Do It Yourself Energy Efficiency Projects: Your Home’s Thermal Envelope (Part 2)
Right now, there are a few things you can do around your home to air seal it to save money during the winter months and during the summer.
As mentioned in Part 1, your home is a “thermal envelope”. That is the sum total of the home’s insulation systems: walls, ceilings, foundation, floors, windows, and doors. These work more effectively with good, tight fits that seal out the weather and air. By having a tight seal on your home’s thermal envelope, the less energy you waste or lose by exchanging it too often with the air outside.
Now, we’re going to look at exterior doors, the laundry center, the water heater tank, HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning), attic insulation, attic ventilation and rain gutters.
Presenting The Doors!
We all want our doors to be attractive, secure, and weather proof. Like windows, when they are properly installed and kept in good condition, they can save you energy and money. If your door is hard to close or open, moves the whole door frame when you open or close the door, rattles when it is closed, or you see daylight and feel a draft coming from around it, then your door needs work.
When a door doesn’t close correctly, it obviously fails to seal. If your exterior door is difficult to open or close, the first thing to look for is if something is caught in the door or if something is sticking out from the door frame, such as a screw head not fully tightened against the hinge. Next, determine with a carpenter’s level whether the door is hanging plumb (straight up and down) and if the door jambs are parallel to each other. Sometimes, a screw head not tightened into the hinge can prevent a door from closing properly and over time deform and loosen the door frame or the door. Also, check to see if any hinges move toward or away from the door jamb or if they wiggle. Hinges should be tightly fastened to the door and the door jamb with no other movement except at the hinge joint.
Once I lived in an old house and the back door was hard to close because the whole frame moved with it. It was one of those things I kept putting off to fix. Then one night, I pulled the door shut so hard that I pulled the entire door and door frame out from the wall of the house. I tacked it back in place for the night but the next morning, I settled down to repair it. The original nails had rusted down to the thickness of thread while the wooden shims that kept the door seated properly had rotted because moisture got inside the door frame.
If your door frame moves when you open or close the door, don’t put it off repairing it like I did. Fix it now. First, remove the casing from both the inside of the door and the exterior. Be careful – often in older homes, door casing and other moldings are unique or are no longer available. Sharp-edged casing pry bars are perfect for this. With a little patience and care, you can remove the casing without damaging it too much. A putty knife and a claw hammer are also useful. Again, be patient and careful – you are disassembling not destroying.
After you remove the casing, look for any damage to the wood making up the door frame; such as if it is rotten or split. Check to see if the shims are in place and intact. If everything looks right, check the frame to see if it is plumb. Add shims as needed and check that the door opens and closes correctly. Usually, it is easier to tack a scrap 1? × 2? across the door when it’s closed to seat the door frame properly. When it’s plumb and shimmed, carefully nail the frame into place. Next, vacuum debris from the area and seal up seams and gaps with either caulk or expanding foam. Re-fasten the casing and cover up the old nail holes with color-matched wood putty.
If you can close a kleenex in your door and then pull it out easily or if your door rattles from noise or the wind, it means it’s just not seated snuggly. The easiest starting place to for this fix is to add weather stripping. Usually, doors made over the past 25 years have had weather stripping built onto them. But being a door is rough work. Over time, the weather stripping gets stripped from the door. In some cases, the same weather stripping types are still used by the door manufacturer and can be easily replaced. Usually with much older homes, it’s not the case. You’ll be either replacing worn-out weather stripping someone else applied, or you’ll be putting on brand new.
First, measure the gap between the door surface and the door jamb at several places. Add about 1/16 of an inch to this measurement and this will give you a rough thickness of the self-adhesive foam or felt you will need to apply. Typically, I apply the foam stripping to the door jamb. Since the door jamb doesn’t go anywhere there’s less of a chance for something bumping against it and tearing off the foam. The door, on the other hand, is meant to move and will encounter all sort of things in its travels. As mentioned, you want the door to close firmly. Be sure to buy more foam than you will need so you can add and adjust the foam until you have a good seal.
If your door is in too bad of condition to repair, then it really is no longer a matter of weatherization but security. Seriously consider replacing it. Residential exterior doors come in three standard widths: 30, 32, and 36 inches.
