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if this is even a one story house ,i would be guessing the dryer does not have enough push to remove all the lint from the line especially if cold air is causing the inside of the line to condensate and trap the lint like a blanket on the inside walls of the pipe.if you are having a home inspection then he could remove the cap of it on top of the chimney to check for lint. but there might be some structural issuse that would cause the pipe to be vented like this.
the siding can be rubbing against the styrofoam causing noise. vinyl siding is supposed to be nailed on with large head roofing nails. they are not to be nailed tight. siding installed is hooked into bottom piece and then lightly tugged up and nailed.
..the sound channels? or are they just an air space to keep the wall ventilated.
you could put tar paper or a house wrap in between the styrofoam and the siding to stop movement squeeks. (i know ,alot of work).
i live in a very windy area and my siding never rattles. i have no styrofoam on the outside, just tar paper on the wall and then the siding. i only got siding crackling noise from the fact that the siding was attached using air staples. so when the hot summer sun popped out from behind a cloud, the siding would expand and crackle on the south side. it’s a bother but it was on before i bought the place.(my addition eliminated this wall and the new south side was attached using roofing nails.(no more noise))presure treated wood is classified as okay., as the treating is “fixed”in the wood. cutting it will release some treating in sawdust.
pressure treated wood can come from the lumber yard ‘wet’ and takes some time to air dry. this may be what you are smelling is the moisture leaving the wood.
you could use accoustical caulking around the edge to seal off the smell.http://joneakes.com/ca/ls/cgi-bin/getdetailscals.cgi?id=1241
this link is good reading. a well researched source.
fans are good. get rid of the smells and extra humidity.
a proper vent should have a flap in it. either on the roof vent(which seals better). or if you take off the grease screen there should be a little flap that may be stuck open(on rear venting models). this flap slows down some of the cold but isn’t that good in stopping the back draft.
there is also a butterfly vent that you can install in the attic in the vent pipe. it closes to a sealed positon, stopping the backdraft.
if you can dissconnect the power to the fan(if it has a plug or seperate breaker) you could put a small piece of insulation in the vent past the fan, to slow down the air flow.and if the vent is backdrafting when the furnace is on mostly ,or the clothes dryer, then it’s a good thing for that air coming in to replace the air being expelled by the appliances, eliminating any vent gas backdrafting from your furnace or hotwater vent.
the oil based stain will just sit in the brick until it eventually off-gases.
mineral spirits may leave more of a mess. there are some products ,that are an enzyme type that eat the oils away, but usually used on flat driveways.to antique you take a thinned down latex and wipe it on ,wait a minute or 2 and then wipe off the extra. or variations of sanding areas to scuff off paint.
newer drains are 2 inches.mainly for the showers at the moment.
there are fittings that reduce the pvc pipe down and then use the a slip joint with a tightening collar. check for parts at the home center .
power to main panal in house then an over 100 amp breaker from the house panal to the shop.cable to the shop must be sized for the distance and amperage in the shop panal.
as long as the colors compliment each other then you just put a division line down the wall where the rooms seperate from each other, and paint one color on each side. a strait line or a wavy line. depending on the colors.
not typical unless requested. but open a light box/fixture in the cieling (and if you don’t like electricity then kill the breaker) , and you should be able to see if any insulation in the joist cavity.
is the column hollow? you can build up a new base plate with 2 or 3 flat peices glued (exterior glue) and screwed together if the rot is only a small amount.
a solid post can be scarfed together with a new peice if the rot is too high but only in the square portion of the post.
wood windows ,vinyl windows, aluminum windows?
but with any window it is important how the weather seals are. is it one small seal or two together for more sealing power.is the paint on them applied in the factory or on the job for wooden windows. do they use the low expansion foam around the window when they put it in . if you are replacing old sash and weight windows, are they putting insulation in the old sash weight pockets.are they putting batt insulation behind the extension jambs to fill the space.are they finishing the outside with caulking and flashing on top of the window to ensure a good weather seal from water penetration.
see if you can see 3 of their jobs, to see how good the work was done.do you have galvenized pipes? that could cause the tank to put out more water than can come in (due to expansion of heated water).
and a partly empty tank can build up presure in the line till the relief kicks in to vent.
just a thought.there is foam pipe insulation ,if you have the room or even sill gasket (80 foot rolls though).
just leave the room side of the insulation open to allow room heat to keep it warm.and that way the block does not directly radiate cold air at the pipe.but are the pipes freezing there or in the ground(?)
are your gutters draining at least 5 to 10 feet from the house? and is the ground sloped away from the house.
that is a good start to keeping water away from the foundation.
or is all this here and any rains bring the water in?
rot o roo ter the drain tile if it exists.or a water seal product like thom p son s. can be applied to the inside.if the leaks are not pouring.(grout cracks first) do not ever use black tar as it is not to be used inside.
another kinda cheap fix is if the water is only coming in from the walls then you could pour a small curb gutter around the outside edge to direct the water to a dug sump pit. a quick fix if your floor slopes the right way.other wise there is internal drain tile systems that dig up the outside edge of the basement slab and put in drain tile and rock a put a egg crate type plastic against the wall to drain this water to the new drain tile and sump pit.
the expensive one is digging up the outside fill and resealing the wall with water proofing products.
