There’s a Nigerian Proverb that goes, “He who lives in the attic knows where the roof leaks.” I think it’s meant to teach us that a person (or people) who live in a place are the experts about it, whether you’re talking about trying to build something in a neighborhood without asking them first or trying to treat a person’s illness without fully understanding their symptoms and history. I bring this up, not just because we’re talking about attics today, and it’s a pithy quote, but because the less reliant we have become on building and repairing our own homes, the less many of us actually know about them, and the attic is a perfect example of that. Talk about out of sight, out of mind.
Unless you have one of those great attics you can walk around in and use as a real room or storage space, most people never go up there if they can avoid it. Some people can’t access their attics safely at all. So if you don’t (or can’t) go up there occasionally, you may not know “where the roof leaks,” or what the heck else might be going on up there. Summer is upon us, and you have a very good reason to get up there yourself or hire someone to do it for you — it’s time for some summer home maintenance!
Have Your A/C Serviced
You know who just loves to get up in the attic? Your friendly A/C repairman. Summer home maintenance 101: if you haven’t had your annual A/C service, you should do it now. This will ensure that everything is running efficiently for summer, your ducts are all connected and unblocked, and unlike in this most unfortunate photo, your condensate line isn’t leaking into your attic and dripping water perilously close to a big ‘ol electrical junction box. Zap!
How Much Attic Insulation Do I Need?
There’s a lot going on in this video, but first things first. As the first wave of summer hits, another thing on your summer home maintenance list to keep energy costs down, while keeping your home nice and cool is to ensure your attic has enough insulation. And another one of those folks who love getting up in the attic for you is the attic insulation installation guy or gal.
In North Texas, optimal insulation is 13-14 inches deep. You can opt for loose fill, batt, or spray foam-type insulation, and if what you currently have is old, they will remove it, clean the space, and install the new stuff. The lifespan of your insulation should be about 10-15 years, but in Texas, that can be shorter because of the harsh weather, and is dependent on how weather-tight your attic structure is. Replacing your attic insulation qualifies as a green home upgrade under the Inflation Reduction Act, so make sure you take advantage of the tax credit.
In the video, Inspector Adrian also finds grey ductwork, a material that is no longer used because it is known to disintegrate over time. He makes note of some previous damage from wood-destroying insects and shows us where the furnace flue is exiting the attic in direct contact with wood, which we’ll talk more about below. Next, he finds a dryer vent that has become disconnected, and instead of venting to the outdoors, is blowing lint and hot, humid air into the attic.
All issues that, if no one is going up there periodically, will go unchecked and cause damage to the home.
How Common Are Attic Fires?
According to the US Fire Administration, there are about 10,000 residential attic fires every year. The top three causes of attic fires are electrical wiring, natural causes like storms or mice, and HVAC systems that need maintenance. This is a photo of a flue like the one in the previous video, that Inspector Adrian pointed out was in contact with “combustibles.” According to code, these attic flues have required standardized clearance between the metal of the flue (which gets hot) and any combustible material like wood. And this right here is why. If you get your HVAC serviced from time to time, your friendly service tech will notice this and remedy it before it gets all smoky and scary.
Always Check the Attic Before You Walk On The Roof
… So you don’t end up in the attic anyway, by way of a new, unintentional skylight. In this video, we get to see some of the unique conditions you might find in an older home where no one has visited the attic in a long while. Like a rats-have-been-eating-everything-for-many-years-and-there’s-asbestos type of time frame. The roof as seen from underneath is so desiccated, the inspectors can tell it wouldn’t hold their weight. So this is a more extreme example of the kind of deterioration that can happen over time when a property is neglected. This home is likely set to be restored and renovated, but it’s clear that a lot of structural work will be needed to bring it back to life.
As we transition into summer, it’s a great time to take a gander into your attic or call a professional whose job it is to get up there, just to be sure you know ‘where your own roof leaks’, so to speak. For a generalist’s opinion, like you see in the videos above, you can have a home inspection anytime, and get a full picture of all the systems in your home and what needs maintenance.
