Buying your First Condo? Read this Blog!

So Many Choices

Buying a condo is insane. Buying a condo in Chicago is even crazier because (a) there are thousands of them. And (b), there's a lot of merde.

There're the hoops one must jump through. ...the time-suck, the money, the move. The Move.

Anyway, before most of that one must first choose a dwelling. With this, I'll try to provide you some useful information.

What three things do you think of when looking at a condo? What rattles around your melon? ...the price? ...the neighborhood? ...the walk-in closets? ...the steam shower? ...the view?

First-time condo buyers, whether that condo is in a high-rise, a low-rise, 6-flat or less, often pay scant attention to the outside, the roof, or the general structure. 

I know, reader.  Try and push through.

The exterior (the shell or envelope in industry parlance) keeps the outside out. It protects you, yours, and your stuff from the elements. But doing so takes its toll. As a potential buyer of a dwelling in a multi-unit building, it is essential you understand the absolute necessity for periodic exterior evaluation, maintenance, and planning. This is where we can help.

Many first-time homebuyers become enamored with interior finishes and details. The quartz countertops, the deluge shower, programmable lighting, etc., often distract buyers from conditions that can hit a homeowner, financially or otherwise.

Water Is the Devil

Water, the thing we can't do without, has the potential to destroy almost anything. It is called the "universal solvent" for a reason. To a building, it causes insidious and catastrophic damage if not managed.

Fortunately, this battle has been fought for thousands of years, resulting in a huge knowledge base of success and failure. Modern construction materials have been developed as a result of this knowledge base. The implementation of how they're used is equally and fundamentally important.

Boom! So Much Junk.

There was a building boom in Chicago, roughly from 1995 through 2015. An awful lot of small, multi-unit (2, 3, 4 flat) buildings were built. A bunch were built within a hair's breadth of municipal building codes. ...pretty crappy stuff, tail-light warranties, ...the like. Many developers and contractors during this time utilized bankruptcy to, in fact, make their profit. Many of these structures have fundamental flaws in basic construction methods that can negatively affect occupant comfort, safety or health.

Now, someone (developer, builder, others) may say, "It's built to code." But, and I cannot stress this enough, 'built to code' is code for 'built to the absolute minimum set of standards required for a structure to receive a certificate of occupancy'.

Noobs!

Noobs are called such because of their lack of experience. Well, I and my colleagues eat and breathe this stuff.

So, noob, first-time homebuyer, even those not so green, y'all can benefit from our knowledge and experience. I urge anyone reading this to give us a call.

Happy Hunting!

Ken Whitelaw\Chicago Building Inspections, Inc.

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Horses and Toboggans - What's Not to Love?

Growing up, my family had quarter horses. We had a 4 acre horse farm adjacent a private country club that backed up to a mammoth park encircling metro Cleveland, the Metroparks' Emerald Necklace. Yes, reader, I was spoiled.

In winter, Mighty (my Mom's nick) would gallop down the parkway, towing at the end of a serious lasso (true), a big wooden toboggan. On it was me, my sister, and one or two friends (victims). 

It was awesome.

The first time we did this, I sat in front. Now with the horse galloping along, snow compacts into its hooves. This forms hard, oblong snowballs which as the horse gallops, fly out at anything trailing behind, kind of like a crazy, possessed, pitching machine. If you're in the first seat, their trajectory pretty much sends them directly at you. More specifically, directly at your head.

The 1st time one gets hit with these projectiles, you're like, "Fuck?! WTF?", only to look up and again get smacked in the face with another. 

One learns quick. So, after my initial hazing, I kept my head down and enjoyed the ride, only to hear my friend(s) behind me scream in surprise and agony.

Life was good, still is.

TIL

TIL this definition.

Something Old/Something New: Residential Forced-Air Ducted Heating and Cooling

Something Old

I've been doing a lot of studying about Indoor Environment Comfort (IEC) and HVAC systems. For those that don't know, the acronym stands for Heating, Ventilation, Air-Conditioning. I'm hoping my learning experience will help others. Bare with me as this will be a multi-part blog. There's so much information and history, a single blog post would be TLDR.

