The Home Improvement Thread

[Fuzz]

Do we have any HVAC folks in the house? After sealing up my house, I now have an excess humidity issue, and I understand an HRV or ERV could help, along with some fresh air, which would be nice. My current fresh air valve only opens when the furnace is pumping heat, so useless in the summer, and only gets drawn on passivly. I'm a but confused as to what I'd want, but it seems like ERV's are the better choice? I've been looking at the Lifebreath with auto balancing, and it looks simple enough I could install it myself, but they don't really offer support for that.


https://gasexperts.ca/product/new-li...-very-popular/

[Shazam]

How can you tell that you have an excess humidity issue when it's still warm out?

[Monahammer]

Originally Posted by Bagor

Opinions please.

Installing new 60" vanity in main bathroom.

Single or double sink purely from a selling pov?

Leaning strongly towards single as double doesn't look worth it for the countertop space lost.

Is double just a gimmicky thing or something that carries weight or people actually look for when buying?

Personal opinion only; my wife and I love having our own sinks and would not consider moving into a house without them now that we've had them.

There's definitely a quantity of countertop per sink that's ideal and necessary though. It would defeat the purpose to have two sinks that are only seperated by, say, 6 inches of space. IMO you need like a foot in between minimum.

My current set up has a full sit down vanity in between and that is absolutely ideal, but I know that's not realistic in most bathroom configurations.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Shazam

How can you tell that you have an excess humidity issue when it's still warm out?

I went through one winter, and needed to buy a dehumidifer to keep it below 70%. Walls get damp. Windows drip. Not ideal.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

I went through one winter, and needed to buy a dehumidifer to keep it below 70%. Walls get damp. Windows drip. Not ideal.

You sure your all your bathroom and kitchen vents are actually venting outside? Are you sure your furnace humidifier is functioning properly? Also check furnace exhaust is not impeded.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Shazam

You sure your all your bathroom and kitchen vents are actually venting outside? Are you sure your furnace humidifier is functioning properly? Also check furnace exhaust is not impeded.

Yes, vents are fine, humidifier is off and disconnected. Furnace is HE, so direct vented outside. Same with on demand HW). I re-did the insulation, siding, some of the house wrap and closed up loads of massive holes all over. After that my humidity went way up. I've watched the water meter and it doesn't run unnecessarily, so I can't find any source other than humans and cooking(and my wife buying too many plants, but that isn't going to change). From my understanding, most new houses are so well sealed they have humidity issues without an ERV/HRV. So I figured that's where I am at now. I could be wrong. Perhaps going form HW tank venting up the chimney to direct also reduced a path for humidity to escape?

[Barnes]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Yes, vents are fine, humidifier is off and disconnected. Furnace is HE, so direct vented outside. Same with on demand HW). I re-did the insulation, siding, some of the house wrap and closed up loads of massive holes all over. After that my humidity went way up. I've watched the water meter and it doesn't run unnecessarily, so I can't find any source other than humans and cooking(and my wife buying too many plants, but that isn't going to change). From my understanding, most new houses are so well sealed they have humidity issues without an ERV/HRV. So I figured that's where I am at now. I could be wrong.

All new houses have to have an HRV or ERV. HRV's will take excess moisture out of the air but that's not what they are primarily for. They recover heat from what is being exhausted and warm up the fresh air. You will see less moisture in the air because you are constantly getting fresh air.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Yes, vents are fine, humidifier is off and disconnected. Furnace is HE, so direct vented outside. Same with on demand HW). I re-did the insulation, siding, some of the house wrap and closed up loads of massive holes all over. After that my humidity went way up. I've watched the water meter and it doesn't run unnecessarily, so I can't find any source other than humans and cooking(and my wife buying too many plants, but that isn't going to change). From my understanding, most new houses are so well sealed they have humidity issues without an ERV/HRV. So I figured that's where I am at now. I could be wrong. Perhaps going form HW tank venting up the chimney to direct also reduced a path for humidity to escape?

Lots of plants? Like lots and lots of plants? How large are the plants? A good sized ficus or philo will definitely raise your humidity a lot.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Barnes

All new houses have to have an HRV or ERV. HRV's will take excess moisture out of the air but that's not what they are primarily for. They recover heat from what is being exhausted and warm up the fresh air. You will see less moisture in the air because you are constantly getting fresh air.

So what is typically used in Calgary?

[Sliver]

Maybe you're just a super sweaty dude?

[Barnes]

HRV's for sure.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Maybe you're just a super sweaty dude?

That too...stupid hot flashes.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Shazam

Lots of plants? Like lots and lots of plants? How large are the plants? A good sized ficus or philo will definitely raise your humidity a lot.

I counted about 30 last fall, though many are ~4" pots. A couple citrus trees(under 4 foot tall) probably doesn't help. And yes, I've tried getting rid of those first. It did not go well. So now I need a technical solution.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Bagor

Opinions please.

Installing new 60" vanity in main bathroom.

Single or double sink purely from a selling pov?

Leaning strongly towards single as double doesn't look worth it for the countertop space lost.

