Roofing is Hard
Stetten Home Services advocates for “an approved roof-decking-assembly to be directly below all roofing materials”. In reality, the coverage area of the roof (ignoring the gutters) is substantially larger than the decking as it is installed. Why? How? No! Work by others: (Shingles bridge the gap between framing and trim)(floppy tails)… The roofing contractor prices their … Read More »
Supply Air Adjustable Drying Mechanism for Sealed Crawlspaces
Stetten Home Services does such a great job getting everything in the crawlspace airtight, the above amount of air is overkill. We eventually turned it off. The crawlspace crawlspace shown above remains dry without intentional drying. Time and time again, we prove to ourselves and our clients that you do not need a dehumidifier. In … Read More »
Attic Flooring, Attic Shelving, Crawlspace Shelving, and Various Storage Solutions
When Stetten Home Services began providing weatherization of attics and crawlspaces we were surprised with how eager people would be to utilize these spaces, and how creative they were. All homes are unique, even track-homes, because the owners personalize things. There is a growing trend of people needing more storage. Stetten Home Services has various … Read More »
Sealed Crawlspace Warranty and Humidity Guarantee
If you purchase a Sealed Crawlspace from Stetten Home Services we provide a lifetime guarantee that all aspects of the sealed crawlspace service will continue to perform as intended. If the device, system, material, or workmanship fails we will resolve it within a 3-week period of your photo-documented notice to us*. This warranty is only … Read More »
Pony Wall Continuous Insulation OPTION for Floor Insulated Sealed Crawlspaces
This post is designed to be linked to in crawlspace proposals provided by Stetten Home Services. We are champions of the floor insulated sealed crawlspace because we have data to prove that sealed crawlspaces with “no insulation” or “floor-insulation” perform about equal to those with “wall-insulation”. Its a sealed box with no windows or doors … Read More »
Deluxe Sealed Attics and Associated Work
Times are a changing. It is increasingly common for people to decide to seal up their vented attics and to choose spray-foam to do it and otherwise take control of that air-space. As “Sealed Attics” become more common in Raleigh NC and Wilmington NC I have noticed builders and code enforcement officials struggling with these … Read More »
Converting your NEW CONSTRUCTION vented crawlspace to a sealed crawlspace, affordably
For various reasons builders still build vented crawlspaces, yet have “sealed crawlspaces” under their own homes. Vented crawlspaces can work but it isn’t fantastic to have a crawlspace which allows dust/smoke, pollen/spores, hot/cold, wet/dry, light for critters to enter and thrive…. If you buy a new home in 2019 and it has a vented crawlspace … Read More »
Duct Sealing is Included!
When you purchase a Sealed Crawlspace or Attic Air-Sealing or the Bonus Room Comfort Solution from Stetten Home Services you also get “Duct-Sealing” in the affected area. We will seal any accessible leak we can find! We generally use expanding foam and tape and silicone caulking for duct sealing but certain circumstances call for using … Read More »
Adjustable House-Air Drying Mechanism (for sealed crawlspaces)
This method is our 3rd choice. Various options are provided in the NC sealed crawlspace code for how to provide a Drying. 1st Choice) Adjustable Supply-Air Drying Mechanism on existing crawlspace plenum or distribution box. 2nd Choice) Adjustable Supply-Air Drying Mechanism “chased down” from the attic or interior duct-work. aka DUCTED DRYING MECHANISM 3rd Choice) … Read More »
Sealed Vapor Barrier
This is the standard vapor barrier treatment offered by Stetten Home Services: As you can see we provide extra materials and do an excellent job. The 1/4″ reflective insulation we use for air-barriers, house-wrap, padding, door-gaskets, is now called “Solex” and it has peel and stick adhesive on one of the edges. 4×125 is how … Read More »
Krotts
Mangum
NC CLOSED CRAWLSPACE BUILDING CODE
Without commentary: NC Building Code SECTION R409 : CLOSED CRAWL SPACES R409.1 Air sealed walls. Closed crawl spaces shall be built to minimize the entry of outdoor air into the crawl space. Specifically prohibited are foundation wall vents and wall openings to ventilated porch foundations. When outdoor packaged heating and cooling equipment is used, solid blocking … Read More »
