The Home Improvement Thread

[Ducay]

Originally Posted by Sr. Mints

He's emailing me a list of suggestions, but one that caught my ear when we were talking was de-icing cables in that spot. Do those work? I think every opinion I've heard is they're a total waste of money.

Nope, heat trace cables work well for spot de-icing or where you have ice dams that are problematic. Just keep in mind how they work and that the melted water will have to go somewhere. Some people expect it to be some magic melter that makes winters ills go away, forgetting the ice they melt goes on to re-freeze somewhere else or then has drainage issues anyways.

[InglewoodFan]

One ice damming tip I have is nylon stockings filled with sidewalk salt. Fill a knee high stocking with salt, tie it off and lay it across the ice dam. It will melt its way down and create a channel for water to drain away.

Other things I have done: ice guard membrane under the bottom few courses of shingles (think this is mostly standard), tons more ventilation and when I added more attic insulation I had them put better shrouds around all the pot lights. My attic is always nice and cold now, and after years of trying to get this problem solved I have finally had the ceiling repainted because I think I have it licked.

And of course by mentioning it I have just massively cursed myself I am sure.

[Sr. Mints]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

Would you be willing to share his other tips? I think almost everyone experiences attic rain or ice dams at some point in Calgary.

Will do.

Another thing he said--and I think I got this right (hence the request to email)--when it comes to shingles, there is a recommended amount of overhang the manufacturer recommends when installing them, but it is often inadequate, and the shingles get pushed aside by ice. So redoing that portion of the roof might be an option here. It's a relatively new roof, ~2014 I think

[Lubicon]

Originally Posted by calgarygeologist

I noticed something interesting with our garage roof this week as we had rubber shingles installed this summer. The snow on our rubber shingles melts much more slowly than asphalt shingles. Neighbouring garages are all pretty much snow free after this week and our house is mostly snow free but our garage roof is still covered with snow. It is pretty weird.

Weird because rubber comes from the jungle and the snow melts just fine there.

[jwslam]

Originally Posted by calgarygeologist

I noticed something interesting with our garage roof this week as we had rubber shingles installed this summer. The snow on our rubber shingles melts much more slowly than asphalt shingles. Neighbouring garages are all pretty much snow free after this week and our house is mostly snow free but our garage roof is still covered with snow. It is pretty weird.

Are you comparing your unheated, detached garage roof melting slower than your heated home?
Yup. Must be the rubber on the garage that's not allowing melt.

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by jwslam

Are you comparing your unheated, detached garage roof melting slower than your heated home?
Yup. Must be the rubber on the garage that's not allowing melt.

Mostly comparing it to neighbouring garages which are exposed to the same environmental conditions. Our garage has rubber shingles and snow (our garage is also heated.) Neighbours all have asphalt and with the exception of one garage they all have unheated garages but their snow melted much quicker.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by calgarygeologist

Mostly comparing it to neighbouring garages which are exposed to the same environmental conditions. Our garage has rubber shingles and snow (our garage is also heated.) Neighbours all have asphalt and with the exception of one garage they all have unheated garages but their snow melted much quicker.

If I had to guess what was gong on, it's that the warmer outside air we have been having moves through the soffits into the attic space, and helps melt the snow from below. But the rubber shingle is more insulating, so that interior heat isn't penetrating the rubber to melt it from below.

[Calgary14]

Originally Posted by Nufy

How painful is the Greener Homes process ?

As of Jan 18, over 180,000 applications have been received and 223 grants have been paid.

It's basically a waste of time

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/busi...ace-long-wait/

[Torture]

Had my first energuide inspection for the Green Homes program today.

Seems like the big $ are for solar as it's $1,000 per KW. There's about $600 I could get for upping insulation (and that's with the inspector being generous and marking my current R30 as R20 to allow higher reimbursement), maybe $500-800 for sealing (but has to be through a contractor and depends on results of second blower test either hitting their new target, or 10% better). Windows if you're planning to do them anyways but probably not number one on the list and not really a huge reimbursement compared to the cost (I think it's $150-250 per window?)

Hot water tanks, heat pumps, etc on the program not so great a cost return with cheap natural gas here, unless you were planning to do them anyways or are making major investments to run your house net-zero off your own solar panels.

Useful though. Followed him around when he was doing the blower test and pointed out quite a few opportunities for sealing. Some of which probably contributed to the attic rain issue (for instance, attic potlights are not air sealed).

Supposed to get the report in a bit, then I do the work, then schedule a post-inspection, and ask for the rebate. Not a fast process. He said they keep it on file for 7 years so no huge rush to get the work done but also means you're not going to get your rebate for awhile.

[DoubleK]

Originally Posted by Bagor

Tape a washer over where you're going to be drilling for guidance and to stop your bit bouncing all over at the start.

This is genius.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Torture

Had my first energuide inspection for the Green Homes program today.

