Leaking Air is Like Leaking Money!

One of the most common causes of heat loss and reduced energy efficiency in your home is air leakage or air infiltration. During the heating season, you might as well be watching dollar bills (if we still had them!) float out through the visble (and invisible) cracks in your home.

Tom and Larry of DrEnergy do a great job of explaining what causes the most air leakage in a typical house and how to reduce it.

CMHC Green Home Program

I'm told it is a good thing when you are too busy to blog and this past few months have definitely been busy! When I came across a press release about this new CMHC program though, I figured I had to make the time for a quick blog post.

More than 17 percent of the energy consumed in Canada is used to run our homes. Buying an energy-efficient home or making energy-saving renovations can offer big savings. With the CMHC Green Home program, you may be able to save 10% of your mortgage insurance premium just by buying an energy efficient home. And it doesn't end there - if you buy an energy efficient home (or make your home more energy efficient), the savings continue year after year.

Basically, the program says...if you use CMHC insured financing to buy an energy-efficient home, purchase a house and make energy-saving renovations or renovate your existing home to make it more energy-efficient, a 10% refund on the Mortgage Loan Insurance premium may be available.

So you save money while helping to save the planet. What's not to love about this program!

For more details, check out this page on the CMHC site

Is it Mold?

In the past month, I've noticed a slight increase in the instances of (possible) mold build up. Of course, there is no way to be sure that a black build up on the surface of building materials (like roof sheathing or drywall) is really mold without testing it. The probability increases if the area is damp or has been damp in the past.

Health concerns related to the growth of mold in the home can range from itchy eyes, coughing and sneezing to serious allergic reactions, asthma attacks, and even the outside possibility of permanent lung damage.

All that is needed for mold to grow is moisture, oxygen, a food source, and a surface to grow on. Mold spores are commonly found naturally in the air. If spores land on a wet or damp spot indoors and begin growing, they will lead to problems.  Inhaling or touching mold or mold spores may cause allergic reactions in sensitive individuals. Allergic responses include hay fever-type symptoms, such as sneezing, runny nose, red eyes, and skin rash (dermatitis). Allergic reactions to mold are common. They can be immediate or delayed.  In addition, mold exposure can irritate the eyes, skin, nose, throat and lungs of both mold-allergic and non-allergic people. 

When completing a typical home inspection, I will look for any visible indications of mold. If signs are noted, I will recommend further evaluation before suggesting any remediation. If it turns out that what looked like mold is just surface dirt, it can easily be cleaned. But if mold is present, a number of mold remediation techniques are available.

Mold remediation is the process of cleanup and/or removal of mold from an indoor environment. Mold remediation is usually conducted by a company with experience cleaning, airborne-particle containment-control, and the use of special equipment to protect workers and building occupants from contaminated or irritating dust and organic debris.

A professional home inspection is your first line of defence against unexpected, costly, and potentially hazardous homebuying mistakes.

All EcoEnergy Audits Have Been Filed!

So the national EcoEnergy Program is officially over (for now). The last few weeks have been a crazy rush to get as many follow up audits completed and filed with NRCan to capture as much rebate money for participants as possible.

On the Provincial front things continue to be a little confused. EfficiencyNS has now officially taken over the various energy efficiency programs from ConserveNS - including Energuide for existing homes at the Provincial level. There is still some uncertainty among energy advisors (like me) about who will be processing the files now that the Federal program is fully shut down.

As soon as we have new information, we will blog about it here - so stay tuned. In the meantime, if you want to take advantage of the Provincial program while we still have them, Nova Scotia is still offering rebates for insulation upgrades, air sealing, replacement of windows and doors, solar water heaters, drain heat recovery, etc.

For me, April is an opportunity to take a bit of a breather before the spring real eastate market picks up and I get busy with the home inspection and renovation consulting side of things.

A Flurry of Activity in Energy Audits

The Federal NRCan program was discontinued on March 31/10. Homeowners who managed to have a pre-retrofit audit done before that date have until March 31/11 to complete their post-retrofit energy audit and submit it to receive any rebates.

Recent confusion at provincial level has also contributed to increased activity lately. The closure of ConserveNS in favour of Efficiency Nova Scotia is also scheduled to happen on March 31/11. No one knows whether the provincial energy efficiency programs will continue beyond that point. So everyone is scrambling to capture whatever they can to help offset the cost of energy saving improvements.

I find myself with two unanswered questions:

1. Why would both the federal and provincial governments be discontinuing programs that make so much sense - both environmentally, economically?
   
2. Why do we need rebates to make us improve the energy efficiency of our homes when it just makes so much sense - both environmentally, economically?

Whatever happens after March 31/11, there is one thing that I have no doubts about....March is going to be a busy month!

All's Well that Ends Well

One of the worst things that can happen to a Home Inspector is when a client calls to say that something was missed during the home inspection. The most careful and conscientious Home Inspector can still make a mistake from time to time (that's why it's so important to ask whether your Inspector has errors and ommissions insurance!).

This weekend I got one of those calls about a recent inspection. Apparently, I didn't notice a crack in the foundation at the base of the chimney. The prospective buyer (my client) was concerned that the crack might be a source of future problems. Fortunately, the deal had not yet closed, and I agreed to come out and take another look. While driving to the property, I went over the details of the inspection in my mind trying to figure out how I might have missed something like this. I take care to be very thorough so that my clients can make a fully informed decision when considering a home purchase. This situation disturbed me.