A Gravity Boiler

First, some facts and a bit of history.

If you live in the United States, there's a 70% chance your home is being heated by a forced-air, ducted furnace. Today’s heating systems are based on ideas and designs that date back hundreds, if not thousands of years. Forced-air ducted heating has been around since about 1935, It has long been the 'go-to' system for most residential HVAC contractors. 

Before that, all sorts of things were used to heat homes. Wood and coal-burning fireplaces, cast iron stoves, coal-fired hot water and steam boilers. The latter, until the early 20th century, had a nagging tendency to explode with great force and consequence. Here's a link to a big one. (Grover Shoe Factory Disaster) These episodes became so commonplace they were relegated to the 3rd-page news.

Octopus Gravity Air Furnace

Gravity heating systems (air) and hydronic heating (water/steam) dominated single and multi-family dwellings through the depression. Due in large part to rampant tuberculosis and the need to provide occupants fresh air, many late 19th and early 20th-century boiler systems were sized to heat a dwelling in winter with an open window! Forced-air ducted heating systems only came into their own around the middle of the 20th century.

The Basic Forced-Air Ducted Heating System

The next logical step was cooling or 'air conditioning'. Central air-conditioning became popular in the US during the post-World War II economic boom. Now ubiquitous, the advent of central air-conditioning fundamentally changed where we live. Imagine how much fun Miami, Orlando, New Orleans or Biloxi would be without it. The U.S. population's migration to Southern states like Florida, Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, etc, is largely attributed to the development and widespread adoption of air-conditioning. Since 2000, 95% of homes built in the United States have central air conditioning.  

Convenience and Versatility

A Forced Air System
with Air-Conditioning

Forced air ducted HVAC's dominance in the United States resulted from many things including cost, convenience, versatility, and climate. In its simplest form, a forced-air ducted system utilizes a mechanical fan to push heated air through a series of channels (ducts). That's it. ...pretty simple, eh?

Add a condensing unit (the outside part) and an evaporator coil (the inside part) and we have central air-conditioning. This is pretty much the way most homes in the United States have been heated and cooled since the postwar economic boom.

Cost

HVAC contractors ply their trade to put food on the table, a roof over their head, and clothes on their back. And, as with many contractors providing residential construction services, profit margins are slim. So contractors are always looking for ways to keep costs down. Forced air, ducted HVAC systems have remained popular largely because of cost. Relatively speaking, they are cheaper, simpler systems. They don't cost as much to install or repair. Statistically, they last around 20 years. Basic forced air ducted HVAC systems are (again, relatively speaking), a cost-effective, time-proven and generally safe means of heating and cooling a home. 

Efficiency

Unless you've been living under a rock for the last half-century, you're aware of ongoing efforts to reduce our consumption of fossil fuels. The majority of residential heating systems use fossil fuels (natural gas, heating oil) as their primary fuel source. What you may not realize is most, if not all ducted forced-air HVAC systems also require electricity to function. More than half of the electricity we use today (65%) is generated by burning fossil fuels, including coal. So, by improving the efficiency of how HVAC systems use both electricity and fossil fuels, we reduce their rate of consumption and make our world a better place. This is a simple and noble concept. ...right?

Well, kinda.

The research, development, implementation, design, and installation of more efficient HVAC systems increase their cost. When you're a builder, this can be a hard sell. When you are replacing someone's old HVAC system, this can be a hard sell. In fact, getting anyone to spend more money on something they rarely worry about is a usually hard sell. The typical HVAC contractor will try to sell a lower cost system because it's an easier sell. So, unless you know the right questions to ask or have done your due diligence, you won't know that heating and cooling your home represents roughly 40% of your energy use. And, with modern high-efficiency systems (more upfront cost) you can reduce your energy consumption, save money, reduce your carbon footprint and make this world a little better place. It's up to you as part of the teeming masses, to educate yourself and recognize your responsibility to "leave it better than you found it". (Who said that? Click on this link!)

