Baby It's Cold Outside

The coldest temperatures our region has seen in four years – so much for global warming!

While it will be no fun showing homes in Delaware and Philadelphia counties this weekend, the cold provides a great opportunity for sellers and buyers to evaluate the weather resistance of their current and future homes. Drafty windows, minimal insulation in the attic, or gaps around exterior doors all pose problems with simple fixes that can improve a home’s marketability and live-ability.

Last fall, when it wasn’t too hot or too cold, I went around the house and re-caulked all of the windows inside and out. We have vinyl replacement windows with exterior capping that is fairly low maintenance, but all places where different materials meet (stucco and aluminum capping for example) have different responses to heat and cold that require caulking and re-caulking on a fairly regular basis. Over time the caulk gets brittle and cracks and needs to be removed and re-done. The process only takes a few minutes for each window, and the caulk itself only a few dollars for several windows. We remarked this evening that the results are dramatic.

Sellers should know that buyers will often walk in front of windows to see how drafty they are. Energy efficiency is very important to buyers today, especially first time home buyers who are perhaps about to be responsible for utility costs for the first time. As renters they know full well about comfort issues, but those issues now have a price tag connected to them.

In the attic, over time fiberglass insulation becomes compressed and less efficient. Insulation should be placed along the “floor” of the attic, not stapled into the plywood sheathing that comprises the roof. Often people make this mistake in Cape Cod style homes where the “attic” areas are partially finished. Putting insulation up against the sheathing doesn’t allow the roof to “breathe” properly and moisture builds up on the roof and becomes a potential source for mold. Mold, in addition to potentially posing health risks, also over time can cause wood to rot, further damaging structural components of the house.

I was at a home inspection in Wallingford this week where a 12-year old roof with mold-damaged sheathing and rafters will need to be replaced, rather than re-shingled.

Lastly, gaps below exterior doors can allow cold air to rush in, and heat to escape. Quick fixes like draft dodgers along the inside will certainly improve living and utility bills, but they are red flags to buyers. If the problem is extreme, homeowners need to replace doors, or as a middle ground install a storm door.