Blog Archives

Where does the water go once it exits the downspout?

7/28/2017

Your roof has a tremendous surface area that is excellent at collecting water during a rain storm. Hopefully all that water is going to a gutter and eventually to a downspout. Where does the water go once it leaves the downspout? Ideally, the downspout is connected to a perimeter or stormwater drain so that water is taken away from your foundation. Frequently, water is pooling at the downspout and can make its way to your foundation and lead to a very wet crawlspace or structural damage.

Downspout without a splash block or connection to a drainage system. All the water is pooling next to the foundation and can lead to issues with a wet crawlspace.

Downspout draining water next to a foundation

Water from this downspout goes directly to the foundation. Not ideal and a good way to cause long term damage.

Take a look at the downspouts at your house. Are they connected to a drain system or are they able to spew water on the ground next to your house? If the downspout ends at the ground like the above pictures, you have a potential problem. All that water can erode the dirt around the foundation and lead to moisture penetration at the foundation and in to the crawlspace. An easy fix is either a splash block or a downspout extension (pictures below). They need to go at the end of the downspout and placed so that they direct water away from the house.

Gutter downspout connected to a perimeter drain

This is the ideal solution. A downspout connected directly to a perimeter drain system that leads to a stormwater drain.

The green splash block is the right idea but poorly executed in this picture. This splash block needs to be turned 90 degrees so that the water is directed away from the house and towards the grassy area.

Downspout extension tube laying on ground

Down spout extension. Again, this is the right idea but it needs to be connected to a downspout to work.

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Easy drywall damage fix

7/21/2017

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Hole in your drywall that needs to be repaired? Do you have an energetic dog who likes to enthusiastically play tug of war with the curtains to the point of pulling them off the wall like I do? Follow these steps for an easy and quick fix for holes in your drywall.

The reason there is a hole in my wall. My dog decided to play tug of war with the curtain and pulled the bracket out. She looks a little guilty.

There used to be a curtain bracket on this wall. Now there are holes from ripped out drywall anchors.

Close up of the damage. Holes are too big to put drywall anchors back in. This area of the wall needs to be fixed.

Tools and Material Required: Utility knife and/or drywall saw, small piece of thin wood (I used 1/2" plywood), replacement piece of drywall.

Step 1

Mark a square around the damaged area. Go big enough to contain all the damage but small enough that the patch will be as inconspicuous as possible. Use a utility knife or a drywall saw to cut along the lines.

Step 1: Mark a square and cut with a drywall saw.

Step 2

Carefully remove the damaged piece of drywall and save for later.

Step 2: Remove the piece of damaged drywall. Try to keep it in one piece so you can use it for a template for the repair piece.

Step 3

Cut a piece of wood to fit the hole. You will use this as a backer piece for the repair. The wood needs to be just a bit thinner than than the width of the hole and long enough to extend past the top and bottom by about an inch each way.

Step 3: Backer piece. I used 1/2 inch plywood cut just a bit narrower than the hole in the drywall. Needs to be long enough to have room for screws above and below the hole.

Step 4

Drive a drywall screw into the middle of the piece of wood to use as a handle. Insert the wood through the hole and center it as best as possible.

Fitting a backer piece for drywall repair

Step 4: Place the backer piece in the hole and center it.

Step 5

Secure the backer piece with drywall screws above and below the hole. Use the drywall screw in the middle as a handle to hold the wood in place as you get the first screw in.

Securing a backer piece to repair drywall hole.

Step 5: Secure the backer piece in place with drywall screws.

Step 6

Cut a piece of drywall to match the hole. Use the piece you removed as a rough template to size the replacement piece correctly.

Step 6: Cut a replacement piece of drywall using the saved damaged piece as a template.

Step 7

Fit the replacement piece in place. It may take a bit of shaving and final trim cuts with a utility knife to get a good fit.

Step 7: Trim the replacement piece to fit the hole snugly. Try to minimize gaps.

Step 8

Use joint compound to fill in the gaps between the replacement piece and the wall. You can use drywall tape if the piece or gaps are big enough. I chose to just use the compound in this repair as it will be hidden behind a curtain when finished. Thin coats are better and dry to a more pleasing look. It may take 3 or 4 coats to get a smooth surface.

Step 8: Drywall joint compound time. Use multiple thin coats and allow each to dry before the next one.

Step 9

Wait for the compound to dry and prime/texture/paint to match the surrounding wall.

Step 9: Make it match. Wait for the final coat of drywall compound to dry then prime/texture and paint to match the wall.

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Hidden Damage - Wood Next to Concrete

7/14/2017

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Wooden siding butted against concrete patio

Wood siding all the way to the concrete patio. Missing a gap or flashing to prevent water penetration. This is a suspicious area for hidden damage. You can see some early rot in the siding on the left.

Do you have wall siding that is in contact with concrete? This is a common site of water penetration and long term can lead to hidden damage in the wall framing. There needs to be a gap between wall siding and any contact with concrete or earth to allow water to drain. If this isn't possible, flashing needs to be installed to help with water shedding.

Siding removed from wall to inspect substructure

Siding that was in contact with the concrete patio has been removed to inspect the wall structure. First glance doesn't look too good. Many areas of rotting framing.

These pictures show a wall where the siding that was in contact with the concrete patio has been removed for further investigation. The siding showed signs of rot and the wall framing behind looks to have been in contact with water for awhile. The sill plate and rim joist (important framing pieces) are rotted out from the long term presence of water. This homeowner will need to consider some extensive repairs. The sill plate and rim joist need to be cut out and replaced with sound wood.

