All Forum Posts by: Mike Reynolds

 I agree, the gas is better in the long haul. Plus they heat water better. Electric just is not feasible for most remodels anyway. Most old electric service is even 100 amp and many if you are lucky 150 amp. Back in the day we didnt have cell phones and PCs and every thing under the sun to plug in. Usually it was one plug per bedroom wall, no GFCI or arc fault. Dont even get me started on Zinsco breakers and fuses. 

I built a 19,000 foot party barn and the owner insisted he wanted electric on demand heaters. I cheated and ran a gas line to the unit also and capped it off. Come the following January he asked me how hard it would be to convert it to gas. I told him it would take a good day and a new heater. I never told him that I already had a gas line ran there. I knew he would want it sooner rather than later. He thinks I am the man and I have got so many recommendations from him I have lost count.  I just dont trust the electric ones at all but some people swear by them. 

 I have read through the posts and agree somewhat with some of the posts. I am a retired HERS rater and now builder of multi million dollar commercial buildings. Doing a 60 million dollar project now.  I live in a high humidity area of East Texas. We have 80-90% humidity all year with [sometimes] the exception on August. Not this year though. 

Check the little stuff first. Look at the filters and change them if needed. Check the coils and clean them. If the airflow is restricted, it will sweat. If the insulation is wet you will need to turn off the unit for a "dry out" period. Wet insulation will drip for a long time. Check these first and foremost. Number 1 is airflow. If the insulation will not dry out it needs to be replaced.

Is the duct insulated under the house? -----If not, it absolutely has to be. And insulated properly by a professional. 

Are there leaks in the ducts? Have a duct blaster test by a professional to test this. Sometimes your state will have low cost or free programs to have a professional do this. Leaks will cause condensation. 

Do these things to even see if you have a real problem that will cause major issues. Replacing duct that leaks with more ducts that leak and are not insulated will not fix your issue. Moving them to the attic will only cause you to replace your ceiling in 6 months because it is now wet with condensation on our sheetrock. Your inspector needs a swift kick in the butt. 

Let us know how it goes. 

You mentioned oil heaters and I immediately knew I may be out of my league. I wish people would say what region they are from when they ask questions on heating, cooling and whatnot. You have given some excellent advice. But each region has different standards and requirements. Even low E glass windows are different from north and south. Thank you for reminding me that not everyone needs the same nail for the same board.  

@Andrej Walilko what location are you? @Colleen F. mentioned an oil heater but we dont have these down in the south except for commercial type. Even then we dont use oil. We use NG. I am building a 60 million dollar project and it is heated with NG. The chilled water is electric. 

In residential down here in the cities we use natural gas. In the country we use propane supplied by a tank. Electric goes out in a snow storm or a thunder storm. That is why most down here use a combo so you can at least have hot water, cooking and maybe heat too. 

If you are up north, I would use an oil type heater Like has been suggested. I cant give advice on these as that is not my wheel house at all. Just remember when the power goes out, what do you need working the most? 

Nacogdoches for a college town. Lufkin for an industrial town. Either/or for STR on the many lakes here.

But I digress. I have been investing in Arkansas lately. Also a good place. 

Peace of mind is priceless. I bought a park out of state. My partners were within 5 miles of it. I had always wanted to sell the TOHs but they didn't understand why. I let it ride and after totally remodeling 4 houses in the first 3 months, all that extra money made (and then some) was gone. 

4 months later they are all sold. Everyone has their weekend back and we are making more money overall. Plus we had a recent evaluation that was more than double what we paid for it. In 9 short months. The above pros are right. The bank doesn't care about those homes. They look at the land.

I just thought I would give you another perspective. What's your free time worth?

 Do you have trees up that way? If you do then use wood that is pressure treated. If the trees dont explode every year then your stairs wont. Especially if they are dried first before you install them. Make sure they are ground treated wood and still put them over a pad so they dont touch the ground. 

No matter what you use the snow will build up and will be slippery. I have seen 3 inch expanded metal treads fill completely up with ice. I have seen concrete, wood and plastic treads get slick with ice. As far as strength, you just dont have enough shoring on the way up the stairs maybe. a 16' stair requires more than a stringer attached at the top and bottom to be structurally sound. 

 And humid I am sure. It is hard to tell what you actually have from what you post. You could have a number of things going on. I was a HERS Rater before the term was even a term. Back then it was Whole House Diagnostic Engineer. I even helped write a few of the first energy codes when Berkeley was working on it. Some have stuck to this day and some have been proven wrong. It was 35 years ago after all. Nobody but Cali cared about energy back then. Problem is, I live is Texas and these (southern) ones are the ones I helped with. I live in a humid climate (east Texas) that is also hotter than Hades. But we have humidity all year. Like 90+%. 

I dont know your climate that well but you need to keep moisture out of your attic to prevent mold from building up. Ice dams? I am at a loss for these. I need to bone up on that though since we had Montana weather in Texas for the first time since Texas has been Texas just this year. Very, very few contractors here use Ice and Water Shield. 

I see you have a local Architect that can help. Please post what you have found out so we can all get a little schooling on that climate. Your question is asked by so many people these days that it would be good to find out what works for your area. 

Basically you have 2 types of flat (any) roof. Hot roof and cold roof. Which is better depends on your climate.   Where are you located at? 

approximately 

 What type of flat roof are we talking about? Is it EDPM? Tar? 

The best way is to install insulation over the deck and install the roof over the insulation.