September Home Maintenance Tasks to Tackle

With cold weather in the near future, now is the perfect time to get your home ready for winter. There are a lot of tasks that homeowners have to handle in the fall, which is why I recommend getting started early before it gets too chilly. What are the most important things you should do to keep your home both comfortable and protected this season? Here are my top five tips. 

Gutters

Before we know it, leaves will be clogging up your gutters and downspouts. If you’ve ever thought about installing gutter guards, now is the time to do it. Guards will protect your gutters from debris and help you to avoid that cumbersome autumn clean-out. Plus, clear gutters are the only way to ensure that rainwater is removed from your home properly.

Doors

With so much moisture in the air this summer, many elements of our homes have expanded. You may notice that your doors are sticking, making them more difficult to open. As the weather cools and the wood contracts, there may be gaps that will let cold air come right into the house. Make sure that your door sweep is in good working order and install some weather stripping to seal any space between the door and its frame.

Insulation

Most homes that I visit are under-insulated, which is a problem in both the summer and in the winter. Insulation helps regulate the temperature of a home, allowing for heat retention and overall comfort. Lots of homeowners I meet tell me that their second floor is much warmer than the first, a surefire sign that a house doesn’t have enough insulation. 

Roof

Now is a great time to inspect your roof to make sure that there is no damage to the shingles and the flashing around the chimney. As snow sits on a roof for much longer than rain, it’s easy to get leaks in the wintertime. Any current roof issues should be dealt with before the cold weather hits to make sure that a small problem doesn’t become a big one.

Windows

When I visit a house, I will often use a thermal camera to see how much heat is being lost. Old wood sash or aluminum windows are both major culprits. New vinyl windows are great in terms of energy efficiency and heat loss reduction, and at my own house, we love the tilt-in sashes for easy cleaning. 

Being a homeowner requires a lot of maintenance, but the investment is worth it to keep you and your family comfortable all year round. Plus, you’ll see the difference in those ever-soaring power and gas bills.

Bob O’Donnell is the owner of O’Donnell Bros. Inc., a Bristol-based home improvement company established in 1975. Email your questions to info@odonnellbros.com with the subject line “Ask the Pro.” All questions may be considered for publication. To contact Bob for your remodeling needs, call O’Donnell Bros. Inc. at (860) 589-5155 or visit http://www.odonnellbros.com. Advice is for guidance only.

How To Prevent Pests in Your Attic

If you’ve ever had an animal in your attic, you know how annoying it can be. From scratching and scurrying during the night to high-pitched whistles and chatter, having a furry friend invade your home is a sure-fire way to ruin a good night’s sleep. Unfortunately, animals love dark, safe spaces to den, which is why an attic ticks all of the boxes. As bad as it is to have one intruder, the last thing you want is for an animal to bring their babies in or to give birth under your roof. Here are four ways you can reduce the risk of sharing your home with an unwanted guest of the four-legged variety. 

Trim Trees 

Don’t make it easy for an animal to get in. Large trees that are adjacent to your home should be trimmed back to ensure that a squirrel or chipmunk can’t easily get onto the roof. These animals love chewing, so once they are in, any wiring or piping is at risk. Forget the noise, a destroyed electrical system is a lot more painful to deal with than a bad night’s sleep. 

Inspect the Roof

Animals can squeeze into small holes, so make sure your roof is in great shape with all the shingles intact, especially around the chimney flashing. Most animals will stay in a place with water so a leaky roof actually makes a great home for tiny pests like rats and mice. 

Install a Chimney Cap

Speaking of chimneys, you have no idea how many people call me because a squirrel or raccoon has become curious about what’s down that hole in the roof. A simple mesh chimney cap ensures that you can use your fireplace safely while preventing anything from being able to get inside.

Cover Vents

A good roof will have a series of vents that allow your home to “breathe” by letting air in and out to reduce the possibility of mold, mildew, and rot. However, open vents also make it easy for animals to enter. A simple vent cover will still let air in while reducing the possibility of intruders invading the attic. 

