attic bypasses: How To Fix a Moldy Attic - 03/19/12 08:05 PM
If you see black stuff covering or growing on the roof sheathing in your attic, it's probably mold.  It's never fun to find out that your house has mold, but the fix for mold in the attic is usually quite straightforward, and doesn't involve the services of any 'mold remediation experts'.
There are a lot of folks in the real estate industry, including home inspectors, who get very excited when the word 'mold' comes up.  I actually sat through a seminar where we were told to never even use the word mold, because "you never know what something is without testing … (30 comments)

attic bypasses: Thinking of adding more insulation to your attic? Read this first. - 02/14/11 09:52 PM
If you're tired of dealing with ice dams and you've decided to finally get your attic re-insulated, please read this first.  You might save yourself a lot of time and money.
Over the past two months, a large portion of my business has been ice dam inspections in Minnesota.   For most of these inspections, I was hired to determine the cause of the ice dams and to recommend a solution.
I feel extremely fortunate to have spent the past two months doing this.  During this time, I've dug through a ridiculous amount of insulation in attics.   I've come home with itching arms, … (21 comments)

attic bypasses: Attic Problems On A New Construction Home - 03/02/09 10:57 PM
We recently inspected a new construction, custom built home in Edina.  We did a team inspection at this property, where Neil, Duane, and I all inspected the house at the same time.  We really went over this house with a fine tooth comb, but we didn't come up with much that was wrong - it was a very well built home.  Towards the end of the inspection, we asked the buyer if they would mind us opening up the attic access panel, which had been sprayed shut.  The buyer was fine with that, as most buyers are.  What we found was quite … (2 comments)

attic bypasses: How To Fix Or Prevent Ice Dams - 02/20/09 11:29 PM
After the big snowfall in Minnesota last night, it's a good time to talk about ice dams.  Ice dams are caused by the same thing I've been blogging about for the last several entries; heat loss!  The most obvious sign of heat loss in attics is ice dams - those huge masses of ice that build up at the edges of roofs.  Ice dams occur because heat from the house escapes in to the attic, warms the roof, and causes snow to melt.  When the water gets to the cold overhang at the eave, it freezes.  As the ice builds up, … (2 comments)

attic bypasses: Frost In Attics, How To Fix - 02/20/09 12:25 AM
This Minnesota winter has been an especially problematic one for frost in attics, and it seems that most people don't understand why it happens or how to fix it.  There is a lot of mis-information floating around about why frost gets in to the attic and how to fix it, but I'm going to give you the real story.
This winter we experienced an unusually long cold spell in Minnesota, with temperatures never climbing above freezing for about a month.  This means cold attics.  When moist household air is allowed to escape from the house to the attic, it condenses on … (1 comments)

attic bypasses: Photos Of Attic Bypasses, The Least Understood Attic Problem - 02/18/09 10:34 PM
Yesterday I talked about what needs to be done before adding insulation to your attic - seal bypasses!  Today I have several photos of bypasses that I find in attics every day.  These bypasses cause serious problems with attics, but a lot of people just don't understand this.  Bypasses cause frost and ice dams, and they need to be corrected before adding insulation to attics.
This photo shows a bypass to the attic space around a furnace flue.  The square piece of metal is not sealed to the drywall, and there is a fair amount of air leaking into the attic … (4 comments)

attic bypasses: Inspecting Insulation, What To Do Before You Insulate - 02/17/09 10:16 PM
With winter officially here, I'm on a big insulation kick.  This is the time of year when I can really tell which houses have attic problems, oftentimes just from looking at the house on the outside!  Today I'll talk about a few things I look for when inspecting an attic when it comes to air leakage, insulation, and ventilation.
When I inspect houses in the winter, the first thing I look at is the roof.  I do this out of habit, and I can usually identify a house with attic problems without even going in the house.  The most obvious things … (3 comments)