Seal Drafts to Save Money

Seal drafts to save money, we’ve all heard this. Almost everyone’s home has a draft; it doesn’t matter if the home is newly-built or if it has been standing since our state’s inception, there are likely air gaps around windows, doors, electrical outlets, attic hatches, dryer vents, etc. And these air gaps can be a problem for even the most efficient furnace this winter. But there are a few simple methods to close up these air gaps. Here’s how…

Weather stripping is hands-down one of the simplest and most inexpensive methods to seal air gaps around doors and windows. Around the perimeter of a door, check for strips of light. If you can see light, then there’s an air gap.

Check the exterior weatherstripping first, because oftentimes it’s the culprit. Weatherstripping can age and break down. And if it appears broken down, it’s fairly simple to replace. Simply remove the old by pulling it free from its track and, assuming the old piece was the perfect length, lay the old piece alongside the new, mark the length, and then cut the new piece to size.

Then simply put the new piece into the track and, again, check for any sign of light. If light appears at the bottom of the door, your door sweep may be misaligned with the door. Some door sweeps can be corrected, and if your door sweep will not allow adjustment, consider replacing the old door sweep for one that can be adjusted.

When you have all the windows and doors sealed, then consider hanging heavier, insulated curtains. Insulated curtains will do a lot to keep out the chill. Yes, insulated curtains are more expensive, but they are going to increase the efficiency of your furnace, and those savings will eventually recoup the initial cost.

And remember, with the cold weather upon us, it’s time to replace your furnace’s filter and have your furnace cleaned and serviced for the winter season. You don’t want to have your furnace go out on a cold night this winter. If you have any questions, or would like to replace your windows and not have to worry about weather stripping, contact Lynnrich today!

Your Home’s Roof and Siding Take The Brunt of The Elements

Your home’s roof and siding take the brunt of the elements. And, because these components of the home are constantly battered by wind, rain, snow, and hail, you will need to replace them, or at least fix them. Roof replacement happens. Especially here in Billings, Montana where the summer storms can drop great quantities of large-sized hail onto our roofs, weakening it to the point of replacement. But how do you know if your roof needs to be replaced? There’s the obvious—call a roofing contractor post-storm for an inspection—but there’s a few things that you can do, on your own, to determine if your roof needs to be replaced.

For starters, any home with an asphalt shingled roof should have the shingles replaced after twenty years. If your roof is considerably younger, inspect it. There’s the option to go up onto the roof from a ladder to inspect the shingles, but this isn’t always safe nor practical. You can get the same idea of the condition of the roof, when you stand back from the home and look at the shingles through binoculars. You’re looking for anywhere that shingles are peeling-upward, maybe some have big fissure-like cracks through them, or maybe there’s complete sections of shingles missing—if this is the case, don’t hesitate to call a contractor, a leaky roof can cause a lot of damage if left unchecked.

Another area to check for roof-wear is in the attic. When the sun is bright, go up into the attic and turn off every light. Inspect the underside of the roof at the areas of the chimney stack or the stack vent—any place where there is flashing installed to seal out the elements under the shingles. If there’s light passing through anywhere near the flashing, even tiny, pin-holes, the flashing probably needs replacement and you’ll probably need a large-scale repair, or possibly even a replacement.

If you find that there’s significant damage to the roof, call your roofing contractor. Lynnrich carries quality products such as Highlander laminate shingles, which offer not only great protection, but also a uniquely dimensional appearance to the roof when installed.

Seamless Siding

Seamless siding is as beautiful as it is strong. Made of steel, with a natural look of wood grain, it’s still highly resistant to rust, hail and color fade. Seamless siding is virtually maintenance free, although, every once in a while, it will need to be cleaned.

For those with vinyl or wood siding, a power washer might be overkill; the highly pressurized spray of the washer could possibly dislodge panels of siding or damage the panel. Cleaning vinyl or wood siding may also require the use of chemicals. For seamless siding the power washer is the best tool that you can use. Just mix up a solution of soap and water to use with the pressure washer. If you have never actually used a pressure washer before, it may be wise to experiment with it on your sidewalk or driveway: the force of spray from the pressure washer can be explosive.

Before you clean the siding, make sure you disconnect the electricity at the breaker. You should always be careful when using water—especially a power washer!—near electrical outlets. Most every home’s exterior electrical outlets have some type of cover in place, and be sure that these covers are in use before you spray down the siding. Before you use the power washer, use a brush or a long handled broom to loosen the dirt from the siding; a bucket of water nearby to dip the brush into will help. Set your power washer to the lowest setting while you are spraying on the soap: you want the soap to cover the siding, if the washer is set to high it might blow the soap from the siding. After you have soaped up a section of the siding, use a garden hose to clear the soap. It’s easiest to work like this in sections, because you don’t want to allow the soap to dry to the siding—dried soap wont hurt the siding, it’s just counterproductive.

