Humidity and home maintenance question (Knoxville: sale, houses, crawl space)

[mrunik]

I know the humidity in E. Tennessee is not as bad as many states, but I'm curious to hear from long time residents how the humidity affects home maintenance here as compared to states in the West and South West. I live in the foothill area in Sacramento and issues like wood rot and mold aren't much of an issue on well maintained homes. We're making out third trip to the area this month to experience the humidity and hopefully buy our last home.

Do you find wood rot to be a big problem?

How about mold issues?

I know tool rusting is an issue but if you dehumidify your storage area does that solve the issue or only make it a bit better?

How about brick vs. siding as far as structural maintenance and mold / rot are concerned? I would assume wood rot on brick homes is more expensive to fix?

Any other issues a new guy should be aware of concerning hole maintenance in the area?

Thanks for any replies and your continual kindness in answering all the questions I keep asking!!

[danielj72]

Yes our wet humid climate can damage your home. Roof leaks or any other point of entry for water must be dealt with quickly or substantial damage can occur. Water can get anywhere so vigilance in home maintenance is important. As far as tools rusting, yes that can happen if they are stored in a damp place. I am fortunate to have a nice basement so that is not an issue for me.

If your this concerned about this I suspect that you are diligent about regular maintenance, that attitude about home maintenance will go along way to preventing problems.

I have always wondered if home maintenance is a lot easier in the dry west.....your question seems to have answered that question for me.

[mrunik]

Yes it is easier out here because of the drier climate. Our big issue here is faulty caulking jobs. Thats why I'm concerned about the brick homes there as I've heard over time the mortar separates from the brick and rain eventually makes mold areas behind it.

[Normashirley]

I am retired to southern Middle Tennessee from the OH/PA border via five years in SoCals Low Desert area.

I can tell you I have never seen so many variations of mold as I do here and I swear it can appear before your very eyes, lol

We have vinyl siding on our home. We have our own power washer and power wash the siding down every 3-4 years with Tide laundry soap.

I go thru more Clorox here, in a year, than I did in three years on the OH/PA border. Every spring there’s a run on Clorox at Walmart and you know everyone else is de-molding too.

If you don’t end up in a home with a basement, which is rare due to the limestone in TN, be sure to have Visqueen or some such product, put on the ground in the crawl space beneath your home. It keeps the odors down, it keeps the mold down.

You also want a termite service — yes you do.

Everything is a trade off and there are negatives to any environment. I for one, have no intentions of leaving this hill until I’m carried off, and I spend a lot of time outside because I still have horses and we still do our own bush hogging and lawn mowing

[mrunik]

Originally Posted by Normashirley

I am retired to southern Middle Tennessee from the OH/PA border via five years in SoCals Low Desert area.

I can tell you I have never seen so many variations of mold as I do here and I swear it can appear before your very eyes, lol

We have vinyl siding on our home. We have our own power washer and power wash the siding down every 3-4 years with Tide laundry soap.

I go thru more Clorox here, in a year, than I did in three years on the OH/PA border. Every spring there’s a run on Clorox at Walmart and you know everyone else is de-molding too.

If you don’t end up in a home with a basement, which is rare due to the limestone in TN, be sure to have Visqueen or some such product, put on the ground in the crawl space beneath your home. It keeps the odors down, it keeps the mold down.

You also want a termite service — yes you do.

Everything is a trade off and there are negatives to any environment. I for one, have no intentions of leaving this hill until I’m carried off, and I spend a lot of time outside because I still have horses and we still do our own bush hogging and lawn mowing

Very helpful reply! Have you found a basement home is less prone to moisture / mold / termite issues?

[Normashirley]

Originally Posted by mrunik

Very helpful reply! Have you found a basement home is less prone to moisture / mold / termite issues?

That’s a good question and I can’t answer it, as it applies to Tennessee, lol

I always lived in homes with basements on the Oh/PA border and mold issues were almost non existent inside the homes. As long as the basements weren’t prone to taking on water, the worst thing was a musty odor in the basement. Powder Post Beetles were a bigger issue where I lived than termites.

When I lived in SoCal’s Low Desert Area the house was on a crawl space and it had been tented for termites before the sale to me could be completed. Never had mold issues in that arid environment.

Basements, at least in Middle Tennessee, are not common due to the limestone bedrock and they are a bloody fortune to build, if the ground does manage to support one.

Termites, however, are a really big deal in this humid environment. IMHO, it would be foolishness to not have termite control at least around the house.

We have a local pest control who sprays the outside perimeter of the house monthly (to keep the Black Widows down at the barn and they check their termite stations quarterly. I can’t say what their current prices are, as I’m pretty sure our Senior Discount is that they haven’t raised our fees since we moved here nearly 18 years ago.