Generally, the most insulating material for an exterior door is wood because it doesn’t conduct heat as easily as metal, vinyl, or fiberglass. That being said, most inexpensive wooden doors don’t fare well over time. They wear quickly in the areas that have the most contact (door handles and foot area), their mounting screws can loosen or tear, and depending on the harshness of the weather they can dry out and split. Steel doors provide better security and stand up to wear but they conduct heat. Wood-core steel doors and foam core doors last longer, are stronger, and better insulated. Fiberglass doors usually are the most strong, durable, and well insulating but tend to be more expensive.
Door Sweeps and Door Jambs with Vinyl Weather-stripping
A door’s most drafty area is along the bottom where it meets the door threshold. Most thresholds are aluminum or wooden ridges that meet the bottom of the door and form a seal. However, since the door is constantly being opened and the threshold is being stepped on, the factory-installed weatherization can wear out quickly. It can be quickly and easily replaced with a self-adhesive vinyl strip that hangs down from the bottom edge of the door. You attach it on the interior side of the door.
There is another kind of door sweep that uses multiple vinyl strips to block drafts. Somewhat more expensive, but it slips on over the bottom edge of the door and is held on with screws.
One product I have used with great success is pvc door jambs with built-in vinyl weather stripping. Mounted on the outside of your door, these door jambs can either replace your existing jambs or slide over them. The vinyl weather-stripping can be pushed up snugly against the door to keep out drafts when the door is closed. Use a circular miter saw to make the proper angled cuts so they can be mounted attractively in place. When they are in position, they can be quickly nailed or screwed into place and then painted. While I like these, there are many other similar kits that might be more suitable for your particular job.
The Laundry Center
The big energy users in the laundry area are the washer and the dryer. The typical washer uses about 0.256 kWh per load. The main cost is obviously the amount of hot water the is used during each load. Top loading washers use up to 40 gallons while front loaders use 10-24 gallons. It is easy to cut costs here by washing in warm or cold water. However, the main energy savings comes from drying your clothes. Even though modern washing machines do an excellent job of extracting the water from clothes by spinning them, they still need to be dried.
Dryers tend not to be very energy efficient because they have one job: force dry, heated air into a rotating drum to evaporate water. Dryers use ten to fifteen percent of domestic energy in the United States. Dryers also cause lint. Lint comes from fibers in your clothing coming loose as the clothes tumble across each other in a dryer’s hot drum. Lint not only collects in your dryer’s lint trap but also through the dryer’s duct work. If lint begins to obstruct or clog your dryer’s duct work, the evaporated water from your nice, clean clothes will not leave the system. If the water is trapped, it will take longer and longer for the dryer to work. Therefore, once a year, pull your dryer away from the wall, detach the duct from the bottom of your dryer, and pull out as much lint as you can from the dryer and the duct. The first time you do this, you might be surprised how much you pull out. You’ll also notice a big improvement in the time it takes for your dryer to dry your clothes.
During the cooler winter months when you are heating your home, you may notice your home feeling drier. While not always a bad thing, if your skin feels dry and itchy or if you notice your sinuses feeling raw and irritated more often, maybe your home is too dry. One way around this is to disconnect your dryer vent tubing from the duct work leading out of the house. Place a nylon sock over the end of the vent tubing and tie it in place with a long twist tie or rubber band. (Make sure you block up the vent going outside). This way, every time you run your drier, you will heat and humidify your house too.
Hanging your clothes not only save energy but also helps them last longer. Dry your clothes on a drying rack or clothes line. If you can’t hang them outside, you can hang them inside by buying a
Obtain Professional Services for Kitchen Improvement
The renovation is one of the most difficult tasks to be accomplished. Sometimes, it becomes the headache and a reason for tension in ones life. However, for some people takes it very easy to renovate their complete house or any portion of the house. Why there is so much difference in the views for the same thing? It is only because some people do the proper planning in advance and execute it in the same manner. But some people do the renovation with no experience and planning. It is recommended to the inexperienced people to take the services of the professional decorators; specifically for some of the areas of the house like bathroom or kitchen. These areas require an expertise in designing the layout as it involves a number of things to be installed.
