Your home shelters you from wind, rain and temperature extremes; keep that shelter leak free with these simple steps.
Regularly check your home outside; look at the roof, gutters, under the eaves, around the windows and doors and find deteriorated components that need maintenance. Check the whole outside, note what needs fixing, and set your priorities. Some components like caulking deteriorate slowly and can be improved when convenient. Others like roof shingles need action as soon as possible after noticing the defect, to prevent additional problems occurring.
Roofs - Asphalt shingles
and wood roof sheathing
Asphalt shingles deteriorate with age. They loose their gravel coating, and the shingles curl and may eventually appear melted. The fasteners may rot, and the shingles come loose.
Check your roof after windstorms to ensure that no shingles or other roofing components have come loose or been blown off. If any are loose or missing, make repairs as soon as possible to prevent further damage.
Check your attic space at least once a year, immediately after a heavy rainstorm, to ensure there are no leaks. Any signs of wetness on the underside of the roof sheathing indicates a possible leak, and the need perhaps to have a roofer check the roofing. If you don't correct the leak, it will cause deterioration of the sheathing, whether wood, plywood, or oriented strand board, the roof rafters or trusses, as well as the insulation and the drywall beneath it. What would have been a simple and affordable repair if done promptly can turn into a major and expensive project if neglected for several years.
Discharging a bathroom or kitchen exhaust vent into the attic space can cause the same deterioration. The moisture in the air condenses on the underside of the roof sheathing in the winter; you would see this as a visible layer of frost. If you see this frost,but you don't see an exhaust vent passing through the attic space to the underside of a roof vent, you'll need to take corrective action. Find the bathroom or kitchen exhaust vent and make sure that it is connected to a roof outlet using flexible aluminium vent ducting.
Walls - Brickwork
Brickwork can show issues with spalling of the brick face and damage to the brick, or with failing mortar joints.
Spalling: Water penetrating cracks in the brick face causes spalling because of the winter freeze-thaw cycle. The water freezes overnight, and expands when it does. The pressure can be enormous, sufficient to open the crack a little more. During the day the ice melts and penetrates the now deeper crack. Overnight it may freeze again, and the cycle can repeat itself. Eventually the damage can be sufficient for pieces of the brick to spall or fall off. The surface that is then exposed is softer, and vulnerable to further damage from freeze-thaw, or atmospheric conditions such as acid rain, etc.
Spalled chimney brickwork
The surface of the bricks has split off exposing the softer core, which will deteriorate rapidly. Removal and replacement of all spalled and surface deteriorated bricks is necessary.
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Spalled brickwork in a wall
After the surface of the bricks has split off removal and replacement of the bricks is necessary. Matching the replacement brick to the original might be a problem in older houses.
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Mortar: Mortar may loosen as it ages; cracks and gaps show, or the surface starts to dust when rubbed. At its extreme, bricks may become loose or dislodged; a danger to those below.
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Deteriorated mortar jointing
Few of the brick joints have intact mortar although the brick surfaces don't generally appear deteriorated; major rebuilding may not be necessary.
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Pointing, or re-mortaring a wall is not very difficult and supplies can be bought at local building stores. However if the mortar is very old, from before the 1940s, it might be soft lime mortar and should be repaired using the same type of mortar to avoid damage to the brickwork caused by harder, modern mortars. For detailed explanation, and some technical advice, read the National Research Council of Canada article here: http://irc.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/pubs/ctus/67_e.html.
Foundation Walls - Parging
Parging can separate from its supporting wall because water penetrates behind it, breaking its bond with its support. Freeze-thaw cycles will separate the parging and cause it to fall off the supporting surface. Above grade parging is providing both a cosmetic and a waterproofing function, and is easily repaired. Parging below grade may be being relied on for water/damp proofing of foundation walls. Read a National Research Council of Canada article about the benefits of using dimpled plastic sheets as water/damp proofing, in addition to the parging (see http://www.advancedcoatings.on.ca/pdf/CCMC%2013094-R.pdf).
