News & Resources

What Does a Landslide Look Like? (Revisited)

Posted by in Buying/Maintaining a Home, Foundations, Soil Issues | July 16, 2018

A wood deck set at the crest of the hill overlooking a wooded valley with a river.  Mornings drinking a flavored latte, afternoons sipping a lemonade, or evenings toasting friends with the latest creation of Great Lakes Brewery while gazing… Read More →

Happy Independence Day, America!!!!!! – July 4, 2018

Posted by in Commemoration/Celebration | July 02, 2018

Thoughts on this 242th Anniversary 242 years ago our forefathers made a bold declaration knowing that they were risking security, peace, property, and possibly even their own lives in the pursuit of being a free people.  We salute them for… 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 →

Memorial Day – 2018

Posted by in Commemoration/Celebration | May 21, 2018

. Let us remember this week those who have bravely fought and died for our freedom. Let us take a moment to thank God for the men and women who willingly gave the full measure of devotion for us throughout… Read More →

What Happens When… There is a Knot in a Truss Web Member?

Posted by in What happens when ...?, Wood | May 07, 2018

Here we have a truss web member that is fully fractured.  Close examination of the fracture discloses a knot that extends from the top face down to the bottom face, nearly the full width of the member (Figure 1).  The… Read More →

What is Efflorescence?

Posted by in Buying/Maintaining a Home, Water Sources | April 23, 2018

Efflorescence derives from a French word that means “to flower out” (or so I’ve read).   “Flowering out” is a good description because efflorescence is a crystal structure that appears and grows on the surface of concrete, brick, stucco, or natural stone… Read More →

Uniformly Spaced Spots of Granule Loss on Shingles

Posted by in Shingles | April 09, 2018

There are a number of causes of spots of granule loss on shingles.  In this article we look at a manufacturing defect. Note the relatively uniform spacing of the spots of granule loss in Figure 1.  Note also the consistency… Read More →