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Reuben Saltzman is a home inspector in Minnesota where it is really, really cold but I've seen a central Ohio home inspection report read something like:
"The attic access panel is not insulated properly"
Is your home's heat going out through the attic access panel? Is the insulation at the attic access panel in your home airtight?
How do you know if your attic access panel is airtight?
Toward the end of Reuben's post titled "Most Attic Access Panels aren't Insulated Properly" he shares this Do It Yourself tip for testing:
If you want to know if your access panel is airtight, just waft some....
Read on for Reuben's Re-Blogged posts with ideas about how to insulate an attic access panel. How to check if your attic access panel is airtight is almost at the end.
Via Minneapolis Home Inspections - Reuben Saltzman (Structure Tech Home Inspections):
For at least the last twenty years or so, the most common way of insulating attics in Minnesota is to use loose-fill insulation - either cellulose or fiberglass. This is a huge improvement over fiberglass batts, because batts are nearly impossible to install in attics and they cost more money. Despite the decline of fiberglass batts in attics, I still find a small section of fiberglass batting used above the attic access panel at about 90% of the homes that I inspect, even on new construction.
For the fiberglass batt to insulate the scuttle hole effectively, it needs to fill the entire space and be in significant contact with all four sides of the wood 'dam' that is built inside the attic for the access panel to slide up through. When the insulation piece is too small, it doesn't touch all four sides and allows for heat loss. When the insulation piece is properly sized, it works fine, but the insulation won't drop in to place inside the dam. It needs to be pushed in to place. To do this, the insulation needs to be installed from the attic side.
How is the homeowner (or home inspector) supposed to be able to do that? It's impossible unless there are two ways of getting in to the attic. When there are two ways of getting in to the attic, it's usually because the average person can't climb from one section of the attic to the other. I'm an above-average climber, and I've climbed through plenty enough attics to see what those fiberglass batts look like on the other side. They're almost never right. The photos below show a few recent examples; either the batts aren't pushed down inside the dams, they're too large, or they're too small.
When the fiberglass insulation above the attic access panel doesn't get installed properly, the home experiences unnecessary heat loss at this location, which you can clearly see in the infrared image below. This isn't an unusual installation; this is typical of attic access panels that are insulated with fiberglass batts that are too large.
If you want to know how well your attic access panel is insulated, climb up in to your attic and have another person drop the attic access panel down behind you. You'll probably see something very similar to the photos above.
 I've found two solutions that seem to work pretty well. One is to have the panel re-insulated with something other than a tight-fitting fiberglass batt, such as rigid foam boards that fit the attic scuttle hole perfectly. Easier said than done, but it's probably the best method I've seen. In a perfect world, it would fit so tight that the panel had to be pulled down in place with two handles attached to the cover... but most people wouldn't go for that look. I took a shot at building my own by cutting four pieces of rigid foam to size, gluing them together with 3M spray adhesive, and then duct taping them together for good measure. It looked about as pathetic as my home-made recessed light cover, but too bad. I'm the only one who will ever know.
Another solution I've found is to use a fiberglass batt that's slightly too large, and attach it to two or three pieces drywall that covers the scuttle hole. This makes the cover so heavy that it's quite a chore to push it up in to the attic, but it also helps the panel fall down in to place, pulling the insulation down with itself.
The other common issue I find with attic access panels is that they're not airtight. This is much more of an issue with old houses than it is with new houses, but I still find my share of new construction homes with poorly sealed panels, such as the one shown below at a new construction inspection in Farmington.
One way to make the attic access panel airtight would be to caulk it shut, but I hesitate to do that because the attic is supposed to be accessible. A much better option would be to install weatherstripping around the panel, but if the access panel is located in a commonly used hallway, I can understand why homeowners wouldn't want to do this: it's ugly. I rarely find weatherstripping installed unless the access panel is located in an out-of-the-way closet.
If you want to know if your access panel is airtight, just waft some smoke around the panel edges. If it's leaking, you'll see air movement here. While air leaks at the lower levels create cold drafts, you usually don't feel them at the attic access panel because it's air leaving the house, not coming back in.