Is double just a gimmicky thing or something that carries weight or people actually look for when buying?

A 60" vanity could be borderline for a double sink. So it heavily depends on how much space that sink takes and the design. If it's a smaller or regular sized sink, it could work. But larger/wider bathroom sinks and it may feel small and cluttered. I do agree with you that your first instinct of a single sink is probably better. A wider single sink with a rotatable faucet for rinsing after brushing teeth would probably be the best bang for your buck. The extra spent on that faucet is IMO probably better selling value than the extra spent on the extra sink (which some people may not like).

For a 60" vanity, vessel sinks would also be really nice vs undermount sink. It allows for things to be put on the counter to the side with less likelihood it could be constantly bumped into the sink. For recessed sinks, I think you'd want around 72" vanity or more. I've see double recessed sinks 2-3" apart in a <60" and I don't understand the point of the design. Stuff was falling in all the time and the sides were too narrow to effectively put anything there. I've seen double vessel sinks in a <60" counter and as narrow as 2-3 inches apart and it seemed way better.

Another factor to consider is how far forward the vessel sink is. If there's space to put things behind the sink/faucet, it's nice. This IMO vs having like 3-4" of sink in front of you and having no clue how to use it effectively.

I've seen connected double bathroom sinks and that's its own level of bizarre. Don't do it. It looks too similar to public bathroom sink troughs. But as far as the worst look, a double trough was vastly superior to a double pedestal. A double pedestal sink bathroom feels like something you'd do to try and make someone feel like a guest in their own home. It's ridiculous. Don't get me started on how often I run into pedestal sinks that are not level, so containers and other things keep falling into the sink because it's not level. Then there's no place for a hair dryer without feeling like you wanna play short circuit roulette. Pedestals work best in guest washrooms/powder rooms. Not master bathrooms.

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Do we have any HVAC folks in the house? After sealing up my house, I now have an excess humidity issue, and I understand an HRV or ERV could help, along with some fresh air, which would be nice. My current fresh air valve only opens when the furnace is pumping heat, so useless in the summer, and only gets drawn on passivly. I'm a but confused as to what I'd want, but it seems like ERV's are the better choice? I've been looking at the Lifebreath with auto balancing, and it looks simple enough I could install it myself, but they don't really offer support for that.


https://gasexperts.ca/product/new-li...-very-popular/

My in-laws just went through something similar. They had to lift their house to repair it and then after re-sealing it, they installed an HRV and were complaining about the cost but telling us to investigate it because it could be more efficient over time due to recovery of heat and venting stale air (?).

The issue was that they kept saying they installed an HRV but also used the word heat pump interchangeably, so I was confused AF for a while as to why they kept saying it was necessary for their house vs optional. Once I confirmed an HRV is not a heat pump and that they installed an HRV and not a heat pump, it made more sense. I'm not wasting time correcting them, but HRV/ERV/heat pumps are totally different things with very different applications.

Based on a quick investigation, ERV is better for your situation if you're trying to get rid of moisture as HRV doesn't do that directly like an ERV does.

I also assume you aren't able to do something like "cool to dry" as you mentioned excess moisture in winter even with humidifier off. I assume that ERV is indeed what you're looking for.

EVERLAST probably understands a lot of this stuff. Even if he doesn't the guy he recommends is a second generation HVAC guy who seems to really know his stuff.

[Fuzz]

I don't have A/C so "cool to dry" is not an option.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

I don't have A/C so "cool to dry" is not an option.

You typically wouldn't use cool to dry in the winter, so I assumed it wasn't an option that worked for you, even if you had it.

Did you confirm whether or not you have a lot more attic rain than normal? If something in your home isn't producing a ton of moisture, the other possibility I'd focus on is some situation that has a lot of hot/cold temperatures in an area of the home.

The odd part is this happened after you did some work to reduce the hot/cold that occurs in your home. I wonder if you may want to buy an IR thermometer gun and wander around your home and see if you can find these types of spots.

[Fuzz]

No attic rain, and I fixed the attic ventilation too. I do have an IR gun, and a few cold spots that tend to condense more moisture. I plan on addressing those with a little spray foam, as I wasn't able to get insulation in those spots. But they wouldn't be letting moisture in. I think fundamentally I just need to move moist air out of the house better.

[Torture]

Originally Posted by Bagor

Opinions please.

Installing new 60" vanity in main bathroom.

Single or double sink purely from a selling pov?

Leaning strongly towards single as double doesn't look worth it for the countertop space lost.

Is double just a gimmicky thing or something that carries weight or people actually look for when buying?

Purely from a selling POV it's going to be double and it's not even close imo.

[Bill Bumface]

Fuzz have you done a blower door test after your improvements? If so, how many air changes per hour are you sitting at?

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Bill Bumface

Fuzz have you done a blower door test after your improvements? If so, how many air changes per hour are you sitting at?

No, I haven't. I had wanted to take advantage of the federal program, but missed out on it so haven't done an audit. Kind of annoying. But maybe it's worth doing anyway so I know "how it started/how it's going". I did do one about 15 years ago with one of the previous programs, so I may have a before reference around.