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PLEASE DO NOT MOVE DRYER CLOSER TO REAR WALL. (Part 1)

06-27-11
Robert Butler, Montreal, Canada Home Inspector
Robert Butler, Montreal, Canada Home Inspector: Inspector in Pointe Claire, QC
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  • Office: (514) 336-3393
  • Mobile: (514) 914-1249

PLEASE DO NOT MOVE DRYER CLOSER TO REAR WALL. (Part 1)

wall note

I believe that says it all. But you must ask, why. Well. a quick glimpse behind the dryer reveals all (photo below).

There you can see the plastic flexible duct that will crush if the dryer is pushed any further.

exhaust vent ductIt looks like the home owner has used pipe strapping to hold the flex duct up off the floors so it wont be folded over itself or squished side ways like a 'slinky' toy could be.

This ducting is little more than a 'slinky' type coil that has been skinned over with plastic, so it is notorious for folding over on itself, sometimes more than once.

Obstructed: When this happens it is no longer a functioning duct and your dryer is going to take a long time to dry the clothes, basically baking them dry.

The other thing these ducts excel at is collecting lint. Sometimes the barely pass any air for years worth of lint in there. All those ribs make it easy for dust and lint to catch onto.

Now factor in the warm moist air and you have all the ingredients for mold proliferation.

Lovely! But that's not the most serious problem.

What? You say, could be more important than the dryer not drying the clothes or creating conditions conducive to mold?

Thats easy: fire!

duct fire

Dryers that can't vent, overheat and can cause mechanical failures that will produce sparks. That metal drum spins at a high speed.

Then of course thee's always electrical arcing to set it off. Loose plugs, electrical motor bushings and short faults.

And some dryers are heated with gas. You get the picture.

It should not come as a surprise the fire codes address this problem directly.

In short, they ban the plastic flexible duct use and require that the first 3 feet from the machine be rigid metal ducting. This will be the hottest zone and will tend to collect the greatest concentration of lint.

Home owners need to install the attachment ducts in such a way so as to make the final connection after the dryer is pushed into place.

Wise dryer installers will place removable caps and 'T's in appropriate positions to make it possible to open and vacuum lint out of the ducts.

This is something progressive builders will plan for too.

So don't bake your clothes, grow mold or burn your house down for want of a little ducting. Look for part 2 on how to do the duct well.

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Got clutter? Might be time to move.

06-27-11
Tanya Nouwens ~ Montreal Real Estate Broker & Stager
Tanya Nouwens ~ Montreal Real Estate Broker & Stager : Real Estate Agent in Montreal West Island, QC
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  • Office: (514) 694-6900
  • Mobile: (514) 919-8468

Have you got clutter? A linen closet that takes a full-on tackle to close? A cabinet under the kitchen sink that looks like a product testing lab for household cleaning products? Bin upon bin in the basement that may or may not contain your grade 7 report card?

Well then, it might be time to move!

I'm only partially kidding here. A friend of mine is getting ready to put her Baie d'Urfé home for sale (with me as her listing agent - hooray!). I was at her house on the weekend and she showed me the work she and her daughter were doing to purge, organize and give away the clutter that accummulates after 10 years of living in the same house.

It got me to thinking about all the stuff taking any and all available space (and more) in my own house. It used to be that I moved A LOT. When I was in university, I moved every year. When I started my career, I moved every two years. When I started my family, it was every four years. Well, now that I'm living in the most wonderful neighbourhood in Kirkland, Quebec, it's been seven years and counting...and I've got the clutter to prove it! I don't plan to move, but I do plan to behave like I'm getting ready to put my home on the market. So I'm strapping on my body armour and heading to the linen closet this afternoon.

How about you? Have you got clutter? Then maybe it's time to move! If you'd like to know what your home might be worth, I know just the person to call. She lives and works in Montreal's West Island, selling great homes and helping people find a place to call home. And though she may be lost under an avalanche of pillows at the moment, she'll be out soon enough.

Originally posted at www.readysetsold.ca/blog

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Up Up And Away! ...Scuttle Hatches........Part 3: Insulation as Air Filter

06-25-11
Robert Butler, Montreal, Canada Home Inspector
Robert Butler, Montreal, Canada Home Inspector: Inspector in Pointe Claire, QC
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  • Office: (514) 336-3393
  • Mobile: (514) 914-1249

hatch3

Up Up And Away! ...Scuttle Hatches........Part 3: Insulation as Air Filter

This is something that I see quite regularly. Most people forget that the modern attic is not a storage area of the home. It is a structural service area and is a cold zone. It is outside the thermal envelope of the home. For all intents and purposes it IS outside the home (It's just rain sheltered.)

