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Campbell says FHB helped him remodel his kitchen. Jonathan has an update on his basement. Ben’s windows are steamy. Tricia asks about HVAC registers. Zeo Geo is considering a switch from gas to a heat-pump water heater.

Editor Updates:

• Mike: Backyard re-sculpting, backhoe rental, electric breaker hammer

Listener Feedback 1:

Cambell writes: 

First, let’s talk about this article. Lies, Damned Lies, and Manometer Readings: America’s HVAC labor force is plagued by dishonesty and frequently incapable of meeting industry standards. Interventions in indoor air quality are the next frontier in pandemic prevention — but are they up to the task?

Also, every now and then, you folks read an email from someone who expresses their appreciation for giving them the wherewithal to tackle DIY jobs. I’m not sure I’ve ever explicitly said so, but as an FHB subscriber for about 15 years, I owe you that. The photos show a job I did in 2018 that I couldn’t have taken on without the truly expert advice from the magazine.

Also, yes, that is a softwood (Douglas fir) floor in the kitchen. It matches what was there originally, matches the rest of the floor in the house, and could be installed to accommodate the lack of flatness inherent to the 130-year-old subfloor (to fix that would have been a job). Yes, it’s slowly getting a little dinged up, but that’s fine—it’s character.

Related Links:

• HVAC and Indoor-Air Quality
• Rise of the IAQ Monitor
• GBA.com: Indoor Air Quality and Building Diagnostics

Question 1: What is this white stuff and what do I do about it?

Jonathan writes: FHB crew, you discussed in Episode 587 my hardwood floor in my basement.

Patrick asked: If it’s not a big deal. I would tape a piece of plastic sheeting (about 1 ft. sq.) to the slab near the exterior wall subject to rain and see if/how bad it fogs up. Let me know what happens. A more conclusive test is with a moisture meter, but most are terrible, so you have to get the right thing, which costs several hundred dollars. An in-between option is a calcium-chloride test. Thanks again for listening Jonathan.

Jonathan replied: I haven’t noticed any fogging when I tried this, but it’s hard to know in winter in Minnesota.

The asbestos tiles are one problem. The other is some pretty white fungus above the patio door in the same room. I noticed some sad drywall and peeled it back to reveal this scene (see photo). This is the ledger/support beam above a sliding patio door that is directly beneath a sliding patio door above that walks out to a deck.

I thought there might be a mold/rot issue, but poking the boards yields solid sounding boards and the fungus doesn’t seem to be damaging the wood. I cut back the ceiling above and poked through the insulation to find solid sheathing on the outside.

The gap between the boards leaks a substantial amount of air, so the only thing I can think of is that due to the air leakage, with most air leaving, this fungus can grow. Although who knows if this grew and halted years ago.

I would love any and all feedback on this issue, since it seems to be the most pressing one. I’ll respond with any more pictures and info that I have.

Related Links:

• How it Works: Wood Rot
• In-Wood Rot Preventer
• The No-Mold Finished Basement

Question 2: What’s the best plan to stop window condensation?

Ben writes on GBA (Condensation issues in house):

Hi All,

I am looking for some advice for a condensation problem I have in my house. The house is ’90s construction in Northern California, located about 10 miles from the coast. I have lots of condensation on some of the older (original dual-pane) windows on the west and north sides of the house during the winter months. If I don’t mop it up every day, it pools and has caused some surface mold. I originally thought it was just the windows that were old and needed replacing. However, I looked at the problem in some more detail. Relative humidity is between 45% and 65+% through the year; I think being close to the coast and having misty mornings is contributing. I purchased a standalone 50-pint dehumidifier that runs 24 hours a day and has 100% stopped the condensation and brought the RH down. There are close-fitting honeycomb shades on all of the windows, which has not helped the condensation issue. The crawlspace does not have a vapor barrier, but luckily the house is on the top of a hill so water drains away very well. Originally, I was going to replace 5+ windows, but now I thinking there is a better plan:

• Windows: Don’t replace now
• Crawlspace: Install vapor barrier
• Install a whole-house dehumidifier

I welcome any thoughts on this. I have not had to deal with condensation before.

Thanks Ben

Related Links:

• Why are my windows wet?
• Dealing with fogged windows
• GBA.com: Indoor Relative Humidity and Window Condensation
• Do I need a Vapor Retarder?
• Dedicated Dehumidification

Question 3: Are there rules for locating HVAC registers?

Tricia writes: Hey podcast,

First, thanks for putting together such an informative show. I’ve learned so much from the podcast. One valuable tip I have learned from the show is to call the support line to ask questions. I recently finished renovating a bathroom. I wasn’t sure how to handle the new shower connection to the old cast-iron drain line. So, I called the Schluter support line, and the very kind customer service rep helped me find an even better solution.

Second, my question. The air handler and furnace are in the attic of my 75-year-old house in Savannah, Georgia, with a hot and humid climate zone. The ducts to the bedrooms have a short run to registers at the top of the bedroom walls. The ducts to the living room, kitchen, and dining room run down to the crawlspace then out to the rooms with registers on the floors. I had the attic spray-foamed two years ago so the air handler and attic ducts would be in conditioned space, which has helped a lot, especially in the summer. In the winter, the bedrooms get very warm, but the living room, dining room, and kitchen are almost 10 degrees cooler thanks to the long duct run through the unconditioned crawlspace. I’m thinking of running new ducts to the living room, dining room, and kitchen through the attic. These ducts would be in conditioned space and have shorter lengths, and, I expect, less of a temperature loss from the bedrooms. My question is about the registers. Is there any reason I should not put the registers in the ceiling or high up on the walls other than aesthetics? It would also be nice to put furniture anywhere without blocking a vent and to never fish another Lego or kids toy out of a floor duct, but there could be a building science factor to consider on unintended consequence to avoid.

Thanks for any advice.

Tricia

Related Links:

• 8 Strategies for Effective Ductwork
• Building Codes for Insulation and HVAC in Attics
• Ducting HRVs and ERVs

Question 4: Does a heat-pump water heater retrofit make sense for Chicago?

Zeo Geo writes on GBA (Heat pump water heater in a Chicago townhome):

We live in Chicago in a four-story townhome. Our top floor is a small bedroom that has a louvered-door utility closet with a gas furnace and gas water heater.

The gas water heater is showing its age and probably needs to be replaced soon. I’d like to put in a heat-pump water heater instead of replacing it with another gas heater. I had one company come out to give a quote, and the estimator basically told me a heat-pump water heater doesn’t make sense in Chicago, full stop.

Everything I’ve read about heat-pump water heaters says you should put them in a room with excess heat. Our top floor definitely fits that description due to stack effect, especially in the summer. That location actually seems to me like an ideal place for a heat-pump water heater. I would love to hear your opinions on whether I’m thinking about this the right way.

Oh, and one more thing: If a heat-pump water heater does makes sense, should we vent it to the outside? I’m thinking we shouldn’t, since we’d likely have to change damper configurations with the seasons (which I very well may forget to do), and I’d like to avoid as many wall penetrations as possible.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

Related Links:

• Furnace to Heat Pump Retrofit
• Air-to-Water Heat Pump Retrofit
• Heat Pumps and Cold-Climate Applications: Designing for Comfort and Resiliency

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