The kitchen renovation requires a specialized skill to design its layout. The proper planning for plumbing, lightings and placement of the kitchen appliances of daily use are needed to be considered. This type of work can only be done by a professional experienced kitchen decorator. Professional kitchen decorators have the full knowledge of the things required in the kitchen such as appliances, stoves, ovens, refrigerators and the kind of issues may arise while moving on with the renovation work. A contractor will do the task of kitchen renovation with full preparations and prior arrangements.
An experienced renovator will also help in planning the things and will give valuable advice on how to carry out the work with out any hurdles. He can also suggest you better designing ideas and placement of appliance in the kitchen at the most convenient place. A good renowned kitchen decorator offers various services to its clients. He performs number of tasks on behalf of the client to make the project convenient to them. The selection of cost effective appliances, installation of cabinets and other needed accessories of daily use of the kitchen are some of the included points in the contract.
They start their work with proper planning; beginning from the measurement of the size of the kitchen to drafted a layout with all the ingredients and execution of the same in the most cost effective options. The contractors usually maintain good contacts with the wholesalers of kitchen appliances and equipments. This helps them in acquiring the products at best possible price for their clients. Assigning the project of kitchen improvement to the contractor will prove a good decision as the clients will get the professional services with in the budget. Trust your contractor and convey your needs and ideas to him and stay relaxed till you see a new improved kitchen.
7 Steps To Planning A Great Storage Garage
Have you been looking at adding more space around your garage? Or what about starting on a storage garage. These storage areas are practical and versatile for many things and include having a great place to store your beloved automobile. For protection against natures elements and theft, you cant go wrong having a solution like a storage garage. Read more
Car Audio Video
There are some people who believe that buying a car is more significant than buying a house. As compared to the house a car provides mobility and could help one to earn while a house is considered as dead investment. After all a house is used to live in purpose and we have to spend on it that’s why treat it as expense while buying a car as a business tool is capital. Besides that if you have a car you want to upgrade the accessories so that you can enjoy the comfort ride while driving. Cars audio video system is also one of the most important accessories which make you to feel comfort and enjoy while driving.
If you are interested in installing car audio video in your car then it could be the best personalization you could Read more
How to Automate Your Garage Doors
There are hundreds of garage door openers to choose from but before you can do that there are two key considerations concerning your garage door itself.
Before deciding on an electric garage door opener check that an able bodied person can effortlessly open the garage door manually as a motor will not do what they can’t. If the door works smoothly and effortlessly, then adding an electric operator should be straight forward.
You will also need to check that your door balances at around chest height to ensure you have the correct spring tension for the operator to lift the door. If the springs are broken or the door is not balanced properly the electric operator will not work effectively. You may need to service the door by lubricating the moving parts or replace the door springs and other moving parts.
The other consideration is to know what type of garage door you have. This is because it is essential for you to choose the correct device to suit your door mechanism to ensure the safe and smooth operation of your garage door.
There are four main types of garage door mechanism: retractable door, canopy door, side hinged door, and sectional door.
Up & Over – Retractable Garage Doors (Tracked)
These are identified by a single door panel with springs either side or horizontal ceiling tracks which support the door in the open position. When the garage door is fully open, the bottom edge of the door is flush with the garage door frame
If you have a retractable up and over garage door then you are in luck, as these are ideal for automation and you can safely use any type of operator. Your main considerations must be the noise (AC or DC motor) and the material, width and weight of the door to ensure you choose an operator powerful enough to lift the door.
Up & Over – Canopy Doors (Trackless)
This door type is not recommended for safe automation although there are options available; I would never recommend or safety and reliability. If you don’t want to replace the entire door and mechanism you can purchase a retractable door mechanism and replace the canopy door gear.
An up & over canopy door is identified by the large spring which runs over the head of the door and when the door is open the garage door panel protrudes by approximately 600mm from the opening.
Side Hinged Doors
These garage doors can be automated using a conversion kit with most operators. You will need to check the operator can be use for side hinged doors so that the auto-reverse safety feature functions normally.
Sectional doors
Sectional Garage Doors are identified by hinged panels that allow the door to rise vertically without swinging out as the door opens.