If you have a great attic access panel insulation method that doesn't look hideous and you'd like to share it, please send it to me. I'd be happy to share it with others.
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This post provided by Maureen McCabe of Real Living HER
Contact 614.388.8249
Website: MaureenMcCabe.com
Search Central Ohio homes Online
email: MaureenatMaureenMcCabe.com @
Information is deemed to be accurate but should be verified to your satisfaction. Information provided herein is supplied by several sources and is subject to change without notice. Opinions expressed are solely those of Maureen McCabe.
Non Member comments closed due to heavy spam!
Are you Pinteresting? Are you good at curating visual content?
"My name is Maureen and I am a Pinterest addict"
Are you on Pinterest? Do you need a Pinterest invitation?
Don't worry although Pinterest is very addictive Pinterest does NOT take a lot of time. Pinterest is just bookmarking... very visual book marking. Pinterest is hot now. Hotter than Google +? Hotter than Twitter was when it was the same age? So I hear....
Pinterest is just curating content. You don't have to create content, so if blogging is not natural... or you are not good at photography... you can still participate.
Added bonus for those who are opposed to reading on the Internet. You do not have to read, much. Pinterest is visual. You can pin videos too, audio, visual...
Are you Pinteresting? real estate industry, stagers....
It is fun to watch how the real estate industry uses Pinterest. Different people use it different ways. Some people were pinning realtor head shots last week. Not something I would think to do personally unless they were really, really interesting head shots, beautiful people...
Same rules as anywhere on the Internet as far as copyright.... you have to have the right to display a photo. Or claim Fair Use. Read the Pinterest TOS, etc.
Pinterest - I tried to have an intelligent discussion about on ActiveRain a few weeks ago....
Help Pinterest Peeps a Re-Blog of Christine Bohn's Pinterest post. The problem some of us were experiencing with the 'Pin It' went away.
Controversy? What Controversy?
Let me know your email if you need an invitation. Safest way is to use the contact form on ActiveRain, if that is working....
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This post provided by Maureen McCabe of Real Living HER
Contact 614.388.8249
Website: MaureenMcCabe.com
Search Central Ohio homes Online
email: MaureenatMaureenMcCabe.com @
Information is deemed to be accurate but should be verified to your satisfaction. Information provided herein is supplied by several sources and is subject to change without notice. Opinions expressed are solely those of Maureen McCabe.
Non Member comments closed due to heavy spam!
The Real Living HER Open House List on Super Bowl Sunday in 2012
The Real Living HER Open House List for February 5, 2012 is not as dinky as I thought it would be... since Sunday February 5, 2012 is Super Bowl Sunday after all. The game does not start until 6:30 ... but people need to get ready for Super Bowl parties, or start parties early?
Are many people in Central Ohio that into the game? The New England Patriots vs. New York Giants? Or are we just watching for the commercials?
Back to the Real Living HER Open House List... there are 23 homes on the list now, Saturday morning on the Real Living HER Open house list.
"23 of 23 properties displayed" Displayed on a map. If a map view does not work for you use the list view.... or the gallery view.
Where can you find the Real Living HER Open House List?
In the right sidebar of:
Discover Columbus Ohio
Worthington Old and News
S. Delaware County Homes
The links on those sites (and at least one more) will take you to the Real Living HER Open House List on my Real Living HER website. The information is available through any Real Living HER agent's website... but I am sending you to my site.
It's just a link to a search for open houses.
Real Living HER Builder Developer Service - New England Homes
Not on the Real Living HER Open House List but open both Saturday and Sunday:
The New England Homes Sales Center New England Homes Ohio is an award winning custom home builder that builds through out central Ohio.
New England Homes the New England Homes sales center is open Saturdays and Sundays, 1:00 to 5:00 and staffed by Real Living HER Builder Developer Services.
The New England Homes "Barn" is at 5191 Columbus Pike, on the east side just north of Shanahan Road. This week the grass will be greener at New England Homes.... soon it will be spring, Buckeye Chuck said so.