If you think you hear an animal in your attic already, it’s a good idea to know what you’re dealing with. Rats will generally gnaw at just about anything they can find and they make a unique squeaking sound. Mice will scurry and actually sound a lot louder than their size suggests. Screams or hisses will likely be from a raccoon and if you have one, you’ll know it. Squirrels are quieter but they’ll love tearing up your insulation. Possums are also common, and they really smell. Regardless of what the animal is, you don’t want to leave it alone and let it get comfortable. An exterminator will help you find the right course of action for your home, including trapping and releasing and one-way exclusion doors. Good luck!

Bob O’Donnell is the owner of O’Donnell Bros. Inc., a Bristol-based home improvement company established in 1975. Email your questions for Bob to info@odonnellbros.com with the subject line “Ask the Pro.” All questions may be considered for publication. To contact Bob for your remodeling needs, call O’Donnell Bros. Inc. at (860) 589-5155 or visit http://www.odonnellbros.com. Advice is for guidance only.

Keep Humidity Away From Your Home This Summer

With a very hot start to the week followed by cooler temperatures, it probably won’t be long before summer weather is in full swing.

With New England's heat comes humidity, which is something every homeowner needs to keep in check. While we can’t control the weather outside, moisture in the house can be a major problem, contributing to mold, mildew, and overall dampness, especially in the attic and basement.

A lot of homeowners combat humidity by using air conditioners in their houses, and while they can reduce the moisture in the air to some degree, this is by no means their primary function. An air conditioner works by sucking the air from your home, cooling it, and blowing it back into the house. That process does reduce the humidity slightly, but pairing your air conditioner with a dehumidifier is the best way to cool down your home so you can sleep more comfortably at night.

A dehumidifier works by pulling the moisture out of the air and storing the excess water in a holding tank. Many people keep dehumidifiers in their basements all year long to control the dampness that can often be felt in these underground areas. This is a great idea because controlling the humidity in the part of your home that holds the most water will very likely help to regulate the rest of the house. 

One way to know if your house is holding a lot of moisture is to purchase a simple five-dollar humidity gauge from the local hardware store. Ideally, you want the humidity to be under 50 percent. If it’s higher, you might want to consider using a dehumidifier in the main part of your home, especially on hot summer days and in areas where you spend the most time. 

In addition to cooling the air and decreasing moisture, running a dehumidifier during the hottest parts of the hottest days can also prevent mold and mildew growth, eliminate musty odors in the home, and prevent old pipes from sweating. Plus, you can use the water collected in the tank to give your plants a good drink.

Dehumidifiers generally run on about half the energy of an air conditioning unit, so as long as you don’t run them all day, using one shouldn’t affect your energy bill. Just be sure to keep windows and doors closed when you run your unit, and only switch the power on during the most humid time of the day, or when the air is above 50 percent humidity.

Be aware that dehumidifiers by nature are drying, so try not to run them while you’re occupying the room over a long period of time, like when you’re sleeping at night. Also, be careful about using dehumidifiers in conjunction with an attic fan. I see people do this all the time and they unintentionally throw the excess moisture from their home or basement up into their attic, where it has no place to escape.

If you’re thinking that a dehumidifier might be a good solution for you, they come in different sizes and can be used for residential or commercial purposes. Generally, a unit will come in 25, 30, and 40-pint models, and on average a 25-pint unit will be sufficient to operate in a 1,000-square-foot area. 

Finally, if you have a dehumidifier, please be sure to keep the filter clean. Dust, dirt, and debris can get caught in the filter, preventing air from flowing freely and potentially circulating mold spores throughout the home. A simple wipe-down with a damp cloth and spray bottle filled with a cleaning solution will do the trick to keep you breathing freely and ensure a longer life for your appliance.

Bob O’Donnell is the owner of O’Donnell Bros. Inc., a Bristol-based home improvement company established in 1975. Email your questions for Bob to info@odonnellbros.com with the subject line “Ask the Pro.” All questions may be considered for publication. To contact Bob for your remodeling needs, call O’Donnell Bros. Inc. at (860) 589-5155 or visit http://www.odonnellbros.com. Advice is for guidance only.