Holes In Your House and Why You Need Them
Every home, no matter when or how it was constructed, has holes. Without them, air would not come in, light would not come in, and you would not come in. In a normal home, there are about a dozen types of holes that should be there. However, if they are not properly maintained, they can cost you extra money for heating, cooling, and home repairs. Here's a list of the holes you need, and some of the problems you may have.
Doors: The largest hole in your home. The largest cause of heat or cooling loss and moisture intrusion involving your door has an easy solution: get the kids to close it. If, once the door is closed, you are still having problems, check for bent hinges (which affect the fit of the door) or, more likely, damaged weather-stripping.
Windows: Like doors, air loss and moisture intrusion comes mostly from leaving them open when they shouldn't be. Even when they are properly shut, though, leaks can still occur around the frames, or around the glass itself. Weather-stripping and caulking are your best tools for sealing leaks around windows.
Heating Vent/Chimneys exhaust combustion gases from gas or oil furnaces or water heaters. The greatest potential problem here is combustion spillage, which occurs when the toxic exhaust ends up in your house instead of going up your chimney, and can lead to headaches, illness, carbon monoxide poisoning and death. Combustion spillage is caused by chimney blockage, poor installation, and backdrafting (reversed flow of air in the chimney occurring when more air is being pumped out of a house by exhaust fans than is being allowed in). Regular maintenance will help detect any problems.
Fireplace: Fireplaces vent out a chimney and, as with your heaters, combustion spillage is a great concern. Energy loss, however, is the most common problem. In winter, cold air comes in and warm air escapes if you don't close the damper (and if your damper is warped or improperly sized, you will lose heat even when it is shut). In summer, inside pressure can force cooled air out the chimney. One European study found that an open damper on an unused fireplace in a well-insulated house could raise energy costs for heating and cooling by up to 30%. Installing glass doors (be sure to talk to the dealer about which ones are right for your fireplace) will reduce but not remove this energy loss.
Clothes Dryer Vents are built to allow moisture, air and lint to escape your house. When the dryer is not on, however, air from outside can come in through the vent and get into your home. Most vents have a flapper to stop some of this leakage, but the flappers do not provide a positive seal and can get clogged with lint. Check your vents regularly to be sure they are clear of lint and keep your dryer door closed to help minimize this air intrusion. Also, be sure the exterior of your vent pipe is properly sealed, to avoid more air leakage and possible water penetration.
Exhaust Fans remove heat, moisture, smells and smoke from your home. Many homes have exhaust fans in the bathroom and the kitchen. Others have whole house exhaust systems. All fans should vent outside. As with other vents, improper installation can lead to air loss or water infiltration. Flexible ducting should be avoided as it reduces the airflow and collects debris. If you are in a cold climate, the exhaust vents that travel through your attic will need to be properly insulated to prevent condensation. The worst case is a fan that exhausts into your attic. This introduces warm, moist air that will contribute to condensation, wood-rot and mold buildup in your attic.
Fresh Air Intake Vents: Some homes have a vent in the basement to supply air to the furnace, balance your home's pressure and prevent backdrafting. These should have a heat trap or bucket to reduce cold air entry when not needed. Better still is to install an automatic vent damper. This device is designed to operate with the furnace, opening when the furnace is on and closing when it is off.
Attic Venting clears moisture and over-heated air from your attic. Soffit vents let air flow into the attic and roof vents let air flow out. This continuous airflow reduces mold and mildew, and increases the longevity of your roof. It also reduces AC load in the summer and prevents ice dams in the winter.
Common types of roof vents are ridge vents that run the length of your roof, standard roofs vent that provide several covered openings along your roof, and gable louvers which provide openings on either end of your home near the roof. Wind turbine vents use wind to draw air out from the attic and are not a good idea. They work when it is windy which is precisely when you don't really need them. In all cases, blockages can lead to moisture build-up and reduce the life of your roof. In the case of soffit vents, installing baffles that hold back the insulation will help keep them from being blocked from inside. Vents also need to be properly screened to keep out pests.
Plumbing Stack Vent vents sewer gases and maintains atmospheric pressure in your waste system to prevent siphoning and allow waste to flow freely. Condensation inside this pipe is not a problem, because it all goes straight to your wastewater. Moisture on the outside, however, can be. Water can sometimes get past the plumbing stack vent flashing on the roof. This will go into your house (either in the walls or the attic) and can cause damage.
Another worry with plumbing stack vents is improper sealing, which may cause the gasses from the vent to leak into your home rather than going out above the roof. This can lead to bad smells and possible illness, as some sewer gases are toxic.
Service Conduits are the holes that allow the lines for your electricity, your gas, your phone, your cable and/or your satellite dish to come into the house. Lack of sealing is the big problem here, as enough little holes together make for pretty sizable air leakage. Find where these holes come in, and make sure they're sealed to keep air from flowing out.
Outside Faucets are run from the same source as your interior water and are used for watering the lawn, garden, etc. As with all plumbing applications, condensation and leakage are the biggest potential problems, but also pay attention to potential air leakage where the pipe penetrates the exterior wall. Caulk this area. With exterior faucets, freezing can also be a danger.
Weep Holes: If your house has a masonry veneer exterior, you will have weep holes along the base of the walls. These holes exist to help control moisture and prevent the damage to the brick that moisture brings. Debris in the holes can lead to moisture build up, which will damage your brick and the wood frame wall behind it.
Attic Hatch: You have to reach the attic somehow, and this is the way. Whether you just have a hatch or a set of stairs, this oft-neglected hole in your house can leak as much as a small window. Generally, the attic hatch cover is a thin, poorly sealed piece of plywood. Building or having built a properly made, latching, weather-stripped, insulated attic hatch can save you a good deal of money.