Have you ever taken a peek inside your crawlspace? It’s okay, lots of people haven’t. Maybe they’re the smart ones. At least, they’re the happy ones—ignorance is bliss, right? After all, if you never look in your crawl, you never have to think about: Live Animals That isn’t the name Read more »
No. Here's why: Don't wrap insulation over heat tape. Yeah, it's hard to see, but that is heat tape that has burned through the protective cover and was melting the insulation that it was under. My crew found this when they were removing R3 foam pipe insulation that Read more »
This is an example of vermiculite in an attic. Vermiculite is a naturally occurring rock, much of which contains asbestos. The most common form is short cylinders, that fracture into small pieces easily, with a grey metallic color. Vermiculite was once used to insulate attics and walls, until someone Read more »
An infrared photo of drapes hanging over an electric baseboard heater. Baseboard is running left to right across the center of the photo, and had only been on for a few minutes before I took this photo. The drapes were hot to the touch when I turned off the heater. Read more »
Carbon monoxide (CO) is an odorless, colorless, tasteless gas emitted by the incomplete combustion of fuel. It comes from wood, natural gas, charcoal, and almost everything else that burns. CO binds to hemoglobin and prevents oxygen from entering or leaving the bloodstream. This means that oxygen that it carries can't Read more »
If you have a water heater tank that uses natural gas, you may be able to cause the exhaust (carbon monoxide) to flow into your house. A good thing? Not at all, but at least you'll know if backdrafting may be a problem or not. And knowing is half the Read more »