Seamless siding is built to last, and minor cleanings from time to time are all that it will take to ensure that the siding continues to look spectacular. If you are interested in seamless siding, please contact us today!

Infinity Windows Are An Investment

New windows are an investment, an investment both for the long-term beauty of your home and also for the energy efficiency of your home. Thankfully, Infinity windows do both. Infinity windows have the traditional beauty of wood windows with modern features.

Quality windows work as great insulators of your home. One way that quality windows, like the Infinity windows, accomplish this is by allowing less heat to escape through the glass. Another way to think about the qualities of well-insulated windows is to consider the draft you feel when you’re standing next to a poorly efficient window. The draft you feel isn’t a draft of air at all, but the cold from the outside pulling your body heat through the window.

Obviously to replace inefficient windows throughout your home would be very beneficial. The trouble areas, however, are where there is warm, humid air (think rooms near or inside bathrooms), or kitchen areas, or areas where there is a woodstove or a fireplace constantly at work. The warm, wet air will come into contact with the colder surface of inefficient windows and cause condensation problems. Condensation can freeze windows shut, or drip down into window trim and soak in, grow mold, etc. Oftentimes today’s modern construction is built with a bathroom included within the master suite, and, oftentimes in these master suites, there isn’t enough ventilation in the bathroom to adequately clear the humid air from the shower. Oftentimes a high efficiency window will help to control the amount of condensation on the window pane, because the inside of the window pane will in fact be warmer than a lower efficiency window.

A higher efficiency window can have as much as a ten-degree greater temperature on the inside of the glass panel than a lower efficiency window. Conversely, in the summer time, this translates to less transferred in through the window, and therefore cooler temperatures.

Infinity Windows at Lynnrich can be purchased in most any size and shape, with numerous trim packages and colors, hardware packages ranging from quiet and sophisticated to antiqued brass.

5 Signs that You Need New Gutters

Gutters are extremely important to your home. Not only do they prevent water damage to your roof by directing rainwater to the ground, but they can keep water from seeping into your home’s foundation by directing it away from your home. Sadly, like all other structures, gutters do not last forever. They are susceptible to damage and need to be replaced over time. Here are some signs that will tell you when that time has come.

You See Any Kind of Cracks

Small cracks in your gutters may not seem like a big deal, but they can turn into larger cracks if they are left unchecked. The same goes for any split seams where the gutter sections fit together. In any case, these openings are signs that your gutters should be replaced, no matter how minor they may seem.

You See Peeling Paint or Signs of Rust

Reddish brown flakes on your gutters are signs of rust, which will turn even the sturdiest of structures into a corroded mess. If you don’t have metallic gutters, you might still notice paint peeling or flaking off if you look closely enough. Both of these are signs that your gutters are old and should be replaced before it is too late.

You Notice Pools of Water by Your Foundation

Gutters are meant to direct water away from your foundation; this is why they have spouts that extend several feet away from your house. If you notice pools of water or signs of mildew near your foundation, your gutters are not doing their job. There is most likely a leak somewhere, which will call for a replacement.

You Notice Water Damage Near or Underneath Your Gutters

Just like the pools of water that are not supposed to be near your home’s foundation, water damage directly underneath your gutters means that they are leaking. Replace your gutters before the damage gets any worse.

Your Gutters are Sagging

Finally, gutters that are sagging or pulling away from your house are definitely in poor shape. This is actually the easiest sign to look for since you will be able to notice it clearly from the ground. In any case, call a roofing professional to have a new gutter system installed when you notice this or any of these other signs.

If you have any questions about gutters for your home, call Lynnrich Siding today.

Summer Storms and Roof Damage

Was your house hit by the recent hail storm? If so, give us a call today so that we can inspect your roof and siding have damage.

Summer is upon us and while the warmer days and longer night make such an appealing daydream, it also means that dramatic hail storms, violent lightning storms, and even possible tornadoes are upon us.  It may not be all that bad, unless you are someone who has had to struggle with an insurance company to cover your end of a replacement roof.

If you are concerned about damage to your roof from a storm, give Lynnrich a call to evaluate your roof for you, and Lynnrich can even help you to take the next steps with your insurance company to ensure that your home stays protected from the elements with a functional roof.  Document, document, document… Document the damages to your roof , so that your insurance company can’t question the how or when damage happened.