An article at http://irc.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/pubs/cp/wal1_e.html discusses ways to waterproof and repair a solid masonry wall, which is the type of construction (block, brick or rubble/stone) used in foundation walls that have the most leakage problems.
Parging that has debonded or spalled from foundation walls or the sills of basement windows sounds hollow when tapped and is easily repaired using latex modified mortar. The latex is reputed to aid bonding the mortar to the concrete surface, and to give a higher strength, more water resistant mortar. It also seems to lighten the colour of the mortar and makes finishing a little easier. This repair work should not be started if the overnight temperature will drop below 5° C, to avoid freezing of the uncured mortar. Cover the repaired area with plastic to prevent too rapid drying during the curing period (2 to 3 days minimum).
First, the loose material and any deteriorated concrete must be removed to leave a solid surface from which material will not easily be scraped. Use a hammer to break up most of the debonded (hollow sounding) material and a screw-driver to pry off the last pieces. Don’t do this for stucco, which needs gentler handling! If the mortar is very hard to get off the base concrete, it’s well bonded and can stay. Dust and particles should be removed by washing (strong hose jet or stiff brush and water) but be careful around window sills as they may leak between the frame and the concrete.
The latex is similar to the white glue that many stores such as Michael’s, Zellers, or Wal-Mart sell for school use. To repair only a very small area, you could use this. If the area is larger, purchase a 3 litre container of “Concrete Bond” from Rona Building Supply, which will last several years if protected from freezing.
The parging material is available inexpensively as a pre-mix from stores such as Copps, Home Hardware Building Centres, Home Depot, or Patene Building Supplies. (Cost is about $10 for a 20 kg bag) Add the latex to the water you’ll use to mix the mortar, using about two tablespoons of latex to each cup of water. Mix the latex thoroughly into the water so that it is completely dissolved, before mixing into the dry mortar powder. The consistency of the mortar should be like whipped cream or soft ice-cream, but not runny; it needs to be able to stick on a vertical surface.
Also dribble latex over the surface to which you intend to apply the parging, and using a wet stiff brush, spread the latex to evenly but thinly coat the surface. On a vertical surface, you could just brush the latex onto the concrete.
After allowing a little time for the latex to bond to the concrete but not to become completely dry, apply the mortar to the surface. A steel trowel is easier to use to apply and smooth the mortar, and the existing finish on the parging can often be matched by stippling with a dry brush or by lightly dragging a brush over the surface of the mortar before it dries completely.
Windows and Doors - Rotted or softened wood
Rotted or softened wood in window frames etc, can often be repaired using an epoxy product. One such product is CPES (Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer), which is available in Canada from BCS Inc. of Millbrook, Ontario. Information may be found on the BCS web (see http://www.woodrestoration.net/products.php) and the CPES web site (see http://www.smithandcompany.org/). The promotional literature and recommendations from users appear impressive. Lee Valley Tools carries a similar product. However if the damage is extensive, it may be necessary to replace the damaged piece.
Caulking
Caulking of exterior joints between dissimilar construction materials (such as window or door frames of wood or vinyl, and walls of brick, stucco or siding) and sealing of any openings in the exterior of the house (except for drainage holes in the bottom course of brickwork) helps keep moisture out from the structure and prevents or delays deterioration.
There are many reputable caulking materials available. Specialty caulks include Tremco Spectrem III for situations where greater movement can be anticipated and joint openings are wider, such as for exterior insulation and finishing systems (EIFS). EIFS have insulation installed outside the wall and are usually covered in a stucco type of coating. Tremco also produce a Spectrem 4T, which can be tinted if you need to match particular colours. These products are available in consumer cartridge sizes from two locations in London.
Construction Distribution & Supply Co Ltd. (CDS)
611 Wonderland Road North
(519) 471-4788
Form & Building Supply Inc.
1175 Frances
(519) 453-4300
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© 2008 CMAC Inspection Services
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