So what does this mean to home owners. Unfortunately, from the evidence I've seen, to a great many, it doesn't mean a thing.

Why do I say that? What evidence an I seeing?

Well, consider what's shown in the photo above. Yes, it's an open attic hatchway with the ladder positioned and prepared for the inspection.

Already, I haven't even entered the attic yet, but I can see evidence of a chronic problem.

I can see the hatch which is well made of a solid board with rigid insulation glued on it. This is a good detail because it means that when the hatch cover is in the closed position, the hatch area itself is sure to be insulated.

Now look at the other insulation. The fiberglass. The colour. (Originally it was a bright yellow.) Doesn't it remind you of a furnace or car air filter? That's because it is working just like one.

That means there is a constant air flow up arround the hatch to the out side. That's air that you've paid for. No you didn't buy the air but you paid to heat it or cool and filter it.

So that represents money leaving, 'Up up and away'.

If that were happening at a window or door you'd soon be fixing that! So just like all the other openings to the outside it must have effective weatherstriping and latches to keep it closed.


Now please consider this:

If a fire or other source of smoke and/or gas originates in this room, most of the time, it is going to go right out the attic hatch. It will not set off the smoke detector untill much later, maybe only when it is too late.

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It's Atomic! It Might Nuke The Sale, But The House Is OK.

06-24-11
Robert Butler, Montreal, Canada Home Inspector
Robert Butler, Montreal, Canada Home Inspector: Inspector in Pointe Claire, QC
  • view my blog
  • Office: (514) 336-3393
  • Mobile: (514) 914-1249

It's Atomic! It Might Nuke The Sale, But The House Is OK.

I just got back from a consult. I was called in for a second opinion for an issue to do with a garage floor. In this case I was working for the sellers. The buyers were asking for a price reduction because their inspector had identified the garage floor as being defective and in a substandard state.

I did not get to see that inspectors report, but the garage floor is cracked and heaved upward in much of its area. These are large cracks that radiate out from raised areas of the floor and only the central core area near the drain is unaffected.

It is still a functional garage in that you can drive cars in there and park them as well as store the usual collection of tools, bicycles and materials.

However as a garage floor that was sloped to a central drain, it is defective in that this function can no longer be used. This does devalue the property as that capability of the original construction has been lost.

The most likely possible causes of this upward cracking are differential settlement, frost displacement and pyrite uplifting.

The 'atomic' part of the title refers to the fact the force that causes the displacement occurs at a molecular and atom level. For this reason the forces are virtually unstoppable.

The sale may be nuked ( i.e. not be completed) due to unresolved disagreements about the cost of corrections. However, the home has no 'nuclear' issues or radio activity, etc.

Homeowners (sellers) who wish to minimize such problems will appreciate the value of a pre-listing inspection which should identify all major issues and allow them to be dealt with prior to putting the home up for sale.

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Do you live in Quebec and need to short sale your home in Aventura? Katz Realty Group guarantees a full price offer within 30 days or we will pay you $500!

06-23-11
James L. Katz
James L. Katz: Real Estate Agent in Aventura, FL
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  • Office: (305) 932-5289
  • Mobile: (305) 992-6750

katz realty group logo

Do you live in Quebec and own property in Aventura or the Miami area? Are you behind in your mortgage payments? Tired of the harassing letters and phone calls? There is a solution to your problem, and it preserves your credit much better than allowing the bank to foreclose on your home. The solution is to do a successful Short Sale on your home! If you live in Miami, Aventura, or in the South Florida area, and you are facing foreclosure, then you need to call Katz Realty Group? The Katz Realty Group is so successful at short selling homes, that we guarantee we will get you a full price offer within 30 days or we will pay you $500*!

Sound to good to be true?! I closed my last 3 short sale listings in Aventura in less than 30 days from the date that they were listed!

Tired of sleepless nights, while you try to figure out what to do with your property? We have solutions that will help you sleep like a baby! Would a full price offer help you sleep better at night? If so, you need to call Katz Realty Group today! We know hot to get Aventura Short Sales done!

*Offer conditional upon listing at Listing Agent's suggested price, and complying with paperwork and showing requirements

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