Indoor Air Quality

With spring coming up quickly, many think of "Spring Cleaning" and getting out of hibernation. How well do you clean your house? Do you clean out every kitchen cabinet and vacuum your ceiling fan blades? If your going to those lengths to get your house clean are you spending any thought on your indoor air quality? The quality and cleanliness of the air in your house is directly related to your health. Its the air you and your family are breathing in and out every day. Your house and your HVAC system determines how clean your air is. You may change your filter regularly but that's not enough. When was the last time you removed your register and actually looked at the condition of your ducts? Or when was the last time you cleaned out your register. If your registers are in your floor, dirt and trash and other debris can easily fall into your duct-work and sit there for years, as air passes over it. If your home is over 10 years old there is a high chance that there is dust and dirt accumulation within the duct-work.
If your ducts were not properly sealed when installed then the air that comes from your heater or air conditioner can leak out of the ducts, also air from the uninsulated spaces in your home can bring pollutants into your home. Dust mites, mold, radon, and carbon monoxide are just a few of the things that could be in your duct work and in the air you breathe. So do you know how clean your air is? Outside the Box Construction can be your Indoor Air Quality specialists. We are trained to test and clean your duct work. We can seal and insulate your ducts and make your existing system work better. You owe it to yourself and to your family to keep up with your air quality in your house because its your health and your home.

Get "Green" for 'Going Green'

There are many reason why people choose to build and live in ways that help the environment or reduce overall consumption of resources. These reasons can include, wanting to 'save the planet' or 'reduce carbon emissions' or reduce money spent on utilities. Whatever your reason, there are ways to help you get money back for choosing efficiency upgrades to your home. There are rebates from power companies such as Georgia Power and Cartersville Electric System. There are also tax rebates from the federal government.
Georgia Power offers many different incentives for energy efficient upgrades, such as a $400 rebate for converting an old gas furnace to a high efficiency heat pump system. Also, up to $2200 back if you choose improvements based on a whole house approach. A water heater can account for a lot of the power consumption in your house, Georgia Power offers a rebate on Marathon Water heater of $525.
The federal government through the EPA and the Energy Star program offer tax credits for energy efficient upgrades. These credits apply to upgrades in HVAC, insulation, water heaters, and other items listed on their website.
For any reason you choose to 'go green' let these programs help you keep more of your "green" in your pockets.

Habitat For Humanity

Outside The Box Construction is proud to be the construction partner for the Bartow County Habitat for Humanity and the city of Cartersville. The Bartow County Habitat for Humanity received a grant from the Georgia DCA (Department of Community Affairs) to build six houses in the downtown Cartersville area. Outside the Box Construction was chosen to be the general contractor for these builds. In building these houses we hope to create a home for six families that they can be happy in. When we are considering what is going to go into these houses and what it takes to build a house, we are making efforts to make the house both energy efficient and sustainable. We would not want to build a house for a family and then have the utility bills above their reach so that they could not afford or would struggle to afford to live there.

We are asking for those who have been blessed to donate and give what they can to this effort. We are accepting donations of building materials, home furnishings, and much more. Even if you dont think you have anything to give, give of yourself, donate your time and the joy you receive will overflow beyond what you could imagine.

Even though Bartow Habitat has received this grant, it doesn't go to their everyday operating costs, it only covers the building costs of the six homes. So it is very important for donations to still be made to their offices in money or item donations to the ReStore. It is up to our community to support an organization like this that does so much for individuals and families in our community that just need a little help.

Bartow Habitat can be contacted by:

Bartow Area Habitat for Humanity
14 Eagles Court
Cartersville GA 30120

Mail Address
Bartow Area Habitat for Humanity
PO Box 3392
Cartersville GA 30120

Phone
770-382-6293

Fax
770-382-5310

Executive Director
Robin Hooker
director@bartowhabitat.org

Home Performance Evaluation

We just completed another home performance evaluation at the home of Robert Bertens. A gentleman who had purchased a home that was in foreclosure and has done some remodel work to it already. We came to give him some information on how he could make his home more efficient. He has four HVAC units for his home along with three hot water heaters. His utility bills were a lot higher that he would want them to be and we hope to help him lower them.

