home performance

Do You Need a Dehumidifier in Your Sealed Attic? What Contractors Won’t Tell You

· October 10, 2026
Do You Need a Dehumidifier in Your Sealed Attic? What Contractors Won't Tell You

I got a call last Tuesday from a homeowner in the suburbs—let’s call him Mark—who’d just paid $8,000 to have his vented attic spray-foamed at the roofline. He was thrilled with the energy savings already. But then, three weeks into winter, a different contractor came out for an unrelated HVAC estimate, took one look at … Read more

Whole House Dehumidifier Without Ductwork: What Actually Works

· October 10, 2026
Whole House Dehumidifier Without Ductwork: What Actually Works

Last month I got a call from a homeowner in a 1970s split-level with no central air and no ductwork to speak of. She’d bought a “whole house dehumidifier” online — 50 pints per day, good reviews, seemed like the right size for her 2,200 square feet. She’d been running it in her basement for … Read more

Why I Tell Homeowners to Ditch the Powered Attic Fan

· June 28, 2026
Why I Tell Homeowners to Ditch the Powered Attic Fan

Search “attic cooling fix” online and you’ll run into two opposite camps: one tells you a powered attic fan is the quickest way to pull heat out and take pressure off your AC, the other insists passive ridge-and-soffit venting is all you need and that electric fans are a waste of money. The powered-fan camp … Read more

Your Annual HVAC Checklist: Skip the $200 Tune-Up Trap

· June 27, 2026
Your Annual HVAC Checklist: Skip the $200 Tune-Up Trap

Here’s the blunt truth: a maintenance visit that skips the one part actually causing your problem isn’t maintenance at all — it’s a wasted afternoon and a bill you shouldn’t have paid. That’s exactly what a homeowner learned last October when her furnace quit overnight, right as outdoor lows sank into the 30s, just six … Read more

Vapor Barrier Insulation: When to Use It (and When to Skip It)

· June 23, 2026
Vapor Barrier Insulation: When to Use It (and When to Skip It)

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

Radiant Barrier in Your Attic: Does It Actually Work?

· June 23, 2026
Radiant Barrier in Your Attic: Does It Actually Work?

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

MERV 13 Filters: Why Your System Might Not Handle Them

· June 19, 2026
MERV 13 Filters: Why Your System Might Not Handle Them

A mismatched air filter can quietly wreck a perfectly healthy furnace — and that’s exactly what greeted me last month at a house in Edina. The homeowner was fed up: his electric bill had jumped 18% over the winter, the upstairs bedroom stayed stubbornly cold, and the equipment seemed to never shut off. A quick … Read more