Month: December 2021

When you’re buying a new home, you want to do a lot of due diligence to learn about its overall condition, ongoing maintenance costs, and any upcoming repair projects that may be on the horizon. While you’re doing your research, you should be sure to find out as much as you can about the heating and cooling system. Here are four key questions to ask about an HVAC System.

1. When Was It Installed?

The general lifespan of an HVAC system can vary greatly by make and model. For the most part, HVACs should last at least ten to fifteen years. A system may fail to meet its projected useful lifespan if it has not been properly maintained.

2. Is the Warranty Valid?

Many HVACs come with ten year warranties on parts. Find out if a system is still under warranty and whether the coverage is transferable.

3. When Was the System Cleaned?

Routine cleaning and calibration are essential for enhancing an HVAC’s energy efficiency and optimizing performance. Find out about the time that all components were cleaned including the ducts, air handler, and condenser. If it has been more than a year and equipment appears dirty or clogged with debris, you can schedule a condenser cleaning St Louis MO with a reputable service company.

4. What Are the Operating Costs Like?

Try to get a sense of how much energy goes into powering a system. A home’s previous owners may be able to give you some good insight into operating expenses and how they change with the seasons.

Ultimately, it isn’t necessarily a red flag if you discover that a new home’s HVAC system isn’t all that you hoped it would be. You may be able to repair or replace a system affordably. It is important to ascertain what work may be necessary in order to budget strategically and avoid surprises.

Clean air is something that many people take for granted. However, indoor air quality can vary greatly between places. Luckily, there are some simple things you can do to improve indoor air quality. Whether you have a family member with allergies or asthma, or you just want to ensure the healthiest space possible for your family, these tips can help.  

Change Your Filters

Air filters are more common than you might realize. You might know about the large filter on your home’s central return register, but did you also realize that many smaller appliances also have air filters? Check humidifiers, space heaters, vacuums and window air conditioners to find how often they need to be changed. 

Clean the Air Ducts

Air filters aren’t your only line of defense when it comes to central heating and cooling systems. The ductwork that carries air throughout your home can accumulate large amounts of dust, pollen and debris. Professional air duct cleaning services Osage Beach MO remove that buildup so it doesn’t;t contaminate your indoor air.

Open the Windows

In general, opening the windows is one of the simplest and most cost-effective ways to improve indoor air quality. It lets cooking odors, smoke and germs dissipate into the outside while also letting fresh clean air inside your home. Of course, that assumes you live somewhere with good outdoor air quality. If there is a lot of smoke, smog or pollution around your house, it’s a good idea to keep the windows closed until it clears. 

Monitor Humidity Levels

The amount of moisture in the air can impact overall air quality. Humidity that is too high can make breathing difficult. However, if levels fall too low it can cause airway irritation and help colds and viruses proliferate. Most people will find that a humidity level between 30% and 50% is comfortable. 

Changing air filters and ducts, maintaining appropriate humidity levels and opening a window can all help improve your home’s indoor air quality. 

The architectural style of your home should be a deciding factor for which grids you choose for your windows. Most manufacturers offer plenty of grid options to browse. Additionally, you will need to sort through your material choices to find one that matches your home. The only thing to remember is to check the design of your home. 

Victorian and Neo-Victorian

Victorian and Neo-Victorian-era homes have elaborate decorations inside and out. One of the more common window grids has diamonds on the top of the sash and a full panel at the bottom. Decorative stained glass is also standard for these houses. However, a double-hung sash with six or eight square panes in each sash is a good substitute if you can’t find these options. Keep in mind that you should match the fanlights to your main grids. 

Colonial and Cape Cod

These styles will have six square panes on each double-hung window panel. If you live in a fancier version of this home, you may also have a large picture window filled with a smaller decorative grid layout. 

Prairie

Prairie homes generally use casement windows, so these are the perfect thing to tackle if you want to modernize your home and save electricity. Look for small grid squares in the corners, long ones on the sides, or anything else that offers decoration but leaves the center of the window plain for these types of homes. 

Arts and Crafts

Generally, these homes have double-hung windows with a single pane on the bottom and two side-by-side panes on the top. When choosing a grid for the top sash, remember that vertical muntins are good, but horizontal ones should not be present. That said, if you have transoms on your arts and crafts home, these can have decorative grids. 

These are some of the more common architectural styles and their matching grid patterns. By following this advice, you can choose the perfect grids for your home. 

Windows need to be replaced more frequently than many other household features. People won’t usually have to get entire walls replaced. Something dramatic needs to happen before they will need any sort of household upgrades like that.

Fragile Windows

Many windows will start to wear down after a while, even when people are careful to make sure that they clean the windows and keep dirt away from them. It’s still possible for a window to shatter after a comparatively mild accident. Getting replacement windows Lakeland FL-based, or elsewhere, can help the people who have had this problem. 

When a window starts to develop a crack or break of any kind, people should usually get ready to replace that window. Some windows can still last for a while after something like that has happened to them. However, that crack in the window glass will usually only start to expand, which will threaten the structure of the rest of the glass very quickly.

People might want to change their windows when the glass is cracked anyway. It might make more sense to have the windows replaced when it’s convenient to do so. They could break at a particularly inconvenient time, making things much harder for the people who will need new windows then.