Reed
REED 1 REED 2
Barnett
HVAC
HVAC There is no graceful way to explain our thoughts on HVAC, given the variables, so without further ado, a random list of thoughts/facts on High-Performance HVAC Critical Details: In 2011, the average residential customer in the U.S. spent 11.7 cents/KWH via U.S. Energy Information Administration. The EIA reports that each KWH via Electricity = … Read More »
Mold Chart for Temperature and Humidity Monitors
There are often many factors and measures in science where knowing a few allows you to determine others. With Temperature and Relative Humidity you can determine Dew Point of air, Preservation Index of paper, “Days to Mold” of wood, and finally, Equilibrium Moisture Content of wood, respectively. 100% of the above information was laboriously extracted … Read More »
Lights Camera Action
Have you ever wondered why crawlspaces and attics are so awful?I would argue that the #1 reason is poor lighting. People want better lighting and quality of work plummets in darkness. Once one workman leaves a bit of trash under a home, or in an attic, it becomes a trash can for the rest of … Read More »
Floor System Air Sealing
Here is another method which is awesome! It is hard to believe the NONE of our competition in the sealed crawlspace business is sealing the floor system before they seal in all the funk and begin positively pressurizing the crawlspace with supply side air induction. Crazy! Another method of “Sealing the Boots” :
Bare-Minimum-Sealed-Crawlspace
Bare Minimum Sealed Crawlspace CRAWLSPACE_PHOTO_TOUR Crawlspaces have become a source of confusion for consumers. Let us end that.What are the minimum requirements for a vented crawlspace? Vented.Most brand new homes with a vented crawlspace have black 6mil vapor barrier overlapped to cover all of the ground, although you can easily pull it back, and it … Read More »
Exterior Water Proofing
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SUMP PUMP
Most NC homes that have a “Sump Pump” actually have nothing more than a sieve, or a strainer, with a pump in it. The sides and bottom of the “collector” are often intentionally perforated. If so, and you get 1 gallon of water in the collector every day the pump would never turn on, the … Read More »
Bad-Waterproofing
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Interior Interceptor Trench
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Ware
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Low Impact Trenching
LOW IMPACT TRENCHING. You can apply “Industrial Engineering” to material handling when digging out and filling in trenches. Waste and damage can be avoided entirely. Strings can be used to define work and guide the shovel, so the pitch of all ditches and pipes, is worked out prior to any digging, and errant digging is … Read More »
Lou
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Amerault
AUDIT PHOTOS [nggallery id=272] CRAWLSPACE WORK PHOTOS [nggallery id=281] ATTIC WORK PHOTOS [ngg_images source=”galleries” container_ids=”326″ display_type=”photocrati-nextgen_basic_thumbnails” override_thumbnail_settings=”0″ thumbnail_width=”100″ thumbnail_height=”100″ thumbnail_crop=”1″ images_per_page=”999″ number_of_columns=”0″ ajax_pagination=”1″ show_all_in_lightbox=”0″ use_imagebrowser_effect=”0″ show_slideshow_link=”1″ slideshow_link_text=”[Show as slideshow]” order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”1000″]
Gholston
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Ervin
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Payne
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HOSCHEK
Scenario: 2014 New home with vented crawlspace. Builder did not offer un-vented option. Owner simply protecting their beautiful and unique hardwood flooring by converting to a SEALED CRAWLSPACE for durability and long-term energy savings. [nggallery id=259] Contracted SHS to: Convert basic vapor barrier to sealed vapor barrier with tape and spray foam. Install Relative Humidity … Read More »
Verrazzano Water-Proofing and Drainage Projects
These galleries are for local contractors to understand the Critical Details of getting the standing water and roof water away from the home’s foundation and into the Storm Drain located on the forwards left corner of the property. [nggallery id=257] [nggallery id=256] [nggallery id=255] [nggallery id=254] [nggallery id=258]