Something New 

Major changes in system design and efficiency have taken place only within the past 25 years. ...some of the more profound improvements have occurred only within the past 10. Many of these improvements are a result of better construction techniques and a tighter building envelope.

A house has a shell. This shell (or building envelope) has always had a problem. They leak air. ...lots of little holes. Most anything built in the past 100 years has lots of these little holes in their shell. Air gets sucked in through these holes. Air gets blown out through these holes. Add the little holes up and you have a great big air-leaking hole. The air blown out this big hole is 'expensive' air. ...made so by mechanically heating or cooling it with your home's HVAC equipment. In part to reduce the loss of expensive air, modern construction methods have created a tighter building envelope. That's great news, yes?

Well, kinda.

Keep reading! Visit our website: www.inspectingchicago.com. Feel free to contact me at ken@inspectingchicago.com with questions, critiques or if you're considering a home inspection.

We're happy to help. - Ken

LED Lighting

Most of us take for granted the ability to flip a switch and illuminate a room. What you may not realize is that electricity is a secondary form of energy. It's produced in large part (67%) by steam turbines, driven by steam-producing boilers burning fossil fuels. Fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, petroleum) are non-renewable fuels that result in upwards of 78% of our world's air pollutants.

In the past few decades, humanity has searched for better, safer and renewable energy sources to supplant our dependence on fossil fuels. And, while there have been significant improvements and discoveries with respect to renewable energy sources, we are still sorely dependent on fossil fuels to make sure the light turns on when we flip that switch. Being both a consumer of electricity and a human with choices, I believe it is my responsibility to reduce my ecological footprint.

Today I stumbled upon this paragraph from https://energy.gov/energysaver/led-lighting:

"Widespread use of LED light has the greatest potential impact on energy savings in the United States. By 2027, widespread use of LEDs could save about 348 TWh (compared to no LED use) of electricity: This is the equivalent annual electrical output of 44 large electric power plants (1000 megawatts each), and a total savings of more than $30 billion at today's electricity prices."

Now I tried this. A few of years ago, in an effort to reduce my electric bill and energy use, I purchased a few LED lamps as replacements for my regular incandescent bulbs. The LEDs were ridiculously expensive (around $35 each!). And to say I was unimpressed at their harsh color temperature and marginal illuminance is an understatement. I ended up using compact fluorescent lamps in their stead.

Let's jump forward a few years. Manufacturers have developed LED lamps in a wide variety of color temperatures. New LED lamps are now less expensive (as low as $6) and available in a variety of temperatures ranging from 'cool' white light, which is ideal for task lighting, and 'warm' light commonly used for accent or small area lighting. 

Now granted, $6 for an LED lamp still is a far cry from $.89 one would spend on an incandescent bulb. The thing is, LED lamps use far less energy than the equivalent incandescent and can last 20 to 150 times* longer! You read that right. This is where you realize the savings in both energy use and maintenance costs. 

Also available are "smart" lamps. The color temperature of a smart LED lamp is tunable. That is, you can adjust the color temperature depending on where the lamp is being used. For example, you can tune a smart lamp to a warm color temperature for accent lighting or tune it to a brighter white color for task lighting or reading. This is typically accomplished via a smartphone app. Multiple manufacturers have developed smart lighting systems, giving you the ability to adjust the color temperature of multiple lamps within your home.

A well-written review of some of the available residential smart lighting systems can be found The Verge. ...a good read if you're considering a smart lighting system.


I believe a relatively painless way of reducing one's energy use and ecological footprint is by replacing incandescent lamps with LEDs.

And for any supergeeks, here is "Light from Crystals", a Youtube video by the world player LED manufacturer Osram Opto Semiconductor ...very cool.

Kenny Whitelaw/Domicile Consulting

DAMN ICE DAMS

Dibs!!!