The assessment started off with a walk-through of the house with the homeowner. He showed us through and explained his discomforts with different rooms and sections of the house. The core of the house was 24 years old and had many things wrong with it that were not taboo in the time that the house was built but better solutions were not yet known. Now building science has improved and we know better how to improve these problems. We went from living room to family room and kitchen to crawl space looking over the entire house and inspecting all of it for air leaks and areas of improvement. We then set up the blower door which depressurizes the house and exaggerates the air leakage of the house. With his running we were able to walk around the house again and tangibly feel the air that would leak into the house in a normal situation. The homeowner was very enlightened to see the effects of this test and feel the air moving so much where he hadn't noticed it as much before. While we were walking through we found large areas that were open to the outside and attic space that was uninsulated these are major reason why they bedrooms would be so cold and the heaters would have to run constantly to keep the areas warm. In our inspection of the HVAC units we gathered the serial numbers and model numbers from the units so that we could find out their manufacture date and SEER rating on the units to let us know how efficient the units are running. We also take pictures of the faults that we find in the home as it relates to its performance such as duct work that is crushed or the plastic wrapping is torn off or the supply registers are not sealed or insulated. These pictures are referenced in the comprehensive report that is given to the homeowner after the assessment is completed.

Every time that we perform a Home Performance Assessment with the homeowner present to learn new things about their house, they are always happy and we feel good leaving the homeowner having learned more about their home's performance and how we can potentially save them money for doing a few small tasks that make a big difference.
The home performance evaluations are reasonably priced and vary based on the size of your house. It is simple to figure out how much it might cost to have your home tested for its performance.

• $350 for the first 1500 square feet, includes the first HVAC and combustion zone.
  
• Then, $0.10 per square foot above 1500,
• And, $50 for each additional HVAC or combustion zone.

Rebates are available from Georgia Power that will refund 50% of the evaluation up to $200 back into your pocket.
Let us know today how we can help you better understand your home.

The Importance of Energy Efficiency

As we enter the winter season and temperatures continue to drop we stay indoors more often and use our homes and offices to keep ourselves warm. This can be a simple and easy act of coming inside to a warm home where you can be comfortable all throughout or it can be stressful because your home is cold and turning up the heat still doesnt help, it just costs more and more. It doesnt have to be stressful. You can be comfortable in your home. You DESERVE to be comfortable in YOUR HOME.

"EPA estimates that homeowners can typically save up to 20% of heating and cooling costs (or up to 10% of total energy costs) by air sealing their homes and adding insulation in attics, floors over crawl spaces, and accessible basement rim joists."

Up to 20% savings!!! Take a look at your utility bill...how much are you spending each month?...each year?...Wouldn't you like to reduce that number by up to 20%? Who wouldnt? The solution is simple. Efficiency. If your house is leaky then it isnt working efficiently and you are wasting money. Thats it. Its as simple as that. All of the air leaks are costing you money, its a cycle, as the heated air in your house goes out through leaks in the ceiling, around windows and doors, can lights that arent air tight, electrical outlets, and others cold air is coming in and your HVAC system has to turn on or be turned up to warm the air back up then that air could be leaking out before it even gets to your bedroom if the ducts that it is traveling through aren't sealed properly, that air is wasted into your attic or crawlspace. Then your heating system has to continue to run to keep up with the loss and the longer it works the more money you are spending. Don't waste any more money!

Air sealing and insulation are the best ways to make a difference in your home as far as comfort and energy savings. How do i find the air leaks? Simple, when your heating system is on feel around the perimeter of the house, the ceiling and the floors for cold air coming in. Also, cobwebs are a typical sign of an air leak because spiders like moving air to make their webs. Dirty ceilings around duct registers, recessed can lights, and ceiling fans or lights are also signs of air leaks where the air moving in from the attic is carrying dust that is deposited on the ceiling. Windows and doors are the big offenders. If the weatherstripping around your exterior doors is more that 5 years old or it is compressed so much that you see light from around the door, it is time to replace the weatherstripping. Windows that you can feel a draft need weatherstripping under the sash and caulking around the frame and trim.



