February 17, 2015 AsktheBuilder Newsletter & Tips

Last week, we had a little fun with the opens in a new windowLimestone Wall game. You had to guess the decade when you thought it was built.

I'm extending the game another week because you may be one who emailed me saying it was FUN and you want more games like it.

As the week went on, I had a few back and forth emails with a top Cincinnati historian, Bonnie Speeg. Bonnie loves history and said she'd dig deep to discover when that old suburb of Cincinnati where I took the photo was developed.

As it turned out, the discussion ended up talking about geology. Bonnie's son's house is less than a mile from where the photo was taken and it sits just below where the famous Bellevue House was in what is now Bellevue Park.

The point of this is simple: Before you buy a home or a building lot, it may pay to think about the local geology. In Cincinnati, you can make a huge mistake if you buy a home located on the lower part of the hillsides that climb up out of the Mill Creek Valley and many other valleys in the area.

The Kope and lower parts of the Fairview geologic rock formations are prone to landslides because of the abundant shale that degrades to muck once exposed to the elements.

There are also scattered glacial clay deposits in the area that can cause landslides.

What geologic hazards are in your community? Active earthquake faults? Flash Flooding zones? Tsunami risk?

Tens of thousands of homes in many cities are prone to flash flooding. That low spot in a street may look placid, but in that shallow valley is probably a buried storm sewer that used to be an open creek!

For most, there's probably little or no risk, but you just don't know.

The best place to start is a local university that has a Geology Department. Contact them and see if they have a professor that specializes in geomorphology - the study of the surface of the earth.

opens in a new windowSTOP Wet Basements and Crawlspaces! CLICK HERE to Discover How I STOP WATER!

Tim in Toledo / Detroit

I've been hired to do a few appearances at the opens in a new windowToledo Home and Garden Show on April 18, 2015.

I'll be on stage that Saturday. The show is only a 45-minute drive from Detroit, so if you live there come on down!

I WILL BE DOING an AsktheBuilder.com Meet Up in Toledo the Friday night before the event. More details on that once we get closer.

A meet up is a more private event where we hang out at a local restaurant and talk about anything you want.

The presentation I put on at the Home and Garden Show is simple. You come to the show with your photos or drawings and I SOLVE whatever PROBLEM you have right there live and on stage. It's easy and fun.

Two years ago in Washington DC, I remember a woman complaining about low flow in her shower faucet. She was really frustrated. I told her about these small plastic discs that are inside most modern shower heads and how they can get clogged with sediment thus reducing water flow.

I then told her how to clean out the disc and to be careful about getting distracted while she's doing it. Who knows, the phone may ring or ???? and you forget to somehow put the disc back in.

The audience ROARED with laughter. Much fun is to be had if you come to one of my live appearances!

opens in a new windowI Can SOLVE that Problem at Your Home. CLICK HERE to SEARCH My Past Columns and Videos

Condensation, Bath Fans, Windows, Etc.

Marc, a remodeling contractor, emailed me overnight about a problem at a customer's house.

He was hired because water was dripping out of a bathroom exhaust fan. The owner wanted it to stop.

It was not a roof leak. It was condensation forming inside the exhaust pipe that collected and flowed back inside the house.

With the BITTER COLD we're having here in the USA, it's to be expected.

Marc had insulated the exhaust pipe but there was still water dripping and he was at the end of his rope. Here's why he's having an issue and it's TOUGH to solve.

Insulation slows the transfer of heat that wants to move to where it's cold.

When an insulated bathroom exhaust fan pipe is up in an attic for hours and hours overnight where the temperature is 0 F or below, the pipe AND the insulation get COLD.

There may be a little heat that leaks up through the fan, but believe me the pipe and the insulation get COLD.

When you then turn the bath exhaust fan on and warm moist air starts to flow through the pipe, water immediately begins to condense on the inside of the pipe.

It will CONTINUE TO CONDENSE until such time as the pipe wall surface temperature rises to or ABOVE the dew point of the moist air flowing through the pipe!

This could take quite a few minutes! It's all about physics.

The same is true for high-quality insulated glass windows and skylights. You can get condensation on them in very cold weather. It's NORMAL!

It's all about what is the temperature of the glass with respect to the dew point INSIDE your home.

opens in a new windowCLICK HERE to read a past column about Condensation.

opens in a new windowI Might Be Able to Solve Your Problem in Just 8 Minutes on the Phone! CLICK HERE!

New Questions and Answers for You

opens in a new windowStunning VIDEO HO Model Railroad Layout

opens in a new windowCleaning Concrete Block Walls

opens in a new windowSatin Finish Granite Counter Maintenance

opens in a new windowBuild a Dry Stack Block House Lego Style

opens in a new windowLot Drainage Problems

That's enough for this week.