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Most houses with a sump pump rely on the pump to keep the basement from flooding.  When a big rain storm comes through, the sump pump will really be needed... and that's also the time that the power to a  neighborhood is most likely going to get knocked out, disabling the sump pump and allowing the basement to flood.  I have a sump pump in my own house, and it's been going off about once every two minutes after the heavy storms last night, which got me thinking about this topic.

If your sump pump quits working, will you know about it before your basement floods?  Do you have a backup in place?  Does it work?  Are you sure? If you depend on a sump pump to keep your basement from flooding, it's important to have a backup system in place, just like it's important to back up the hard drive on your computer.  Possibly even more important.

It's one of those things that most people don't think about until it's too late.  If you want to protect your basement from flooding, get a backup system.  There are a few different backup systems available.

Secondary Electric Pump

A secondary electric pump would be a good option to keep your basement from flooding in the event that your primary sump pump failed.  The secondary pump would need to be installed a little bit higher in the sump basket than the primary pump.  The downside to installing one of these is that if the power to your house went out, the pump would be useless.

Battery Backup

By far, the most common type of backup is a battery powered system.  This consists of a big heavy battery that's about the size and shape of a car battery, as well as a backup sump pump that sits in the sump basket a little bit higher than the primary pump.  This system will save your basement from flooding if your sump pump fails or your power goes out.

The Basement Watchdog is a brand that makes backup batteries with a warning to tell you if the battery has a problem.  This is a good feature to have, because I find that many backup batteries are dead.

If you already have a backup battery for your sump pump and it doesn't have a warning to tell you if the battery is dead, you should test it periodically.  You can simply unplug your standard sump pump and fill the sump basket with water using a garden hose to test the backup pump.

Hydraulic Pump

Another backup option for your sump basket is to install a pump that is powered by the municipal water pressure coming in to your home.  The nice thing about hydraulic pumps is that you don't have to worry about keeping a battery charged all the time, and if you have an extended power outage, you won't have to worry about the pump failing.

The downside to using a hydraulic sump pump is that they're not nearly as powerful; the video below shows just how slow they pump water.  The original video was nearly three minutes long, so I cut out the middle as it got a little boring.

If the water at your home is supplied by a well, a hydraulic backup pump obviously wouldn't be any good, as a power outage would also knock out your well pump.

High Level Alarm

No matter what type of system you have installed, it's a good idea to have a high level alarm installed in your sump basket.  These alarms will sound off if the water level in your sump basket gets too high, and you can buy one for under ten bucks at Home Depot.  If you don't have a backup system in place, these alarms will at least tell you that you have a problem and you need to jump in to action.

I inspected a very nice home last year with a completely finished basement that definitely could have benefited from one of these high level alarms.  This house had in-floor ductwork; when the sump pump failed, the ducts ended up filling up with several inches of water.  The water level in the sump basket never got high enough for the basement floor to get wet, but the standing water in the ducts acted like the worlds largest whole-house humidifier, which caused major condensation throughout the basement; even the outlet covers were dripping with water.  If the sump basket had been equipped with a cheap little high level alarm, this never would have happened.

If you want to have a backup sump pump professionally installed, hire a plumber to do it.

Reuben Saltzman, Structure Tech Home Inspections - Email - Minnesota Home Inspector

Have you ever brushed your hand up against a dimmer switch and noticed that some of them get extremely hot?  I've done this many times while inspecting houses, and whenever I do, I look in to the reason for the heat.  Occasionally I find an overloaded dimmer switch that creates a fire hazard.

To figure out if a dimmer switch is overloaded, you can add up the wattage of the lights that are being controlled, and compare that to the rating on the dimmer switch.  The majority of dimmer switches are rated for 600 watts - this rating can be found right on the front of the dimmer switch, underneath the cover plate.