Insulation is very important in keeping your house comfortable. I is common to put a coat on to go outside when the weather is cold, the coat is acting as insulation for the heat that your body produces. The thicker the coat the warmer you are. Unless you have a hole in the coat or leave it unzipped. Then the warmth of your body escapes and you feel cold. The same principle applies to your house. The insulation in your attic and walls keeps the inside of your house warm from the heat that your heater produces. If you dont have enough insulation then the heat will transfer trough easier. If you want to know the science behind insulation and the R-Values HERE it is. But for those that need it a little simpler, the lower the R-value the quicker heat can pass through it. In most situation, the greater the R-value the better the insulative properties.
Most older homes today either have blown in cellulose or fiberglass batt insulation, but most homes dont have enough. Most homes in the southeast are recommended to have insulation to meet an R value of 38. Thats 12" of fiberglass batts or 11" of blown cellulose. If you dont have that much then you need more, also if your blown in insulation is packed down after being stepped on or boxes placed on it for years then it isnt performing at the level it should be. It needs to be fluffed to be insulating properly or simply add more on top to reach the recommended levels. Typically if you see your ceiling joists when you look in your attic, you need more insulation.

When air sealing your home yourself you need to be cautious of noxious gases such as carbon monoxide that your combustion appliances may produce. If they arent sealed combustion units then they need additional venting to the outside. This provides fresh air for combustion and vents the harmful fumes out to a safe area. Contact a professional if you are unsure about doing this yourself.

So how efficient is your home? How much money are you wasting a month? How much could you be saving? What steps could you take to make a difference in your home? These questions could be answered by a Home Performance Assessment. A Home Performance Assessment is performed by a professional such as Outside The Box Construction and provides a comprehensive report on the performance of your home. Check out our website for more details about a Home Performance Assessment. Also the Energy Star Website has more information on what to expect. The Assessment typically takes about a day and produces a prioritized list of improvements that would help your home perform better and save energy and money.

Contact us today if you have any questions. We are more than happy to answer your questions and possibly schedule a HPA for your home.

Outside The Box Construction, LLC.

Project Manager
Scott Mason - 770-547-1527
scott.outsidethebox@gmail.com

Owner
Don Liotta - 404-993-8187
donliotta@gmail.com

www.outsidetheboxconstruction.com

Good work at the Gambills

We recently finished work at Bill Gambill's house. We had previously come out and performed a home performance evaluation and he asked us back to put in some more insulation and to do some air sealing. These are things that sound simple but make a big difference. We added about 12" of blown insulation across the whole attic. In conjunction with that we air sealed 16 recessed can lights.
Can lights that are not IC (insulation contact) rated and airtite need to be sealed because they are a major cause of air leakage. Non IC rated cans need to be boxed out around so that the new insulation doesn't come into contact with them and potentially cause a fire hazard. Airtite and other housings need to be sealed to the ceiling in order to make sure they stay air tight. We added airtite baffles on the inside to convert old fixtures to airtite ones.
We also replaced the worn out weatherstripping on all of the exterior doors and added new door sweeps to the doors to make sure that they would block out all the outside air from getting in and close securely. Around the windows we added new foam weatherstripping to the sash so that when it is closed it has a tight seal and no air is leaking in. We also properly vented four bathroom exhaust fans to the eave vents. This results in a reduction of the airflow and humidity in the attic.
Almost immediately the homeowners could tell a difference and that makes us happy. With winter here now I feel confident that they will be nice and comfortable in their home and even more comfortable when they see the reduction that it will make in their utility bill.

Deck Project at George Noe's

Just a few pictures of the deck project.