They are perfect garage doors for automation as no additional parts are required and you can use any type of AC or DC operator. To ensure the operator will fit it’s a good idea to check the clearance above the door during its opening cycle then check the minimum clearance requirement for the operator as they vary.
Again your choose an operator powerful enough to lift the door.
Mounting Fashion Of Discounted Cabinets
nowadays kitchen cabinets are having so much of popularity due to its double advantage it is economical at the same time it is very much useful to create an eye catching appearance to your kitchen.As this trend is on its peak, so with less effort you can get such cabinet that fulfills your requirement. you can get the discount cabinets by several ways. the best way is to go to a home perfection center wide range of cabinets are available in the centre so selection will not be a problem at all
if you are not satisfied with the home perfection center then you can seek the help of a contractor. Contractors have way in to cabinet’s stores and to those places where they are available at some low rate or discounted price. To make sure that you get the perfect choice of cabinet you need to go to a professional contractor not only for purchasing purpose but he will also guide you well at the time of installation of cabinets within the allocated budget..
Get here best Discount cabinets for your kitchen .
information regarding the Discount kitchen cabinets is also available through internet also.So with the help of internet you can get access to online stores that facilitate you with high quality cabinets available at discounted price with almost no effort. It is the nature of market that they provide you with the fewer prices possible to stay in competition with the competitors as customers are considered to be the back bone of every business. Also, they are said to be wealth bank for any business. To make customers they have to keep the prices down. So choice of buying kitchen cabinets from online stores can be a cost effective choice.
if you have made your choice then the next task is to fix the cabinets if you don’t have the required experience in fixing the cabinets then do have the help of some expert one Keep that in mind that it is not a child’s play and you can even receive injuries if not done with proper care.
Get best and cheaper cabinets by clicking this link Discount Cabinets .
DIY News
Home improvement can leave people shacking at the knees at the very thought of knocking down walls or putting up shelves but with DIY News being introduced on the Internet for both the UK and DIY News from the rest of the world. It is beginning to make the words DIY be recognised as a form of good rather than bad. DIY News is available on many different websites, one of the best being Wickes.co.uk that has a long list of stories made available to you. The stories range from DIY disasters to the great DIY triumphs accomplished by the general public, therefore helping people just like you and me whom have no previous home improvement experience.
DIY News have been created to try and encourage us into participating in general DIY amendments around the home. The DIY News is giving us a free service on home improvement advice making it a great way to help us save a little bit of money by doing those little job around the house ourselves without having to pay for it. On Wickes.co.uk some of the DIY News is written by the experts meaning you are getting the best advice available at no extra cost. The website will also advise you on what materials are needed to complete any home improvement job.
DIY News is available in many forms on the internet from stories posted on DIY store websites or blogs being created so that people can help each other and discuss their ups and downs to doing your own DIY. DIY News has created choice for the consumer, allowing us to choose whether to undertake the work ourselves or pay someone else to do it. We are all always looking for ways to save a little money and doing a few home improvements yourself is a great way to start and with DIY News this is now plausible.
Most DIY News websites will allow anyone to add a story about their own DIY offering advice to other bloggers therefore if you have completed a DIY job in the past and would like to share your experience with other people then why not try your hand at writing a short blog or story to help others. DIY News is a great way to find out all the dos and don’ts that go with home improvements making it a very good starting point when considering doing any DIY job.
But you must be warned that not all DIY News websites are created to help the consumer, some websites are created to confuse, upset and even ‘rip off’ the customer by directing the consumer to pay for over –priced materials and give unreliable advice. The best advice is to stick to mainstream DIY store websites such as Wickes.co.uk in order to receive professional and up-to-date advice on all DIY News.
Eris Automotive Tools: The place For Automotive Tools and Equipment
Professional mechanics and home mechanics are continually in need of a good place to get automotive tools and equipment. Eris automotive has been selling automotive tools on the Internet at below retail prices for seven years. We know our business and can help all types of mechanics find the right tool for all types of automotive jobs.
Our selection of automotive hand tools is absolutely fantastic and is sure to include the tools that you are looking for to make the job easier and get the job done right. Our selection of hand tools are of high quality and are great for the getting the job done correctly. From hand tool master sets, to locking pliers, to stud removers, to marking and engraving tools, and everything in between we have a fantastic selection of automotive hand tools that is sure to meet any automotive job requirement.