Maureen McCabe - Real Living HER 614 388-8249
Tom Hughes- Real Living HER 614 273-6207
New England? Does that mean we are rooting for the Patriots?
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This post provided by Maureen McCabe of Real Living HER
Contact 614.388.8249
Website: MaureenMcCabe.com
Search Central Ohio homes Online
email: MaureenatMaureenMcCabe.com @
Information is deemed to be accurate but should be verified to your satisfaction. Information provided herein is supplied by several sources and is subject to change without notice. Opinions expressed are solely those of Maureen McCabe.
Non Member comments closed due to heavy spam!
Worthington's February First Friday is tonight
There is a theme for February... chocolate and wine! It's beginning to look a lot like Valentine's Day.
Worthington spots to sip some fine wine include House Wine, La Chatelaine, Rivage Atlantique and Worthington Inn.
 *Places to find a fix of chocolate include Blue Frost Cupcake, Graeter's Ice Cream and Emlolly Candy... if they are open for First Friday in February 2012.
Worthington restaurants may have extra special chocolate desserts on their menu too. Worthington restaurants include P.K O'Ryan and Old Bag of Nails too.
First Friday in Worthington is a chance to "shop, eat and play" in downtown Worthington (High Street and New England Avenue) in the evening. The Old Worthington shopping area (or Olde Worthington) is a small, charming, walkable area south of the Worthington Village Green.
*Not all Worthington shops, including those mentioned here may be open, Friday, February 3, 2012 from 6:00 to 9:00. You'd think any that had any tie into chocolate, wine or Valentine's Day would be open, wouldn't you? Few shops were open for First Friday in January, but you can count on the Worthington restauarants to stay open....
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This post provided by Maureen McCabe of Real Living HER
Contact 614.388.8249
Website: MaureenMcCabe.com
Search Central Ohio homes Online
email: MaureenatMaureenMcCabe.com @
Information is deemed to be accurate but should be verified to your satisfaction. Information provided herein is supplied by several sources and is subject to change without notice. Opinions expressed are solely those of Maureen McCabe.
Non Member comments closed due to heavy spam!
Spring is Around the Corner for Columbus Ohio according to Buckeye Chuck
Can you send belated Groundhog Day cards?
Buckeye Chuck in Marion Ohio did not see his shadow yesterday morning so we will NOT have another six week of winter in Columbus, Ohio. Of course we really have not had much winter weather at all this year.
Punxatawny Phil did see his shadow this morning so he is predicting six weeks more of winter. I hear Buckeye Chuck has a better record when it comes to accuracy. According to people who keep track of this. Or can remember year to year anyway, what the rodent said and what the weather from February into mid March was like.
Spring is Around the Corner for Columbus - Happy Belated Groundhog Day 2012 (I observed GroundHogs Day on ColumbusBestBlog.com and elsewhere Groundhog Day Board on Pinterest the pins were mostly done prior to the big day....
Groundhog Days in recent memory
Groundhog Day 2011
Columbus Ohio is Buckeye Chuck Territory
Happy Groundhog Day 2009!
Happy Groundhogs Day! - 2008
Groundhogs are local -2007
The image is a Real Living ecard.
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This post provided by Maureen McCabe of Real Living HER
Contact 614.388.8249
Website: MaureenMcCabe.com
Search Central Ohio homes Online
email: MaureenatMaureenMcCabe.com @
Information is deemed to be accurate but should be verified to your satisfaction. Information provided herein is supplied by several sources and is subject to change without notice. Opinions expressed are solely those of Maureen McCabe.
Non Member comments closed due to heavy spam!
A test
Columbus, Ohio 43085 up to $300K
Columbus, Ohio 43085 up to $400K
Columbus, Ohio 43085 up to $500K
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This post provided by Maureen McCabe of Real Living HER
Contact 614.388.8249
Website: MaureenMcCabe.com
Search Central Ohio homes Online
email: MaureenatMaureenMcCabe.com @
Information is deemed to be accurate but should be verified to your satisfaction. Information provided herein is supplied by several sources and is subject to change without notice. Opinions expressed are solely those of Maureen McCabe.