Seems like the big $ are for solar as it's $1,000 per KW. There's about $600 I could get for upping insulation (and that's with the inspector being generous and marking my current R30 as R20 to allow higher reimbursement), maybe $500-800 for sealing (but has to be through a contractor and depends on results of second blower test either hitting their new target, or 10% better). Windows if you're planning to do them anyways but probably not number one on the list and not really a huge reimbursement compared to the cost (I think it's $150-250 per window?)

Hot water tanks, heat pumps, etc on the program not so great a cost return with cheap natural gas here, unless you were planning to do them anyways or are making major investments to run your house net-zero off your own solar panels.

Useful though. Followed him around when he was doing the blower test and pointed out quite a few opportunities for sealing. Some of which probably contributed to the attic rain issue (for instance, attic potlights are not air sealed).

Supposed to get the report in a bit, then I do the work, then schedule a post-inspection, and ask for the rebate. Not a fast process. He said they keep it on file for 7 years so no huge rush to get the work done but also means you're not going to get your rebate for awhile.

Once you have the initial inspection, can you just do whatever upgrades you want over that 7 years? I do want to upgrade insulation and windows, but not all at once.

[Calgary14]

At 223 grants paid from over 180,000 applications, it will be years for reimbursement even if you were to do all the work today

[Torture]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Once you have the initial inspection, can you just do whatever upgrades you want over that 7 years? I do want to upgrade insulation and windows, but not all at once.

My understanding is you can do whatever they recommend or you think would give you the best value up to the $5,600.

You can spread it out, but you can't apply for the money until you have your final inspection. (Not 100% sure if you can do more than one inspection but the end inspection also costs $200 and the cost of that is included in the rebate I believe).

For some the final inspection would be simple "do you have solar panels on your roof now? Yup, okay" whereas others like sealing your reimbursement is based on the second blower test and actual performance instead of simply "did you seal everything up".

The tricky part if you're spreading it out would be when you do that final inspection because you can't apply for the rebate until it's done...which means you might be out of pocket until you decide you've done everything you plan to do.

[Torture]

Originally Posted by Calgary14

At 223 grants paid from over 180,000 applications, it will be years for reimbursement even if you were to do all the work today

Yes it's a long process, but I would guess the 180,000 is people that have applied for the program (ie. somewhere between scheduling the first inspection and doing the work), not people that have done all the work and are waiting for their money.

[Maritime Q-Scout]

We have a small bathroom in the basement. I had *almost* enough click vynil flooring from a previous project to finish the room. I was short less than 2 pieces.

My father in law had 2 pieces that were basically the same colour. These pieces, for the most part, will be under a vanity so no big deal. It's also the basement bathroom, so again, doesn't have to be perfect.

However, where the new pieces click in, there's a bit of a gap. Not enough to make me want to track down a new box of flooring, but enough for me to say "there must be some solution".

So... solutions? Part of me thinks some grey caulking would be enough to cover the gap and match the grey floors.

Is there a more elegant solution?

[Hanni]

This stuff might work https://www.homedepot.ca/product/rob...one/1001159834 they make different colors.

I haven't used it so can't speak to how well it works but might be a good option in a low traffic spot like you have. I will be trying it soon where my wife dropped a marble rolling pin in our kitchen.

[Maritime Q-Scout]

Holy s***balls, that seems to be exactly what I'm looking for!

[BlackArcher101]

Anyone know a place locally or even in Canada to get Dayton blowers, or any other similar brand of squirrel cage blower? Grainger in the USA carries them, but not in Canada. Checked the other typical industrial suppliers and they don't have what I need either. Close to just giving in and ordering online from the USA, but thought I'd check here first, as similar items all appear to be too small or too large for something like a furnace.

[81MC]

Originally Posted by Maritime Q-Scout

Holy s***balls, that seems to be exactly what I'm looking for!

Just a thought on that. Floating floors sort of ‘move’ don’t they, expanding and contracting as a unit? Couple with being a bathroom floor that might have some water on it, would this be prone to separating from the joint after a while?

What about just some good ole silicone, that will tolerate a bunch of movement? Mapei makes a huge range of colours designed for grout matching.

[curves2000]

I am not sure if this question belongs in this thread or not but here goes. Looking at replacing my hot water tank in the house and seeing if there are any rebates for going with an energy efficient model. I know there was some options a few years ago in Alberta but can't seem to find anything now. Anything at the federal level?

I am debating on if the financial sense of upgrading the water heater to an energy star complaint model is worth the additional costs. I do find sometimes that certain energy efficient technologies like furnaces for example don't justify the added expense. Personal and unpopular opinion I know, but a lot of the higher level tech will usually result in a lot more maintenance or expensive repairs for electronic components compared to a basic or even older model.

I always like doing a basic dive into the overall costs to see what makes more sense.

Thanks!