Giveaway visual cues?

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Permalink Reply by Sean Lintow Sr on May 20, 2011 at 11:47am

As I replied to you on Twitter (and to get the party started):

mold, mildew, spongy drywall, bubbling paint, dirty insulation, mouse traps / droppings, condensation, ice dams, snow, no vents

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Permalink Reply by David Meiland on May 20, 2011 at 12:19pm

One of the things I see a lot locally is ceilings (and sometimes walls) with T&G paneling instead of drywall. These almost never have an adequate air barrier behind them and will leak profusely during a blower door test. The sad truth is that the solution is almost always to install drywall over, or, in the case of a ceiling, the repair can sometimes be made from the top if the roofing is replaced.

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• T&G.jpg, 131 KB

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Permalink Reply by Thomas Burke on May 21, 2011 at 9:37am

During the winter, the first thing we look for is snow or frost melting, as it helps us track down locations that have either air leakage or missing insulation.

Inside, we watch for any signs of condensation, including mold and any "ghosting" of studs and/or cavities.  There will often be missing insulation in these areas too.

 

 

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Permalink Reply by David Eggleton on May 22, 2011 at 6:24am

Spider webs!

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Permalink Reply by Leah Thayer on May 22, 2011 at 10:14am

Thanks for everyone's input. I got some extremely helpful responses outside this forum as well. Of all the surprising indicators, I have to say that spider webs resonate most with me. Spiders love air movement ... because (here's where the resident insectologists weigh in) air movement brings food into their webs?

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Permalink Reply by David Eggleton on May 22, 2011 at 9:35pm

Mostly winged creatures end up in the webs, so the air movement (from a lower level to a higher level) may be more of a clue for them (there's another somewhere ahead) than a current that carries/pushes them to their doom.

Might be some of each!

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Permalink Reply by Leah Thayer on May 24, 2011 at 5:25am

Thanks again for everyone's help. I hesitate to post a link to another site on this forum (I've been chastised for it before), but here's the article that resulted.

One of my favorite statements came from Josh Wojcik of Upright Frameworks, in Maine. He said:

"It's been said that ignorance is bliss. People who believe this are usually afraid to get an energy audit because they're afraid that the recommendations will be expensive and scary.  What's scary to me is the volatility of energy markets and the fact that oil's been averaging a 10 percent-a-year increase over the last 10 years. A good weatherization retrofit pays for itself (quickly) and I like helping people save money. My advice to savvy building owners is to look for the symptoms I've described above, because fixing those symptoms (if done correctly) can create an annuity for that building owner of 10 to 40 percent a year for a long, long time."

 

Leah

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