Non Member comments closed due to heavy spam!
The Real Living HER Open House List for January 29, 2012 has 24 homes, now. Now being Friday morning. The list is in "real time" so the number of open houses could go up or down. Homes go in contract and are removed. Homes go on the market, plans change, weather changes, seller's kids get sick....
You will find a link to the Real Living HER Open House List on the right sidebar of
The Real Living HER Open House Listing is on Columbus, Ohio real estate on ActiveR ain (a real estate network.)
The link is to the Real Living HER Open House List is to the Real Living HER Open House List on my Real Living HER website. You can use the search on any Real Living HER agents site and find open houses. The sample map is NOT this weeks map, use the link to the Real Living HER Open House list (in the right sidebar) for the interactive map.
Not on the Real Living HER Open House List but open!
New England Homes the New England Homes sales center is open Saturdays and Sundays, 1:00 to 5:00 and staffed by Real Living HER Builder Developer Services.
Real Living HER Builder Developer Service - New England Homes
The New England Homes "Barn" is at 5191 Columbus Pike, on the east side just north of Shanahan Road.
Maureen McCabe - Real Living HER
614-388-8249
Tom Hughes- Real Living HER
614-273-6207
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This post provided by Maureen McCabe of Real Living HER
Contact 614.388.8249
Website: MaureenMcCabe.com
Search Central Ohio homes Online
email: MaureenatMaureenMcCabe.com @
Information is deemed to be accurate but should be verified to your satisfaction. Information provided herein is supplied by several sources and is subject to change without notice. Opinions expressed are solely those of Maureen McCabe.
Non Member comments closed due to heavy spam!
I write a lot of market reports. They are written for the general public, consumers... The market reports I write are somewhat elaborate, although they are quite simple and formulaic really. My market reports have morphed over time to be formuliac, relatively fast and frustrating as all get out the past few months, but they are written for consumers looking for info on Worthington, the Olentangy school disctrict, Dublin, Westerville... parts of central Ohio. These makret reports show up splendidly in the search engines. When they work
Above is Hilliard code showing up on Discover Columbus OH (Columbus real estate) Dublin Home Sales - Dec 2011
Same content is OK on ActiveRain:
On ActiveRain Dublin Home Sales - Dec 2011
TThe Dublin market report for December 2011 was originally posted January 19, 2012. The Hilliard market report was published on January 15, 2012.
The FORMULA
- Graph
- Market report - most months just one thing! Inventory, home prices or with the green graph two things, inventory and sales.
- Neighborhood or community information
- Homes for sale using RealBird maps.
- Offer of a search which shows more listings... virtually the whole mls! On my website, of course.
- Disclaimer!
Warning
The Outside Blogs are not syncing. I gave up on Market Reports in December (the December reports were for November.) In both December and January, if the content on my Outside Blogs does not work, I am going to try to repost it.
I turned in another Contact ActiveRain this last week and had an email and a message saying something about the iframes in the posts being the problem. Anyone else experiencing this?
Originally posted
My Outside Blogs have issues.
