BK Home Inspections

Keep your basement dry

bkinspects — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 02:46:05 +0000

You can avoid or solve most basement seepage problems by following these simple corrective steps, which are listed in order of priority.

1. Keep gutters and downspouts clean, and direct them away from the basement. Downspouts must be routed to a storm sewer or at least 6 feet away from the foundation to an area where the water flows away naturally.

2. Grade soft surfaces. All surface water must flow away from foundation walls. Soil should pitch away from the basement, dropping 6 inches for every 6 feet. The soil under any bark or stone mulch around your home must pitch away; ideally, any plastic under the mulch will pitch away too. Check under decks and porches. During a heavy rain, walk around your home to check for pooling water. No water should pool around or flow toward your basement walls.

3. Grade hard surfaces. All concrete and asphalt surfaces must pitch away from the basement. Watch for slab concrete beneath decks. Check all stoops, drives, and walks.

4. Grade the soil around window wells to direct water away. Seal the window well tightly to the foundation, and keep the inside of the well clean. The inside of the windowshould have a base of 6″ gravel-not mud. Also, the window well should either have its own drain or should into the exterior drain tile system through the gravel base.

5. Check the palmer valve. This check valve must swing of improper materials easily broken by frost. Also, many open easily to drain water from the drain tile system. If it is stuck closed, water may back up in your basement, and eventually the drain tiles will become plugged with debris. Use a wire to hook the bottom of this round flap valve; it should swing upward on a hinge at the top of the disc. If the valve is stuck, free it with penetrating oil and a pry bar.

6. Check the sump pump. The float must easily move up and down to activate the pump. If the float sticks, you will have a flood. Make sure that the pump is secure and will not allow the float to stick to the sides of the crock or the cover. Lift the float to check that the pump will remove water from the crock; the pump should switch on when the float is 8 to 12 inches from the top of the crock. If the pump allows higher water levels than this, seepage near the floor may occur. Replace a sump pump that is old and worn. If your pump runs often, have a spare sump pump handy.

7. Look for gaps and cracks in joints. These can allow water to seep next to the basement. The gaps can be filled with a backer rod and concrete joint filler.

8. Check for cracks in poured concrete walls or block walls. These should be evaluated and patched by a professional.

9. Check for problems with underground storm drain lines. If damp spots and seepage appear near a sump pump or downspout storm sewer line, the problem may be a broken or plugged underground line. You can test this line by running water into the pipe with a hose and watching for seepage in the basement. You can also temporarily abandon the undergound line and route the sump pump or downspout to the surface, well away from your home. If seepage no longer appears in the basement, you’ll know the problem is a broken drain line.

10. Investigate underground water supply lines. If seepage occurs near the water main into your home, suspect a broken underground water line.

11. Investigate all homeowner-installed underground drain lines. Often they are unable to withstand freezing because they are installed too near the surface and/or they’re made of improper materials easily broken by frost. Also, many such lines can’t effectively carry water away from the foundation because they have poor pitch or are undersized. Temporarily abandon these lines to test them. If you see water bubbling up from connections to these lines, you have a problem.

12. Watch for roots in the sump pump crock. Roots inside the crock mean there are roots in the bleeders and in the outside drain tiles. An expert should evaluate this problem.

Bob’s Top Picks

bkinspects — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 16:30:22 +0000

I do recommend at least 3 quotes, but here are a list of people I have worked with and trust in alphabetical order.