When I arrived at the property, the buyers explained that the crack in question was behind the exterior styrofoam insulation and that the seller had disclosed the information to them. Since the exterior insulation was glued to the foundation wall, there was no way that it would have come to light during the inspection. The client just wanted some assurance that the crack was not a significant structural concern. I was relieved to know that I hadn't "missed a spot" - but it also reminded me how important it is to explain to a buyer what is and isn't inspected. Since the home still belongs to the seller at the time of the inspection, the Home Inspector can't damage or remove anything during the inspection (like pulling off pieces of glued-on exterior insulation).

Fortunately for my client, this seller was honest and disclosed something that would not have been found otherwise. Even more fortunately, the crack was minor and did not represent a structural problem...and there was no sign of water penetration. So all's well that ends well.

Doing your own home inspection may not be the best approach

The CMHC (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation) advises that you, as a home buyer, "consider having any home you are thinking of buying - whether it is a resale home or a brand new home - inspected by a knowledgeable and professional inspector...The home inspector's role is to inform you about the property's condition. The home inspector will tell you if something is not functioning properly, needs to be changed or is unsafe. You will also be informed of repairs that need to be made and maybe even where there may have been problems in the past."

Not everyone follows this advice. In the past, I have purchased homes without bringing in an outside inspector - because of my own background in construction and as a building inspector. I figured...why should I pay the extra money to someone to do something I know I can do myself. 

Over time, I came to realize that it's very difficult to be objective about a home you want to buy. Once you've put an offer on a home, you are already thinking of it as yours. If that offer is accepted (even though there are conditions still to be met), mentally, you have already moved in. To conduct your own inspection in this frame of mind means you are pretty much guaranteed to miss something. (I know I did!). 

The last thing you want is a biased inspector. If you are inspecting your own "home to be", you have the most biased inspector of all.  Instead, you need someone who will look at the house with an objective, professional eye and record what they observe without the emotional influence of prospective ownership. In the legal profession they say the lawyer who defends him/herself has a fool for a client. When it comes to home inspections, buyers who conduct their own pre-purchase home inspections often face a rude awakening when they move in and the rose coloured glasses come off.    

When an Inspection Stops the Deal

Something happened recently that made me feel a little "bummed out". A young couple contracted me to do a pre-purchase home inspection on a house they wanted to buy. This was their first attempt at home ownership. They really liked the house and were very excited. Although they were pressed for time, since the young man would be heading back to Fort MacMurrary where he worked on a seasonable basis, I was able to fit them in.

After completing the inspection and an energy assessment, I prepared a detailed report. The house was a fairly new, charming, country property with more than enough space to start a family. Unfortunately, there were some significant issues caused by water encroaching on the foundation of the house. After considerable thought, they decided to withdraw their offer based on the results of the inspection.

Ultimately, my role as a home inspector is to provide my clients with the best information I can so they can make an informed purchase. More than anything, I want my clients to have a clear understanding of what they are buying and what they can expect. Occasionally, this means that someone decides not to proceed with the purchase.

The reason this situation left me feeling a little "bummed out" was the number of people this young couple talked to who downplayed the problem with the house. It was fixable, but not without a lot of time, effort and money. They needed to know that. Ultimately, they decided that the complication of buying a new home, managing the fix and juggling their long distance relationship was a little more than they could handle. When I heard that they had decided not to buy the house, for a moment I felt like I had somehow crushed their dreams...and then I got an email from them that said

"Hi Joe, I just wanted to let you know that you did an excellent job on the home inspection - it was very thorough. We've decided we are not going to buy the house as you provided us with very useful and important information we needed. If you would like to use us as a reference we would be more than happy to oblige. Thanks again."

As Roger Taylor of the Chronicle Herald recently commented, for most home buyers, a home inspection is the "best $500 you'll ever spend". In this situation, i was able to help one young couple become better informed home buyers. They decided not to go with this house, but they are still looking. When they do finally find that perfect first home, they'll be able to complete the deal with confidence and a clear understanding of what to expect.

Time for a Spring Spruce Up

Spring is definitely here and the worst of the winter weather is behind us. Nasty weather, especially strong winds combined with freezing and thawing, can take its toll on your home. Now that the warmer weather has arrived, it is an excellent time to do a thorough inspection of your roof, soffits, fascia, flashing, and siding for any damage sustained over the winter.

Look for anything that might have come loose, damaged or missing shingles, missing soffit or fascia, loose or missing siding and trim, and evidence that water may have penetrated.Pay special attention to the bottom edge of your exterior siding, where it meets the foundation, for any signs of holes or loose panels that may have allowed vermin to enter during the colder months.

This may also be a good time to consider having a more comprehensive home maintenance inspection completed.

No Notice of Cancellation for Energy Advisors

The Federal government's announcement on March 31/10 to end the ecoEnergy retrofit program for existing homes came as a complete shock to energy advisors and service providers across Canada. While homeowners who have already booked or received a pre-retrofit audit still have until March 31/11 to take advantage of the program, the people providing the audits were given no warning of the blow to their livlihoods. Needless to say, we are dismayed by the government's decision to cancel the program without notice.

In the meantime, the Provincial government assures us that the provincial rebate program will continue. For those clients who are interested in finding out what their EnerGuide rating is, but who don't intend to acccess rebate programs, we are happy to provide the full energy audit and EnerGuide label without initiating an NRCan file.

We are disappointed on behalf of the many clients who had planned to access the ecoEnergy rebate program, which was scheduled to continue through March of 2011.