We are an authorized dealer of OTC Tools, Dewalt Tools, AutoXray Diagnostic Tools, 3M Automotive Tools, and many, many more. If you are searching for any automotive tool or specialized piece of automotive equipment and we do not have it on our website, then please email us and we will very likely be able to special order the tool for you.
Our website is easy to navigate. You can browse our several categories or search for a specific tool using our website search functionality to find professional-grade automotive tools and equipment. Our website is available all day every day. It is equipped with industry leading encryption to ensure a secure connection and privacy of information when ordering.
Visit our website at http://erisautomotivetools.com
We pride ourselves on customer service. As a result, we have large number of regular customers that keep coming back for more automotive tools. Our customer service telephone line is open Monday thru Friday from 9 to 5 Eastern Standard Time. As part of our commitment to providing exceptional customer service, we welcome our customers to provide comments regarding our selection of discount price automotive tools and equipment as well as our customer service.
Automation of Your Garage Doors
There are hundreds of garage door openers to choose from but before you can do that there are two key considerations concerning your garage door itself.
Before deciding on an electric garage door opener check that an able bodied person can effortlessly open the garage door manually as a motor will not do what they can’t. If the door works smoothly and effortlessly, then adding an electric operator should be straight forward.
You will also need to check that your door balances at around chest height to ensure you have the correct spring tension for the operator to lift the door. If the springs are broken or the door is not balanced properly the electric operator will not work effectively. You may need to service the door by lubricating the moving parts or replace the door springs and other moving parts.
The other consideration is to know what type of garage door you have. This is because it is essential for you to choose the correct device to suit your door mechanism to ensure the safe and smooth operation of your garage door.
There are four main types of garage door mechanism: retractable door, canopy door, side hinged door, and sectional door.
Up & Over – Retractable Garage Doors (Tracked)
These are identified by a single door panel with springs either side and horizontal ceiling tracks which support the door in the open position. When the garage door is fully open, the bottom edge of the door is flush with the garage door frame
If you have a retractable up and over garage door then you are in luck, as these are ideal for automation and you can safely use any type of operator. Your main considerations must be the noise (AC or DC motor) and the material, width and weight of the door to ensure you choose an operator powerful enough to lift the door.
Up & Over – Canopy Doors (Trackless)
This door type is not recommended for safe automation although there are options available, I would never recommend or safety and reliability. If you don’t want to replace the entire door and mechanism you can purchase a retractable door mechanism and replace the canopy door gear.
An up & over canopy door is identified by the large spring which runs over the head of the door and when the door is open the garage door panel protrudes by approximately 600mm from the opening.
Side Hinged Doors
These garage doors can be automated using a conversion kit with most operators. You will need to check the operator can be use for side hinged doors so that the auto-reverse safety feature functions normally.
Sectional doors
Sectional Garage Doors are identified by hinged panels that allow the door to rise vertically without swinging out as the door opens.
They are perfect garage doors for automation as no additional parts are required and you can use any type of AC or DC operator. To ensure the operator will fit it’s a good idea to check the clearance above the door during its opening cycle then check the minimum clearance requirement for the operator as they vary.
Again your choose an operator powerful enough to lift the door.
Heating and air conditioning San Antonio
There are several devices operating in the design of the heating and air conditioning in your home or office. Sometimes, in order to modernize this system, a fully functional new unit is required along with a new thermostat. At this point, he tried to connect with professionally qualified dealer who has the ability to install any type of heating and cooling system in your place. It is also important to discuss the current heating and air conditioning equipment with him.
In colder months, fireplaces, a central element of almost every family and it becomes a necessary part of survival strategy in the extended winter. Nevertheless, at the age of electric heater room, traditional fireplace wood has exceptional appeal to the sensual direct sources of heat and flickering. There is no comfort that can be compared with a family conversation around the fireplace in the winter evening.
Fireplaces were much popularized in the past, when then-President Franklin Delano Roosevelt fireplace chats “, weekly radio addresses became popular during the Great Depression. It Read more
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