February 16, 2009

Dave has an older house:  I have discovered that I have a void under my basement concrete  slab.  Should I attempt to fill it?

Leave it alone if it hasn't settled.  This is quite common in 3^rd level family rooms, where the builder might not have compacted the soil properly.  Since, as loads go, the weight of you plus your furniture is relatively light, the concrete slab is acting like a bridge over that soil gap.  If, on the other hand, it starts to crack and sag, the repair is comparatively easy and painless.  It can be lifted right back into its old position by injecting a concrete or limestone slurry underneath (so-called mud jacking).

Roger wants to save energy money:  I have an older house with a cathedral ceiling.   How can I get more insulation in there?

It can be problematic to inject additional installation in that gap between the ceiling and the roof trusses.   Sometimes this space is only a foot or two high, and it's already got the old insulation bats lying in there.  In other cases, however, its' high enough for an installer to crawl  part way in-enough so they can stick a tube on the end of the 4-inch hose to get material into all the corners and edges.  Bottom line:  Even it they can only fill part of that cathedral space, it will still save you energy dollars at the margin.  So, have a company come take a look.

Trish has hot water troubles:  My water heater pilot light keeps blowing out at the most inconvenient times.  Is this fixable?

Probably.   Air currents are blowing through the flue pipe;  you most likely notice that this happens on windier days.  As you well know, there are two access panels for pilot lighting-a bigger outer one and a small steel panel behind it.  Remove this second (smaller) one, set it aside, then replace the outside cover.  That may set up different air flow patterns that will leave the pilot light alone.  If this fix doesn't work, contact a plumber who can make other adjustments.

If you have a newer water heater-say five or less years old-you may not have the access panels I describe.   These, instead, have mandated, sealed combustion chambers  without homeowner access.

Doug has an old boiler:  It's  40+ years old.  It works OK, but I'm concerned with its age.  Is there a compelling reason to replace it?

Not necessarily.   Old cast iron boilers can last virtually forever-especially if they aren't drained too often.  That's because the water inside the pipes and the boiler itself becomes chemically stable over time.  It loses it's entrained air content and so is much less apt to rust or corrode the boiler's innards.

What you are sacrificing, however, is efficiency .  Your old boiler may be at 50% or less, while a new one will be about 80%.   Trouble is, it will cost maybe $3000 to $4000 to replace it.  If you do the math-divide the monthly efficiency savings into the total costs-it may take 10 years or more to amortize the cost, before you actually begin to save money.  So, if you are going to stay put for awhile, it may be worth it.

Joe is overrun:  We have two large evergreen trees that are filled with doves, and boy, are they making a mess!  Any ideas?

You can buy bird "sirens"-air pressure-powered noise makers-on the Web.  They may get the idea they're not wanted after awhile.  Also, checkout the foul-smelling, organic repellants that you spray on trees to keep the squirrels at bay.   It sure turns me off with its indescribable odor.  Maybe the doves will feel the same way.