Here's the code, it is Dublin, there is not Hilliard maps:
<p><strong> Dublin homes for sale by price range: <br /></strong></p>
<p> <strong> Dublin, Ohio homes for sale priced $100,000 to $200,000 </strong> </p>
<br />
<iframe src="http://listings.realbird.com/home-search-o/map-search.aspx?rb_id=A3F7B4B2&bq=%5Bitem%20type:housing%5D%5Blocation:@%22Dublin,%20Ohio%20%22%5D%5Blisting%20type:housing/sale%5D%5Bproperty%20type:/home%5D%5Bprice:100000..200000%5D&orderby=ctime_reverse&mzoom=13" frameborder="0" height="400" width="80%" style="width: 80%; height: 400px;" />
<p><strong> Dublin, Ohio homes for sale priced $200,000 to $300,000</strong> </p>
<br />
<iframe src="http://listings.realbird.com/home-search-o/map-search.aspx?rb_id=A3F7B4B2&bq=%5Bitem%20type:housing%5D%5Blocation:@%22Dublin,%20Ohio%20%22%5D%5Blisting%20type:housing/sale%5D%5Bproperty%20type:/home%5D%5Bprice:200000..300000%5D&orderby=ctime_reverse&mzoom=13" frameborder="0" height="400" width="80%" style="width: 80%; height: 400px;" />
The code shows up as Dublin on ActiveRain but shows up as Dublin then my Hilliard report which is missing shows The December Hilliard market report is missing if you just go to DiscoverColumbusOH.com, the post published on January 15 is missing. Sucked into the Dublin report? However if you click on the sidebar on Hilliard it's there... My October Dublin report is there and you can see it if you click on the sidebar. Not there if you just scroll down from the top (the DiscoverColumbusOH.com corn banner.
Sometimes the RealBird maps in the iframes just open the first of the series of maps and just hangs there. No more maps open the content after the map is not visible to the reader.
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This post provided by Maureen McCabe of Real Living HER
Contact 614.388.8249
Website: MaureenMcCabe.com
Search Central Ohio homes Online
email: MaureenatMaureenMcCabe.com @
Information is deemed to be accurate but should be verified to your satisfaction. Information provided herein is supplied by several sources and is subject to change without notice. Opinions expressed are solely those of Maureen McCabe.
Non Member comments closed due to heavy spam!
Dublin home sales brought to you by Maureen McCabe of Real Living HER
The graph shows single family homes for sale and sold for the Dublin City School District for the past 15 months, through December 2011. The light green bars are homes for sale in Dublin schools, the dark green bars are homes sold in the school district.
Dublin home sales a market report for December 2011
Homes for sale - 283
Home sales - 42
The number of homes for sale in December 2011 was down 11.6% from a year ago. The number of home sales in Dublin during December 2011 was exactly the same as in December 2010.
Dublin home sales - neighborhoods
Dublin homes for sale neighborhoods
Dublin, Ohio schools includes properties in Franklin, Delaware and Union Counties. The most recognizable Dublin area has two zip codes, 43016 and 43017. However not all homes in the Dulin, Ohio 43016 and Dublin, Ohio 43017 zip codes are in Dublin schools. If Dublin or another Central Ohio school district is important to you, double check the property tax records and the school district attendance area of any home you are interested in. There are homes with a Dublin mailing address in Columbus, Hilliard and Worthington schools... perhaps there are homes with a Dublin address in other school districts too, it's complicated.
Neighborhoods in Dublin schools include Ballymead, Campden Lakes, Donegal Cliffs, Dublinshire, Hawks Nest, Muirfield Village, Olde Sawmill (or part of the neighborhood is in Dublin schools, the other part is in Worthington schools), Riverside Green, Riverside Hills, Tartan Ridge, Tartan West and many others. There are homes in the Dublin City School District that have Columbus and Powell mailing addresses. Perhaps others.
The homes in the graph and market report include homes with addresses that are not "Dublin, Ohio" mailing addresses also. Examples include parts of the Brookside Woods neighborhoods as well as Brookside Colony, Oakridge Meadows, Sawmill Forest, Summitview Woods and Whispering Pines. There are subdivisions including Brookside Woods and Olde Sawmill that have homes in more than one school district, in those two examples some homes are in Dublin schools and others are in the Worthington City School District.
Dublin homes for sale by price range:
Dublin, Ohio homes for sale priced $100,000 to $200,000
Dublin, Ohio homes for sale priced $200,000 to $300,000
Dublin, Ohio homes for sale priced $300,000 to $400,000
Change the Dublin homes for sale searches to reflect what you are looking for in price or area. You are welcome to use the search on my site MaureenMcCabe.com to search more extensively for homes in Dublin schools or another Central Ohio school district or area. Contact me if you'd like to see a home. My site would give you access to virtually everything on the Columbus Board of REALTORS mls (multiple listing service) unlike the Oodle / Realbird search or searches like Zillow.com or Trulia.com which only have some of the listings and often show properties that are no longer available.
