: I appreciated your tips last weeks about septic tanks, but we have another problem with ours. Sometimes the odor is so unpleasant in the yard that we can’t stay outside for long. Is there any way to make it more bearable? Kerry
Unlike us city slickers, who get to send our household drainage down the street, septic waste products remain on the property, so this odor issue is pretty common. The roof vent pipes are usually the source. It’s easy to extend them higher with a short piece of pipe, so the smells get carried away more readily. Use a 45-degree fitting and point the end opposite to the prevailing wind direction.
If you still have a problem, check out the filter systems available. You simply glue them in place on top of each offending pipe; Google Sweetair for one such system. Before you order and install them though, check with your plumber or septic company to see if they approve.
Dear Ken: The rubber gaskets on our exterior doors have worn out. How can I locate some new ones? Gene
These come in standard widths and simply snap into the groove on the threshold. Take a piece of the old one with you to match it up at the hardware store. The Macklanburg Duncan (M-D) company makes a wide variety of replacement weather-stripping products. Check their web site if you need further help (mdbuildingproducts.com).
Sometimes, in older homes, the exterior doors will sag to such an extent that the door ends up grinding against the gasket and so breaks it down on no time. Rather than go through the hassle of re-setting the door, check out a vinyl sweep. This is a metal strip with a round vinyl piece that attaches to the inside of the door. It’s vertically adjustable and so can seal the uneven gap under any sagging door in an older house.
Dear Ken: We would like to lay bricks over our cracked patio concrete slab, but we are in the mountains. Do you think it would do OK here and not freeze? Jeanine
As long as the patio has some drainage slope built into it, you’ll be fine. That will allow melting snow and rain to seep underneath the bricks and drain away. These sand-bedded surfaces do fine, even when it’s quite cold. If imbedded water were to freeze, the bricks can easily shift in response to the frost expansion, and then settle back down when it’s warm; the sand acts like little ball bearings between the bricks, so any stress is easily relieved. I like your idea because it renews an old, ugly surface, and you don’t have to bear the expense of a costly tear-out.
