HVAC and Insulation From a Working Tech
Dana Sorensen · June 25, 2026
Early on, I chased a low-refrigerant diagnosis before checking anything else, and it taught me a lesson I never forgot: airflow problems mimic refrigerant problems almost perfectly, and jumping to conclusions costs homeowners real money. That lesson came rushing back last July when a homeowner named Ron — not his real name — called me … Read more
Dana Sorensen · June 25, 2026
Search online for humidity fixes and you’ll run into two contradictory answers within the first page of results: one site tells you to buy the biggest portable dehumidifier you can carry home, another insists you need a dedicated unit installed specifically for your crawl space. Only one of those answers fits most situations, and confusing … Read more
Dana Sorensen · June 24, 2026
Spring thaw always does the same thing to a house: windows crack open after months sealed tight, and that first rush of fresh air has a way of exposing exactly how stagnant everything got while they were shut. I was mid-audit at a house going through that exact transition last spring — blower door test … Read more
Dana Sorensen · June 24, 2026
Nowhere on a spec sheet will you find a line item for “seasonal cottonwood buildup,” and no code inspector ever swings back by years after a permit is signed off to check whether an outdoor unit can still breathe. That blind spot is exactly what caught up with a homeowner I’ll call Greg last July. … Read more
Dana Sorensen · June 24, 2026
55°F on the supply air probe — that reading is what settled a very expensive standoff last August, inside a house that had already burned through two other contractor visits that same heat wave. The homeowner had one company tell her the system needed a fresh refrigerant charge. Another walked through, shrugged, and told her … Read more
Dana Sorensen · June 24, 2026
Nearly every homeowner operates on the same unshakable assumption: if carbon monoxide starts building up inside a house, the alarm on the hallway ceiling will sound before anyone gets hurt. Fifteen-plus years of running combustion safety inspections has taught me that assumption is flat wrong, and nothing proved it faster than a family I met … Read more
Dana Sorensen · June 23, 2026My own basement gave me this lesson years before I ever thought to write about it. I’d walk across my hardwood floors on a January morning and swear the boards were colder than the driveway outside, even though the furnace ran constantly and the basement below felt perfectly warm. By that point I’d already swapped … Read more
Dana Sorensen · June 23, 2026
Guess wrong on vapor barrier insulation when to use it, and the mistake won’t show up for months — sometimes years — by which point you’re looking at a repair bill several times larger than the material would have cost. That’s the stake sitting underneath what sounds like a simple question. If you’re already unsure … Read more
Dana Sorensen · June 23, 2026
Pull up a photo I still have saved from a job in Gilbert, Arizona, and you’ll see exactly why this topic makes me want to grab homeowners by the shoulders before they sign a contract. The picture shows a sheet of radiant barrier foil lying flat across an attic floor, shiny side facing up, with … Read more
Dana Sorensen · June 22, 2026
Last spring, I was crouched at the edge of a homeowner’s attic hatch, flashlight in hand, while she read me three insulation quotes off her phone. Her 1,400-square-foot attic had racked up bids of $1,800 for blown fiberglass, and $7,500 and $9,200 for closed-cell spray foam from two other outfits. Every one of those three … Read more