In the photo above, you'll see the 600 watt rating, as well as 500 and 400 watt ratings.  When two of these dimmer switches are installed right next to each other, the little metal tabs will need to be broken off on one side of each dimmer, and the total allowable wattage gets reduced, or 'derated'.   In the photo below, the tabs are removed on one side of each of the dimmers, derating the maximum allowable wattage on each to 500 watts.

When more wattage is needed, special dimmer switches rated for higher wattages can be installed - for instance, Lutron sells a line of dimmer switches that are rated for 1000 watts each, and these dimmer switches don't take up any more room in an electrical box than a standard 600 watt dimmer switch.  While this is a lot of wattage, it's not all that uncommon.  I've actually come across several twelve-light chandeliers that take 60-watts bulbs; 720 watts for a single fixture.

So, getting back to the temperature thing - if you put your hand against a cover plate and it feels hot, is this a problem?   I started thinking more about this while inspecting a house in Plymouth the other day, after finding eight 65-watt bulbs controlled by a dimmer switch that was installed right next to another dimmer switch - it was the one pictured above.   In other words, the dimmer was controlling 520 watts, but was only rated 500 watts.    I noticed that the cover plate was very hot, so I pulled out one of the cover plate screws and stuck my thermometer in to the hole - it was 145 degrees.

Out of curiosity, I set up a little experiment to get a better idea of how overloading a dimmer switch would affect it's temperature.   It should go without saying, but I'll say it anyway - Don't try this at home.  You could set your house on fire, get electrocuted, or your wife might wonder why you're doing some dumb experiment instead of helping with the yard work.  Don't ask how I know.

I installed a 600 watt dimmer switch in a single gang, 18 cubic inch box, and ran some lights off it.  Of course, there are plenty of variables that aren't being factored in to this little experiment, such as the box not being installed inside a wall, no cover plate installed, etc... but this was good enough for me to make a few comparisons, which is really all I was after.  I turned the dimmer switch on to full brightness, and measured the temperatures by sticking my thermometer in to a cover plate screw hole; this seemed like a good way to get consistent temperatures.

With a 600 watt dimmer running a full 600 watts of lights, the temperature got up to 135 degrees.  At 750 watts, the dimmer switch got up to 158 degrees.   Next, I tested a 1000 watt dimmer with a full 1000 watts.  This was the part that made me smile - the temperature went up to exactly 135 degrees.

Conclusion:  A properly installed, fully loaded dimmer switch will get quite hot to the touch.   This isn't necessarily a problem, but when dimmer switches get hot, it's worth checking the rating of the dimmer switch and the wattage going through the dimmer to help make sure the dimmer switch isn't overloaded.

By the way, this post is focused on 'new' dimmer switches, which get hot with lights at their brightest setting.  Older dimmer switches do the opposite - they get hottest with the lights at their dimmest setting.  You can read all about how the two different types work at HowStuffWorks - Dimmer Switches.

Reuben Saltzman, Structure Tech Home Inspections - Email - Minnesota Home Inspections

Check out the photo below.  Can you guess what's missing?  Here's a hint: this garage doesn't have a service door, but it does have an automatic garage door opener installed.

If you said "pizazz" you would be correct, and you might also make a good home stager, but that's not what I'm talking about today.  This door is missing an emergency release. If the power went out, the GFCI outlet inside the garage tripped, or the garage door opener failed, the owner would be locked out of this garage.  The fix for this is quite simple - install an emergency release kit.

These kits cost about $15, and they take about ten minutes to install, if you really take your sweet time.  This is a very DIY project.  The only tools you'll need are a drill, drill bits, and a wrench. These emergency release kits are very simple devices - they connect to the pull-cord on the garage door opener, allowing you to disconnect your overhead door from the opener, as shown in the photos below.

