Category Archives: Winter Concerns

Poor Handling of Roof Runoff

Posted by in Basements, Case Studies, Roof, Water Sources, Winter Concerns | October 05, 2020

Basement walls not only support the floor framing above, but also retain earth and groundwater from the basement area.  A basement wall commonly retains earth backfill and groundwater by spanning vertically between the basement floor and the wood framing above… Read More →

A Baffling Issue (at 1st) with a Raised Patio Deck

Posted by in Case Studies, Soil Issues, Winter Concerns, Wood | June 15, 2020

When we get reports of a raised patio deck pitching down, sliding glass doors in the patio walls binding, and doors not latching anymore, we begin by measuring the pitch of the floor and walls to help determine what is… Read More →

Getting Ready for Winter … Again

Posted by in Buying/Maintaining a Home, Winter Concerns | October 08, 2018

The days are getting shorter.  The leaves are turning colors.  The temperatures are dropping.  The Halloween decorations are starting to go up.  It’s that time of year again.  Winter is approaching. How is your attic ventilation?  Are the screens on… Read More →

A Pattern of Condensation in an Attic

Posted by in Attic Ventilation, Buying/Maintaining a Home, Winter Concerns | June 18, 2018

The feature photograph shows a view of the ridge in an attic.  Note the discoloration and biological growth on both slopes.  Notice that the discoloration is worse on the slope left of the ridge than on the slope right of… Read More →

Does Ventilation Really Provide a Benefit in an Attic?

Posted by in Apparent Mold/Biological Growth, Attic Ventilation, Buying/Maintaining a Home, Winter Concerns | June 04, 2018

The clear surface on the underside of the roof deck around the three bathroom vent pipes shows that even a little bit of inadvertent air flow is capable of reducing condensation and the risk of apparent mold/biological growth. It doesn’t… Read More →

Who Says, “You Need to Have a Gutter to Have Ice Damming or Icicles?”

Posted by in Attic Ventilation, Buying/Maintaining a Home, Roof, Water Sources, Winter Concerns | March 12, 2018

See those long, beautiful icicles and the ice dam? But wait – there is no gutter along the rear slope of this dwelling (see Figure 1).  How can there be an ice dam and icicles?  Just lucky, I guess. Note… Read More →

Time for Icicles and Ice Dams

Posted by in Roof, Water Sources, Winter Concerns | February 26, 2018

So you think winter is over? Not yet.  It’s got one or two last hoorahs. It’s still that time of year for icicles and ice dams. What can you do to avoid them now?  Nothing, except use a roof rake… Read More →

What Happened Here?

Posted by in Roof, Shingles, Simple Forensic Methods, Winter Concerns | July 17, 2017

The shingles along the eave of roof exhibit broken and dislodged tabs and surface gouges (Figure 1). What could have caused this?  Vigorous ice removal. The damage is along an area that was reportedly covered with ice (see featured photograph).… Read More →