Crawlspace Low Point Drain
Ideally there would be two separate pipes leaving the foundation laying directly on top of the lowest footing. These pipes could be run parallel and to daylight and it is often okay to marry the two pipes downstream. A vapor barrier should convey any liquid that falls on top of it directly to a low-point … Read More »
Adjustable Drying Mechanism
The NC Sealed Crawlspace Code requires a mechanical means of moisture control. For crawlspaces with existing supply duct-work a simple louvered vent will suffice as the Code Approved Crawlspace Drying Mechanism. This is far superior to a dehumidifier. In homes with no ducting in the crawlspace it is possible to create a duct-run just for … Read More »
Attic Ventilation
Hello Folks, I am sorry you are thinking about your attic, if you weren’t planning on thinking about it, and you now are, I am doubly sorry. I will start by stating that ideally attic spaces would be completely controlled spaces, for example, Attics can actually have: – Comfortable temperature and humidity year round- Excellent … Read More »
Dunn
[nggallery id=233] Attic and crawlspace work on this property by Apple Blossum Insulation Company
Block
[nggallery id=232] Menu v1 diagrams from visit 1 Here is a list of many items, several of which are critical to your home’s future: Critical Details
Floor System Insulation Strategies
NOTICE HOW WE MAKE IT A POINT TO INSULATE THE BAND-JOIST!
Attic Insulation Prep
Attic insulation preparations are actually more important than the level of insulation itself. Here is a list of things to consider BEFORE adding insulation to your attic: 1) Does your attic needs more lights? It is likely going to be much harder to navigate AFTER the additional insulation is installed. Installing better lighting before your … Read More »
adjustable piers
Plywood Arm Chair Coffee Rest
Baby Proofing our home entailed removing several small side tables that we were using as coffee tables(between chairs). Henceforth we were wondering, “Where do we put our beverages? This sucks!” After noticing something on Pinterest that had 3 pieces of 3/4″ thick wood, I realized that I could easily make something. My problem with the … Read More »
Chemical Degradation of Plumbing
https://louisville.edu/speed/civil/cir/files/elastomer-degradation.html In summary, there is no code requirement that the quality of the water be verified. There are federal laws in place, but enforcement is anything but reliable across the country. I would recommend a custom filtration system with CLEAR filter housings that allow the user to visually inspect the cleanliness of their water, … Read More »
Exterior Drainage V
While digging the above downspout extension/conveyance, we noticed that this area had been back-filled with garbage soils. Upon commencement of digging here, we were not sure how deep we would have to go to get to “virgin” soils. Without this V, the lowest point would have continued to be the foundation excavation which lead to … Read More »
Gutters
Gutters should be simple. Architects should envision them when they design and take care straighten and lengthen overhangs so that fewer downspouts or chains are needed. Generous overhangs are more important than gutters. Lacking overhangs, make gutters more important. Shoot for 3′ overhangs! The dryer you can keep your “structural soils” the better. Ideally, overhangs … Read More »
Thackray
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matthews
[nggallery id=207] While preparing for the Crawlspace Lighting Upgrades, Adam visited the home, installed the Crawlspace Moisture Monitor, and investigate the master bathroom for potential renovation. Also, because recent Plumbing, and Structural work was present, we did about an hour of free consulting. Also, PSNC had made recent adjustments to the gas piping. [nggallery … Read More »
toilet flange
as always, we hope you are having a good time. now go to sleep!
Toilet Tank Connections
SO… How is your toilet installed? Most new toilets come without the extra nuts and washers for this logically better setup. Sometimes there is little to no space for this setup between the parts. Different vintages of toilets will have this this particular problem to different degrees. There is no such thing as an … Read More »
Roofing is Hard
Work by others: (Shingles bridge the gap between framing and trim)(floppy tails)…