Determine if your roof has been damaged

You should be able to check the majority of damage from the street or yard of your home. Obviously the best thing would be to walk the roof and check for damage up close. But the roof can be a dangerous place, and you may just want to call Lynnrich for an up close inspection.  But, if you want to do the preliminary check on your own, head out to the street or backyard—if you’re in the street please be sure to check for cars—and inspect the roof.

With all of the hailstorms that we’ve encountered in the past few years, check to if the hail has taken out entire sections of asphalt shingles.  Also, shingles will bruise or dent from hail, although these dents or bruises are not always visible. A set of binoculars to check the roof can be beneficial.  Don’t forget to check the downspouts of gutter for grit that has been pelted from the shingles during the storm.

Even if you cannot see damage from the street, in the event that there is grit from the shingles either in the downspouts, on the ground at the base of downspouts, or in the gutters, it may be time to call a professional to check your roof.  If you have spotted damage to your roof post-storm, make sure to document the damage, if possible, with photographs.

If your home or business suffered damage in any hail storm, please contact Lynnrich today!

Spring Cleaning the Siding on Your House

Rain Gutters Care Tips

Rain gutters are one of the most overlooked and undervalued protections on your home. You don’t notice them, they work unfailingly (that is until you don’t maintain them and they fail), and they protect your home by carrying water away from the home’s foundation. Water that drains into the home’s foundation can cause damage. Water damage can be extremely expensive.

Rain gutters can become damaged when they are improperly installed, or when they are left unchecked and uncleaned for lengths of time. Oftentimes, rain gutters that are not cleared of leaves in the fall, can back up with un-drained water, and that water can freeze and refreeze in the winter months, damaging the gutter systems and sparking the potential for the devastating ice dam. Rain gutters should be installed with downspouts that progress to elbows which move the water out and away from the home.

If your home’s rain gutters are damaged, or have just survived one too many Montana winters to be effective, it may be time to consider a new gutter system at Lynnrich.

Lynnrich sells seamless rain gutters that seemingly blend into the home’s façade. These gutter systems carry water effectively from the home’s foundation, and maintain a home’s curb appeal in the process. Because the gutters are installed by professionals, and heavy duty hardware is used to attach the gutters to the home, there is little chance for sagging. Seamless gutters also use seamless hangers, so the old, more invasive and noticeable, method of hanging gutters is obsolete. Also, certain products such as gutter guards, which prevent leaves and grass from going into the gutters and clogging them, while, at the same time, allowing water through, make the gutters practically maintenance-free.

The gutters sold at Lynnrich come in numerous color choices to match or contrast with your home’s siding. Also, even though the gutters are seamless and maintenance free, gutters will still include elbows, downspouts, and miters that travel water away from the foundation.

If you have any questions about a new gutter system for your home, call Lynnrich Siding today.

 

Winter Roofing Care Tips MT

Icicles hanging from the roof can appear beautiful, like a nostalgic image of winter. But icicles, especially an abundance of icicles are also a sign of a poorly ventilated roof. And an ice dam on the roof can be a big problem. Ice dams can damage the roof shingles, the siding, the soffit, tear out the gutters, even drip down water into your home, drip water into the walls, through electrical wiring, etc.—it’s a big problem. But, there are ways to fix an ice dam, having quality venting at the eaves, and properly insulate the attic spaces. Lynnrich Siding offers several products which work in combination with a properly insulated home to ensure that there will virtually never be an ice dam on your roof. And Here’s how to make sure that an ice dam never appears on your roof.

Ventilation

While the products at Lynnrich are wonderful to look at, and add real beauty to the outside of your home, the soffit/fascia/gutters systems are also designed to move water away from your home properly, and also to properly vent the ridge line of the house, where it’s possible for hot and cold zones to meet. An ice dams develops when the warm air inside the home heats the underside of the roof, causing the melt to then trickles down the roof to the cold eaves, where it then freezes; the water continues to melt, freeze, backs up beneath the shingles, leaking the melt up and beneath the shingles and down into the home. Soffit vents circulate cold air beneath the entire underside of the roof, thereby keeping the roof at a constant temperature.

Insulation

In addition to the soffit/fascia/gutters systems Lynnrich offers, you can also add insulation to the areas of the attic that most need it. Ice dams are also a sign of an improperly vented attic. Adding proper insulation keeps the heat retained within the home where it belongs.

If you have any other questions about ice dams, or how Lynnrich’s products will protect your home from the elements, while also contributing greatly to your home’s curb-appeal, call Lynnrich today.

 

Tips to Keeping Your Siding Looking New