It's wintertime in Chicago! Yea! The annual test of our mettle is at hand. All the fun in the snow we have to look forward to... dibs, unplowed side streets and alleys, shoveling buried cars, shoveling walks, sub-zero temps, big heating bills, big snow, howling wind...

 What's not to like?

 Last winter, a frozen gutter fell from a neighboring house onto my truck, causing about $3,000.00 damage. Luckily, no one was near when this happened as they likely would have been killed or seriously injured if otherwise. But, sometime in the middle of the night, the entire gutter, somewhere around 20 feet long and weighing in at probably 200 to 300 pounds, detached from the house and came crashing down on Li'l Taco and the Hula Girl. (We can talk about that, later.) As one might imagine after learning that I've named my truck, I was devastated.

 Ice damming causes, among other things, injury, property damage, roofs to collapse, basement seepage and accelerated roof covering deterioration. It can result in interior finish damage and contribute to mold growth in your home, which in turn can affect indoor air quality and occupant health.

 The cause of ice damming is pretty straightforward. Snow-melt from the upper, warm portions of your roof deck drain down to the roof's overhanging eave ends, where your gutters are. The eave ends and gutters are exposed to the elements, making them much colder than the roof deck. The runoff hits the gutters and these cold areas and begins to freeze. The ice builds up, resulting in a dam that catches more runoff, which also freezes.

The cycle continues. The ice gets thicker and backs up under your roof shingles, where it can cause leaking and damage in your attic and wall cavities, as well as providing a moisture source that can contribute to mold growth. What runoff does get past the dams and gutters drains to the ground. Ice accumulates at your home's perimeter which, come warmer weather, will thaw, possibly overloading already saturated soil adjacent your foundation walls, resulting in basement seepage.

 Luckily, the traditional fix for all this is also straightforward and time proven.

 The first step is air sealing. Any penetrations through your attic floor or through your top floor ceiling must be sealed. This includes recessed light fixtures, junction boxes, conduit, duct and plumbing runs, etc. The objective is to prevent any conditioned air from entering these areas. All duct work in an attic or plenum space should be sealed and insulated to at least an R-8 level.

Soffit and Ridge Vent =
Low-to-High Ventilation

 Step two is ventilation. Proper ventilation is critical in preventing ice damming. During the wintertime, ventilation helps to keep the roof sheathing's temperature below freezing. Do this and there will be no ice damming. Optimal attic ventilation is accomplished by providing three things. These are low ventilation, high ventilation and an clear path for air circulation in-between. The style of the components may vary, but they should all have one thing in common. They should run continuously along the lowest point of the roof assembly (soffit vents) and the highest (ridge vents). Buy the best you can afford 'cause this should be a once and done thing. Better components last longer.

Insulation Baffles

 The other thing you'll need to install are insulation baffles. These are placed between your roof's rafters way down at the ends of the eaves. Their purpose is to prevent insulation from blocking the rafter channel at this location and maintain that -low-to-high ventilation path.

 Step three is insulation. Any number of products work. Fiberglass batts, loose-fill fiberglass, mineral wool (batts or loose-fill), loose fill cellulose, rigid foam insulation. (I lean toward loose fill cellulose for its good- R-value, ability to manage moisture, and greenness.) The important thing is to provide a sufficient amount of attic insulation. In our climate, that's R-49. Whatever you choose, the insulation should neatly and completely cover the entire attic floor, all skylight shafts, all interior knee walls. Make sure the attic hatch is insulated to the same level.

 That's about it. There are some additional tweaks that will help optimize your new insulation and ventilation. But you'll have to like my post for me to share them. Happy Winter! --KW

The Great Plains or My First Holy Shit Moment

I've driven 1300 miles across The Great Plains to arrive at Mills Canyon, New Mexico.  I drove through Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma to get here.  Never having seen the Great Plains, all I'd ever heard of was their utter monotony. (See my previous post.)

I'd prepared for the worst.

