How is your Chimney?

Look up, look way up, how is your chimney? Maybe use a pair of binoculars to examine the condition of your chimney.

Some chimneys are clad with stucco over wood framing with a flue insert, others are traditional brick and mortar. No matter which type you have they need to be visually inspected once a year.

The following picture is of my neighbor's chimney. We noticed that some bricks were in our front yard. We couldn't figure out where the bricks came from until I looked up.

Our neighbor's chimney was disintegrating. The mortar between the bricks was old and turning into powder. The bricks were falling down daily.  The chimney had to be taken down completely.

Check your chimney before it starts to fall down and injure someone. Also don't climb on the roof to inspect your chimney unless you know you can do it safely, hiring a professional is a safer bet.

Sweater Day

Hey guys sweater day is this February 9th. The whole gist is that if you wear a sweater and turn your thermostat down just 2 degrees you could save $150 on your heating bill.
Not a bad idea. Check out www.sweaterday.ca

Rain Rain Everywhere

If you live in the pacific west coast you have been inundated with rain this winter. Just looking outside my window this afternoon the rain is just pouring down. This reminds me to do a quick walk around my house and check what the rain is doing to my house and my yard.

First thing I do is look at the grounds around the house.
-Is water collecting anywhere?
-Is there water pooling around the area of the foundation?
-Is water collecting on the lawn area? If it is collecting then you might have to address lawn drainage later in the year.
-How are your gutters handling the heavy rain downpour? If they are overflowing then maybe they're clogged.
-How are the gutter's downspouts coping with the rain. Are they still properly connected? Are they draining into a proper city drainage system or at least draining 3 or more feet away from the foundation of the house.

Winter rain storms can cause havoc with gutters and downspouts. Keeping an eye on them will help prevent leaks in the future.

Cost of roofing

With everyone counting their pennies these days a re-roofing could just break the budget and the bank account. But what to do when you've got a leaky roof? Well the best interim measure is to tarp it. I've seen roofs that were tarpped for 3 years before the roof was done. With advent of colored tarps you might even be able to match your homes colour! if you can't install the tarp yourself hire someone to do it. It may cost you hundreds of dollars but it is cheaper than a re-roof and will buy you time until you have funds to do it properly.