Probing for rotting and pinky wood. Looks like water has been getting here for awhile.

Rotting and damage sill plate. This the piece of wood that forms the base of the wall above.

Damaged sill plate from long term water contact

More rot in the sill plate. Those holes go back about halfway through the width of the board.

Area of rot in both the sill plate and the rim joist. Both of these pieces of wood are important for structural stability of the wall. They need to be replaced.

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Replacing a Smoke Alarm

7/7/2017

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Is your smoke alarm more than 10 years old? Time to replace and while you are at it, I recommend you upgrade your smoke alarm to dual sensor models that have both ionization and photoelectric capabilities. Read on below for step by step instructions on how to replace an existing hardwired smoke alarm in your home.

Old ionization only smoke alarm on the left. Newly installed dual ionization and photoelectric smoke alarm on the right.

Tools needed:
-Non contact electrical tester
-Phillips head screwdriver

Parts Needed:
-New smoke alarm - for this project I am replacing a hardwired and interconnected smoke alarm system. The parts that come in the box are a new alarm body, a ceiling bracket and a new wire pigtail with connection adapter.
-Wire Nuts

Smoke alarm parts - body, bracket and connection pigtail.

New smoke alarm parts. Alarm body in upper left. Ceiling bracket on right. New wire pigtail with connection adapter on the lower left.

These directions are specific to to replacing a hardwired (connected to household AC current) and interconnected smoke detectors. If you don't feel comfortable working with electrical wires consider having a qualified party do this work.

1. Turn off the circuit breaker controlling the circuit for your fire alarm.

2. Remove the existing smoke alarm from the ceiling bracket.

3. Test at the smoke alarm wire pigtail to ensure that the power is off.

Removing a smoke alarm from the ceiling bracket.

Step 1: Turn off the circuit breaker feeding your smoke alarm circuit. Step 2: Remove the existing alarm from the ceiling bracket.

Using a non contact tester on a smoke alarm power circuit.

Step 3: Testing the circuit. This one is still live as indicated by the red light on the tester.

Step 3: Correct circuit breaker has been turned off. Tester now shows green meaning no power in the wire.

Step 4: Remove the pigtail wires from the back of the smoke alarm.

Step 5: Loosen the screws holding the existing bracket to the ceiling junction box. Remove the bracket.

Back of smoke alarm body with pigtail connection being removed

Step 4: Remove the pigtail bracket from the back of the alarm. You may have to squeeze tabs on the side of the bracket to remove.

Removing an existing smoke alarm bracket from the ceiling.

Step 5: Loosen the screws and remove the existing bracket from the ceiling. It may take a little effort if the ceiling paint has adhered to the back of the bracket.

Step 6: Pull the existing wires out of the junction box. There should be a black wire, white wire and a red wire in the box. The pigtail connection to the alarm will have a black wire, white wire and either a red or orange wire. Remove the wire nuts and separate the old pigtail from the ceiling wiring.

Step 7: Match up the pigtail connector wiring to the existing house wires. Black attaches to black. White to white wire and Red or orange to red.

Step 8: Make a connection between the pigtail wires and the house wires using a wire nut. Make sure that the wire colors match.

Wire connections pulled from ceiling junction box.

Step 6: Pull the wire connections out of the junction box. Once free, remove the wire nuts from each connection to release the old pigtail wires.

Step 7: Match the wires. Black to black. White to White. Orange or Red on the pigtail to red in the junction box.

Smoke alarm pigtail connected to house wires.

Step 8: Connect the pigtail to the matching wires from the junction box. Secure the connections with wire nuts.

Step 9: Tuck the house wires and connections back in to the junction box.

Step 10: Thread the pigtail connection through the ceiling bracket.

Step 11: Secure the new ceiling bracket to the junction box and ceiling by replacing and tightening the screws that were loosened in step 5.

House wires put back in to junction box.

Step 9: Clean up the wires by tucking them back in to the junction box.

Step 10: Place the smoke alarm pigtail through the ceiling bracket.

Smoke alarm bracket with pigtail hanging.

Step 11: Secure the ceiling bracket to the junction box. Leave the pigtail hanging.

Step 12: This step is optional but highly recommended. Write the date of installation for both the battery and smoke alarm prior to installing in the bracket. This will make it easy in the future to know when the battery and alarm need to be replaced.

Smoke alarm battery marked with installation date.

Step 12 (Optional): Mark the battery with the date of install. Easy to keep track of when to change it next year.

Smoke alarm marked with date of installation.

Step 12 (Optional): Mark the smoke alarm body with date of installation. Helps to track life expectancy (10 years from this date).

Step 13: Connect the pigtail adapter to the back of the smoke alarm.

Step 14: Gently place the pigtail in to the junction box while seating the smoke alarm body.

Attaching pigtail to the smoke alarm body.

Step 13: Attach the pigtail adapter to the smoke alarm body.

Step 14: Push the pigtail in to the junction box while seating the alarm body in the ceiling bracket.

Step 15: Seat the alarm body in the bracket. Twist to seat. You may have a ribbon to pull to activate the alarm. Pull gently and steadily to remove the ribbon and activate the alarm.

Step 16: Cover your ears and push the test button to make sure that the new alarm works.

Step 15: Seat the alarm and twist to secure.

Pulling the activation strip on a smoke alarm.

Step 15: Pull gently and steadily on the activation ribbon (if present) to remove.

Remember to test the smoke alarm after installation.

Step 16: Push the test button to see if the alarm works. This is an interconnected system so activating this alarm should activate all the other alarms in the house.

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