Fifteen or so years ago, the little house next door, had the back bedroom floor collapse down to the literal dirt when the bathroom water pipe let go, thanks to termites that had been living there for a long time Made me really glad to be paying for termite stations

[danielj72]

Originally Posted by Normashirley

I am retired to southern Middle Tennessee from the OH/PA border via five years in SoCals Low Desert area.

I can tell you I have never seen so many variations of mold as I do here and I swear it can appear before your very eyes, lol

We have vinyl siding on our home. We have our own power washer and power wash the siding down every 3-4 years with Tide laundry soap.

I go thru more Clorox here, in a year, than I did in three years on the OH/PA border. Every spring there’s a run on Clorox at Walmart and you know everyone else is de-molding too.

If you don’t end up in a home with a basement, which is rare due to the limestone in TN, be sure to have Visqueen or some such product, put on the ground in the crawl space beneath your home. It keeps the odors down, it keeps the mold down.

You also want a termite service — yes you do.

Everything is a trade off and there are negatives to any environment. I for one, have no intentions of leaving this hill until I’m carried off, and I spend a lot of time outside because I still have horses and we still do our own bush hogging and lawn mowing

A good piece of advice here in a termite service. I have a termite contract simply because of the amount of damage they can do and the cost involved in repairs if they infest your home. The southeast is ground zero for termites.

Control leaks and humidity and mold can be kept at bay. Pressure washing services can remove it from the siding on your house. Humidity is just something we live with here, a trade off we deal with for our generally nice climate and green environment.

[gemstone1]

"I've heard over time the mortar separates from the brick "...not if done properly, and with no shifting of the foundation.

Regards
Gemstone1

[Dd714]

Originally Posted by mrunik

I know the humidity in E. Tennessee is not as bad as many states, but I'm curious to hear from long time residents how the humidity affects home maintenance here as compared to states in the West and South West. I live in the foothill area in Sacramento and issues like wood rot and mold aren't much of an issue on well maintained homes. We're making out third trip to the area this month to experience the humidity and hopefully buy our last home.

Do you find wood rot to be a big problem?

How about mold issues?

I know tool rusting is an issue but if you dehumidify your storage area does that solve the issue or only make it a bit better?

How about brick vs. siding as far as structural maintenance and mold / rot are concerned? I would assume wood rot on brick homes is more expensive to fix?

Any other issues a new guy should be aware of concerning hole maintenance in the area?

Thanks for any replies and your continual kindness in answering all the questions I keep asking!!

Remember any state East of the 'sip will have humidity. Like you said it's worse in some areas, not as bad as others. It's certainly not a TN issue. Being from Florida, I can only laugh when people complain about the humidity.

That being said, the only problem I have really experienced is if the house is constructed such that the wood meets the soil, then you will get wood rot. Or if you have a leak in your roof and moisture gets in with no where to go. Most houses are built on a slab or a concrete foundation however so no problem. Keep your roof maintained, no problem. Remember almost all houses in this day and age in the south are temperature controlled - central A/C and all that. Tools in my non-A/C garage - no problem.

Otherwise, not really a problem. Come to think of it, even when I lived in ultra-humid tropical Florida it wasn't an issue either.

[Barking Spider]

While humidity can cause some issues, the main problem with homes is the amount of rain we get. As a home inspector (retired after 30 years inspecting) I saw the effects of moisture on homes on a daily basis. The most common thing I found was wood rot at exterior doors and windows. I found it on probably 85% of the homes inspected that were over 10 years old. Most of the time it was obvious that homeowners did not keep up with painting and caulking those area.
Same goes for siding that was not maintained as well.
The stains found on vinyl siding on the shady parts of houses is not all mold/fungus. A lot of that is pollen. Pine pollen is the worst culprit.

In my area (Knoxville) we have about equal numbers of slab/crawlspace/basement homes. Basement homes are usually built because of the topography of the property. Slabs and crawlspaces are usually determined by the builders by what they prefer, or what makes them more $$$.

Humidity does affect crawlspaces quite a bit. Thats why there are so many crawlspace water proofing companies around. Some are good, some are one step below crooks. The problem is the hot humid air travels to the cool crawlspace in the summer, and brings all that moisture.
While air conditioners will dehumidify a bit, many use a dehumidifiers as well. Radon is fairly common in East TN and a mitigation system will also lower humidity in the house. Thats said, I have a radon system, air conditioning and a dehumidifier in my basement. I have a wood working shop in my basement, and I like to keep the humidity down.