Reuben Saltzman, Structure Tech Home Inspections - Email - Minnesota Home Inspections

The CPSC estimates that between 2003 and 2007, there have been over eleven thousand injuries caused by structural failure or collapse of guardrails at outdoor decks.  It's not tough to understand why - when people have parties in the summer, everyone hangs out on the deck.  Throw in a keg of Busch Light, a few (ahem) 'people' that make the rockin' world go 'round, and a weak guardrail... boom.  Guardrail collapse.  Weak guardrails are one of the most common safety issues with decks.

The current requirement for new deck guardrails is that they withstand 200 lbs of pressure at any point along the top rail (Table R301.5).  Actually, this standard applies to all guardrails, both inside and outside the house, but decks are the place where it matters most.

My standard method for testing guardrails has always been to just push on them a little.  If they feel weak, I recommend having them reinforced or rebuilt.  Once a guardrail moves an inch or two without much pressure, I stop pushing; I don't want to be the one to break it.  Home inspections are supposed to be visual, I know, I know... but I like to touch stuff.

I've never used any type of testing equipment, but I recently picked up a fancy-schmancy piece of highly specialized deck guardrail testing equipment to help get a better idea of what 200 lbs of pressure felt like.  Jealous much?

Ok, it's just an $8 bathroom scale.  After some playing around, I've learned that 200 lbs is about the most pressure that I can personally apply to the top rail of a guardrail, just by standing on the ground.  In the photo below I'm applying about 150 lbs of pressure, and I'm straining to do it.

The weakest point in most guardrails is always going to be at the end, where it terminates next to the house.  All that typically supports the guardrail at this location is the 4x4 post, assuming posts were used to construct the guardrails.   In the photo above, I'm pushing on the guardrail at the end.   This guardrail actually performed fairly well - most guardrails won't tolerate nearly that much pressure.

The surest way to construct a guardrail that will withstand 200 lbs pounds of pressure is to use metal brackets that are designed just for this purpose.   A couple manufacturers that make such brackets are DeckLok and Simpson Strong-Tie.   If special metal brackets aren't going to be used, the support posts should be constructed with full size 4x4s (not notched at the bottom), attached with through-bolts, and extra blocking usually needs to be installed to help keep the guardrail secure.

In the photo below, the ovals show where extra blocking was added.  This blocking tremendously stiffens the joist that the guardrail is attached to, making it so the guardrail won't budge even when a full 200 lbs of pressure is applied.

The bottom line is that weak guardrails are a safety hazard that should be corrected, especially on decks that are high above the ground.  For specific guardrail construction methods and rules, turn to page 15 of the  Prescriptive Residential Wood Deck Construction Guide.

May is Deck Safety Month - Related Post: How to prevent your deck from collapsing: start by attaching it properly

Reuben Saltzman, Structure Tech Home Inspections - Email - Minnesota Deck Inspections

Most ice makers and whole house humidifiers I inspect have a saddle valve supplying the water. These are devices that allow for a very fast, cheap, do-it-yourself installation of a ¼” water supply line.

Saddle valves are installed by tightening a metal clamp on to a water pipe, then tightening down a needle valve until it pierces the water pipe.  No cutting of pipes is required, no soldering, no special tools… simple.  Very DIY.  The needle just pokes a hole in the pipe, and I've heard it can be done without even turning off the water... not that I've ever tried.   There has to be a catch, right?

There is.  These saddle valves are prone to leakage, and they're not allowed by the Minnesota State Plumbing Code.

Most of them don’t leak, but they have a much higher chance of leaking than a properly installed water valve.  If they do end up leaking, the repair will involve doing all the stuff that you’re supposed to be able to avoid – cutting, fitting, reaming, cleaning, soldering, etc.

My advice is to not use saddle valves.  If you plan to install an appliance that needs a ¼” water pipe, have a proper shutoff valve installed.  It will take more time to do it right, but you'll dramatically lower the chances of it leaking.

If you already have a saddle valve in your home, try to leave it alone.  Every time you operate the valve, you increase the chances of creating a leak.

Reuben Saltzman, Structure Tech Home Inspections - Email - Minnesota Home Inspector