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Readers wrote with some good questions about new home construction.
“Why are we seeing so many house fires this winter? Can you build a fireproof house?” Actually and unfortunately, fires are common in the winter months. One of the reasons is that homeowners fire up the heating equipment, including wood-burning fireplaces and stoves. Although the Clay County Fire and Rescue continues to remind us to perform heating equipment checkups, the sad fact is that most homeowners skip it. In addition to space heaters and stoves left on, wood-burning fireplaces are a big contributor to fire. Why? Creosote. This is a highly flammable by-product of combustion. Once it catches fire it’s very difficult to put out.
What to do? As a homeowner, your first responsibility is to keep everyone safe. If you have a fireplace, it’s not too late to get a chimney sweep to inspect and clean it. As for new home construction, while it’s not possible to fireproof a home, you can come close by installing high tech fire alarms and modern heating systems. Although everyone loves a fireplace, I recommend you use it for ambiance and not heating. Consider a propane fired fireplace with proper venting. As much as we all love the sight and smell of burning wood, it’s not good for our lungs over time.
Speaking of air quality, one reader writes, “I’m building a home here. What about radon gas? Do we have it here in Clay County and can I seal the house against it?”
Great question. We usually measure the radon level when buying a home. For those of you who wonder what we are talking about, radon is a colorless, odorless gas that exists in the rock and soil here in the mountains. At high levels over time it can cause lung cancer. It’s found in highest concentrations in the lowest level of the home. The EPA recommends that levels over 4.0 pCi/L (picocuries per liter of air) be reduced with a venting system.
The answer is that you can’t entirely seal your new home against radon, but you can install a vent into the ground as you are building. Then it’s easy to passive vent out with an air stack or later you can turn it into an active powered vent. All builders should be putting these vents in. They typically go in the garage or basement area and extend below the slab through some gravel. If you’re building now, ask your builder about the vent. It might add $100 to your construction costs. You’ll be glad if you need it later, especially if you need to install a powered system.
The national average for indoor radon levels is 1.3 pCi/L. Clay County is in a red zone with average indoor levels approaching 4.2 pCi/L — North Carolina State Radon Office. So once you complete construction of your new home, you should test the radon level. You can purchase a test kit at any local hardware store. Follow the directions precisely. If the level is high — over 4 pCi/L, you should do a second test to make sure. If that test confirms the reading, then consider calling a radon mitigation company to install a powered vent. You can also call any home inspector to do the test, but instead of $35 it will cost $150 because of the added labor.
If you are building a home there is so much to think about. It’s a wonderful and exciting time.
Local columnist Lisa Turner is a manufacturing engineer, contractor and former home inspector. Read her past articles in: www.HouseKeysByLisaTurner.com. Email: Lisa@Lisaturner.com.