Accountant

Heather Schilcher 262-328-1000

Basement Problems

Mike Shadid Foundation Consultant 414-379-1265

Paul @ Accurate Basement repair 414-322-2725 or 414-744-6900

Jim Jendusa 262-369-0700

Tarwid Contractors Inc Peter 262-554-5504

Ed Ellingson 414-774-7140

Chimney Repair and Fireplace

Smokestacks, Kurt Soens 262-797-8181

Royal Chimney Service 414-771-2282

Cleaning Air Ducts

Uttke & Sons 414-483-2159

Specialized Cleaning Services Steve 414-329-8439 or 1-800-680-0333

Crystal Clean Vents 414-671-0680 262-827-9696

Alpine Air Duct 414-699-3828

Cleaning (interior and exterior)

BK Cleaning (house cleaning) 414-573-3421

The Window Brothers Window Cleaning, Gutter Cleaning, Exterior House Washing (all surfaces) Jason Vance 414-659-7925

Carpet and Vinyl Flooring

Fischer Flooring 414-704-5206

Computer Problems

Alfa Geeks Tom Karakis 414-431-8772

Concrete Repairs

CRC (Concrete Raising Corp) 262-827-5000

Raise Rite 414-347-2250

Concrete patios (stamped)

David Turner 262-392-3772

Concrete Patios (pavers and retaining walls)

Edward Schneidewent 414-807-8011

Drywall finishing and repairs

GNS Drywall Ken Schroeder, 262-442-4451

Timm Memmel 414-405-4054

EIFS Stucco Inspection

Paul Dehler at 262-389-4877

Electricians

GK Electric, Mike Kinney 414-617-5367

Chucks Electric Service 414-425-2930

Nick Washow electrician 262-893-3027

Rich Messick 522-1112

Electrical Specialists James Farrell 262-363-0910

Better Electric Josh 262-366-7376

Engineering Services

Ben Olsen Engineer 414-427-7990

Don Cohen Consultant 414-732-7539

Exterior Painting

Bob Bautch 262-662-4980

Painted Homes 414-378-7248

Financial Services

David Klapatch 262-785-1010

General Contractor

Carpenter Construction & Remodeling Todd A. Fugh Cell: 414-232-3069

J&B Construction 414-265-2200

Gutters and covers 262-782-3400

Handyman Russ Cole 262-853-8573

Health Insurance

Laura Mallwitz 414-324-5106

Heating and Cooling

Uttke & Sons 414-483-2159

USA Heating and Cooling 414-881-9824

Dave Perry Heating and Cooling 262-966-1959

Gross Heating 262-366-1901

Homeowners Insurance

Craig Baumeister State Farm 414-856-0505

Home Performance Specialists

Beyond Energy 262-470-3149

Foresight Home Performance, Mark 414-443-1859

Kitchen Remodeling

Creative Tile, Tim Holzer: 414-329-1900

Landscape and Yard work

Envirocon, Ron Jarecki 262-363-5579

Kevin Gardner 414-531-5021

Life Insurance Nick Giangreco 262-565-3132

Mold Cleanup

Specialized Cleaning Services, Steve 414-329-8439 or 1-800-680-0333

Badger Remediation Service 414-476-5861

Mold Cleanup, call Bo 1-414-647-2212

Mold Inspections, Patrick 262-424-9904

Mortgage and Re-financing

Brian Schneider, Modern Mortgage 414-659-1606

Pest Management (bug czar)

Dell Burrious Safeway Pest Management 262-679-4422

Retaining walls

Ed Schneidewent, Stonewall Construction 414-807-8011

Plumbing and Drain Troubles

Aztec Plumbing 414-870-2070

Feltner’s Sewer and Drain Repair 414-771-7111 or 262-554-5002 Drain Sergeon 414-305-6466Cox Plumbing 262-542-6921 Waukesha Plumbing, Dave 262-224-8377

Pool Service and Inspection

Dennis’ Pool Service, Dennis 262-679-9267

Radon Mitigators

Radon Mitigators, Gregg Zetzman 262-538-9966

Affordable Radon Reduction, 414-217-8486

Remodeling

Carpenter Construction & Remodeling

Todd A. Fugh Cell: 414-232-3069

Roofing

Proactive Exteriors (Roof and siding) 414-801-9637

Jake Melka 414-315-7676

Steve Bachtell 414-750-9701

Roof-to-deck Restoration (wood shakes too) 262-754-1170

Tree Service

414-921-4900

Water softeners

Guthrey and Frey 262-968-2121

Website Design

Scott Offord, Inc. Phone: (262) 844-5773

Window and glass service

Broken Windows Inc 414-281-3838

Fireplace Facts

bkinspects — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 14:09:08 +0000

Purchasing a home with a fireplace or stove or adding one on to your home can provide tremendous benefit in heat efficiency and home resale value. In fact, one of the top investments you can do to your remodeling job is to add a fireplace. Almost 80% of homebuyers look for homes with a fireplace or stove in homes that cost $100,000 and consider this as being the most appealing amenity for the home.