Dublin home sales - December 2011 was published January 2012 based on data available from the Columbus Board of REALTORS® at the end of December 2011. Trendgraphix reports are based on data supplied by the Columbus Board of Realtors. According to Trendgraphix neither CBR nor the mls (multiple listing service) guarantee or are in anyway responsible for the accuracy of the data. "Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed." Since I am relying on data from the mls and Trendgraphix you have no guarantee from me either. A slight correction in the data is sometimes visible in a graph or numbers the next month.
Test this is just a test to see if "Outside Blogs" (DiscoverColumbusOh.com is one) are syncing on AR now. This is reposted. The original which shall be removed has issues.
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This post provided by Maureen McCabe of Real Living HER
Contact 614.388.8249
Website: MaureenMcCabe.com
Search Central Ohio homes Online
email: MaureenatMaureenMcCabe.com @
Information is deemed to be accurate but should be verified to your satisfaction. Information provided herein is supplied by several sources and is subject to change without notice. Opinions expressed are solely those of Maureen McCabe.
Non Member comments closed due to heavy spam!
You know the Cereal Re-Bloggers on ActiveRain? You know Fruit Loops, CoCo Puffs, Wheaties, Sugar Pops, Fruity Pebbles, "Soggy Cereals Major Flake with Sparkles" and "Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs?" Members who use the Re-Blog feature on content that makes you scratch your head....
Why? Why? Why? Re-Blog that?
You post content for the general public. It's got local street names in it. The post refers to local businesses. Your geographic area is in the title... theirs is NOT. You post content in a consumer channel on ActiveRain and a Cereal Re-Blogger from a couple hundred or even thousands of miles away Re-Blogs it with gobbledy gook at the top like:
"Great blog and great job. Good luck to you this year and keep up the good work. Hope you sell a lot of homes and keep up the good job thanks again and worth a re blog "
That's the intro to the Re-Blog you want your readers to see? Really.
I believe in Re-Blog.
You post content for the general public, a Cereal Re-Blogger adds the same garbage he cuts and pastes in as comments 10 times a day for points as the intro.
except with "and worth a re blog "because this is not a comment. This is a Re-Blog.
It makes it hard to believe in Re-Blog when you see that.... calm down, count to ten....
- I still believe in Re-Blog
- I still believe in Re-Blog
- I still believe in Re-Blog
- I still believe in Re-Blog
- I still believe in Re-Blog
- I still believe in Re-Blog
- I still believe in Re-Blog
- I still believe in Re-Blog
- I still believe in Re-Blog
- I still believe in Re-Blog
Do you still believe in Re-Blog? Do you believe in Re-Blog when you see your content on a Cereal Re-Bloggers ActiveRain blog?
For pete's sake Cereal Re-Bloggers change the title. If anyone in your market stumbles on your presence on the internet or on ActiveRain, they can see it's all gibberish. Help consumers in your market find your contribution to the internet by removing the location in the title.
Change the title.
Yes I know it is serial, not cereal. They do it over and over. I just like thinking of them as Cereal Re-Blogger's then when I see them comment on your post "Great blog and great job. Good luck to you this year and keep up the good work. Hope you sell a lot of homes and keep up the good job thanks again" I recognize 'em.
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This post provided by Maureen McCabe of Real Living HER
Contact 614.388.8249
Website: MaureenMcCabe.com
Search Central Ohio homes Online
email: MaureenatMaureenMcCabe.com @
Information is deemed to be accurate but should be verified to your satisfaction. Information provided herein is supplied by several sources and is subject to change without notice. Opinions expressed are solely those of Maureen McCabe.
Non Member comments closed due to heavy spam!
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Maureen McCabe Columbus Ohio real estate
Columbus,
OH
More about me…
Real Living HER - HER Realtors
Address: 681 High St. , Worthington, OH, 43085
Office Phone: (614) 388-8249
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