The plains are vast and seemingly unending. But therein to me lies their magnificence. ...thousands upon thousands of acres of corn and soybeans. ...miles of fallow fields. There are places where the earth's curvature is plainly (yeah, I wrote that) visible.  The only interruption is that which humanity constructed.  Roads, fences, these insanely huge grain elevators that rise as monoliths in the distance.  The magnitude of the Great Plains left me awestruck.

It's dotted with small towns. ...towns with names like Cawker City (home of the world's largest ball of sisal twine),  Red Cloud and Friend. ...all populated with sturdy folk who eagerly queried me of my origin and destination. And who, upon hearing of my adventure, invariably recommended points of interest along my route. I would have completely missed the world's largest ball of sisal twine ( Cawker City) had it not been for such.  I found folks friendly, kind and helpful. ...not one asshole in the bunch did I encounter.

Don't get me wrong.   The landscape is unforgivably monotonous. I can only imagine what life here is like.  I know I could never live here. If I did end up living here, I'd likely devolve into a  meth-smoking, mumblity-peg playing subhuman who masturbates way too much.

Hmm...

Welcome to New Mexico!

Mills Canyon, NM - What the Hell is that Sound?

Mills Canyon is breathtakingly beautiful. I came here in lieu of visiting the Grand Canyon. The Canadian River, gravity and time created a landscape of such awe-inspiring magnificence, it made me weep and laugh out loud, sometimes at the same time. For two days, it held me dumbstruck.

Now, y'all will say, "Mills Canyon? What the hell? This is supposed to be a 'natural wonders' road trip. How can you not see The Grand Canyon? It's way bigger and deeper than some Canyon in New Mexico.

True that. There are also way more tourists.  For almost two days, I had Mills Canyon all to myself!  I could have run naked through the canyon's fields and not a soul would have known.

However, doing so is not a good idea. Keep reading. I'll explain.

The drive to the canyon starts with an uneventful nine-mile drive through a few huge cattle farms/grazing pastures. You eventually come upon a sign directing you either to the canyon rim or bottom. The latter stipulating, " Vehicles with High Clearance and 4-Wheel Drive Recommended." ...fuck yeah!

If you know me, you know of my love affair with my 2003 Toyota Tacoma. Aside from its sibling the Hilux (considered the best small truck ever made, sold on every continent except North America and is the pickup of choice of many rebel armies and third-world terrorists), the first-gen Taco is considered the best small truck built in North America.  You also know I live in northern Illinois, a place not known for its off-road, 4-wheel drive venues.  I've never taken my truck off-road, ...until today.

Now, one can carefully drive a regular vehicle down to the canyon floor. In fact, an old Dodge Caravan came down the afternoon of my second day. However, with one good rain, the access road turns to mud and that Caravan would have to be towed out.

I make my way down the access road and into the canyon. I find the campground. There's no one there. I'd seen on my way down a number of off-road trails running throughout the canyon. I'm so excited, so instead of setting up camp, I head out to the trails.

Now, every bit of info I'd read about off-road 4-wheeling said don't go alone. It's foolhardy. Not heeding this warning, I've instead equipped the truck with redundant means of recovery, two 4 ton come alongs, a hi-lift jack, numerous tow straps, chains,  etc.

Setting out, I drive slowly and stop to get out and spot the trails as I go. I'm an idiot.  If I get stuck, it's on me.

I finally learned what my 4-wheel low gearing is for! I forded a river!  I traversed mud up to my axels. ...never came close to getting stuck. It was awesome.

...love that truck. We'll see how it does in Moab.

So,  why is it not a good idea to romp naked in the fields?

This is bear, cougar and rattlesnake country. (In fact, most of my trip ends up being in bear, cougar and rattlesnake country.) Not ever having encountered a bear, a cougar or rattlesnake, let's just say that, and regardless of my research and preparations, I was uneasy about being in bear, cougar and rattlesnake country. So, I cooked my meals well away from where I slept, I slept not in the clothes I cooked in, and I watched the paths ahead for snakes. I saw bear and cougar tracks near my campsite, but no rattlesnakes.