Over the years, the purpose of a fireplace has changed. It used to be that a home would have a fireplace simply for appearance and recreational use like when entertaining guests for a dinner party. Today, fireplaces and stoves still provide these benefits but they are also cost and energy effective.

Many of the designs found today offer something unique. There are see-through designs where two rooms can share the same beautiful fire, and even fireplaces and stoves that have glass three- and four-sided views. This type of design can fit into any style room, offering something extra special. Many of the old masonry fireplaces do not heat a home efficiently. They allow the warm indoor air to escape outside, losing from 80% to 100% of their heat as well as 10% of the indoor air. That certainly does not do much for keeping a house warm.

Many fireplaces today are factory built and designed specifically to produce more heat than a traditional masonry fireplace. This type fireplace is also called low clearance and can be located as close as one-half inch from the wall with no danger of fire. These fireplaces are extremely lightweight and reasonably priced. If you are handy around the home, you might even be able to do the installation yourself. Just be sure to carefully follow the instructions of the manufacturer and check with your homeowner’s insurance company. You can purchase one of these fireplaces for as little as $800 for a smaller more simplistic design.

If you want to increase the efficiency of your masonry fireplace, consider a slanted back, which allows the heat to radiate into the room better, an insulated fireplace, a fan-driven heat exchanger to enable the fire to warm the air as well as radiate it. Glass doors are also heat efficient. Many are designed to hold in heat after the fire is extinguished, keeping the room nice and toasty. Check with your local fireplace specialist for other options for getting the most out of your fireplace.

Refrigerator Gasket

bkinspects — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 13:59:42 +0000

A cracked or worn refrigerator gasket wastes energy and it costs you a lot of money. Replacing it is easy.

1. Write down your model number and get yourself a new gasket.

2. Put food in a cooler; you’re going to have the fridge door open for a while so better safe than sorry.

3. You need to do a little prep work on the new gasket before you install it. Heat the gasket to work out the kinks. You can use your clothes dryer, warm water or a hairdryer. This will soften the rubber.

4. Now, lift the old gasket lip up so you can see how it is attached to the fridge, you will most likely need to loosen some retaining nuts or screws, don’t take them all the way out, just loosen them a couple to of turns so you can start to remove the gasket from the door.

5. Starting in a corner, line new gasket up on the door, and then carefully work your way around removing the old and securing the new as you go.

Radon

bkinspects — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 13:57:47 +0000

EPA and organizations nationwide dedicate January as National Radon Action Month to encourage the public to test their homes for radon and get radon problems fixed. Did you know?

Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer for non smokers
Nearly one in 15 homes in the U.S. has a high level of indoor radon
The U.S. Surgeon General and EPA recommend all homes be tested for radon.
Homes with high radon levels can be fixed.

Houses with elevated radon concentrations are EASILY and inexpensively fixed by an EPA or state qualified contractor. Although, the cost may vary depending on the size and design of the home, it seldom runs more than $800-$1500.

Radon mitigation really works, permanently reducing concentrations by up to 99%. And most systems completely prevent moisture and other gases from entering the home, reducing molds, mildews, methane, pesticide gases, volatile organic compounds, and other indoor air quality problems.

Radon reduction measures in no way diminish the dollar value of the home and are accepted nationally as home improvement. Very little maintenance is required and system-operating costs are generally less than $10 per month for the fan electricity and very minor loss of conditioned air.