After waking up from my first night's sleep (a bit scary, ...heard a lot of unidentifiable noises), making breakfast (oatmeal, coffee and some potato chips, Mmmm.), I decide to do a bit of hiking. I grab my bear mace, my k-bar (thanks, Jacob), my trekking pole and set out down a well-worn path.

It's a beautiful, warm, sun-filled morning, perfect for a hike. I'm keeping my eyes glued to the trail, looking for pretty rocks.

I'm about a hundred yards down the trail when I hear this loud, steadily increasing noise in the brush to my right and I think, "What kind of bird makes a noise like that?" 

Turns out it's not a bird. It's a five-foot Diamondback expressing its obvious displeasure of my disturbing its morning sun gazing. I've invaded its space and ain't happy. 

For those not in the know, the rattling is the snake telling you you're getting too close. Closer, the rattling stops as the snake coils, preparing to strike - to defend itself.

The rattling stopped. I about piss myself. This big-ass rattlesnake, head as big as an Oreo, is coiled up and ready to kick my ass.

Now, the number one thing not to do in such an encounter, despite everything your gut tells you to do, is make a sudden move. (This also goes for bears and cougars. ...research.)  I'm well within striking distance, as a five foot Diamondback can strike about eight feet. (Again, research.) I slowly back away, to a safe distance, scared shitless.

For the remainder of my hike, I banged my trekking pole on the ground ahead of me to let the rattlers know an idiot doth approach.

Fucking rattlesnakes...

Sunday, August 16 2015 Lincoln, Nebraska

Corn. Lots of corn.

Knoxville, Iowa Saturday, August 15, 2015

Today I left Chicago, a day before my trip's planned start, for a shakedown cruise, as it were. ... check out the truck, listen for rattles, etc.  Knoxville on Sunday was to be my first stop.

I pull in into Elk Rock State Park (just outside of Knoxville) thinking to find a walkup campsite for the day, as my reservation here isn't until tomorrow.  The park is pretty well packed.  Being a noob at this, I ask some folks how the walkup system works.  They explain it and say I may have a hard time finding a spot " 'cuz of the race".

"What race?" I ask.

Knoxville, Iowa is a town of about 4500 people.  It is the home of The National Sprint Car Hall of Fame.  It also, for one week every year, hosts the National Sprint Car Championship and its 200,000 fans.

Today is the last day.

As luck would have it, I find a site, fill out my reservation envelope, put my $20 in, deposit it in the payment envelope box and head to town to buy groceries.

The sea of humanity is awe-inspiring! ...tens of thousands of people.  Thousands of motorhomes the size of semi trucks are parked everywhere.  Traffic, a lot of it, is limited to one main street.

None of this would be here tomorrow.

I find the local grocery store and provision up. ...coke, steaks, eggs, bread, butter, bacon, beer... .  My body is a temple.

I put it all in my cooler.  The beer is warm.  The store can't keep it on the shelves long enough to get cold, and a beer sounds pretty good at the moment.  So I drive down the street and stop at the 1st Turn Tavern for a cold one.

Being last race day, the place is jammed and hopping.  I get my beer and start writing this blog.  Needing a bit more background for the story, I strike up a conversation with Billy and Penny, local folks who are more than happy to help me fill in the blanks.

Everyone is having a ball. Penny introduces me to Shana, who points out that everyone in the place knows one another.  They come from all over to meet for race week, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, and have been doing so for years.

There's Billy, Bob, aka, Double Bubble, Nina, Calvin, Roy, ...all in all about twenty five or so folks just letting it all hang out, playing pool, singing with the jukebox, having a great time. It's infectious.

Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline starts up from the jukebox and literally everyone, including the bartenders, start singing along at the top of their lungs! This is, apparently, their anthem and I can't help but to join in this raucous display of happy.

I end up being invited (to the point, Penny says to me, "You're coming back to eat with us.") to their camp (two huge fifth-wheel camper trailers) for barbecue and games of bean bag.

Good first day. The truck ran fine.