SPECIAL REPORT: The extreme heat and your house
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - If you’ve lived here for some time now you already know the heat can get in the way of our day-to-day lives even the roof over our heads. There are many things you can do to protect your home from those extreme conditions.
As your house protects you during the summer heat, homes also have to endure the extreme weather.
It all starts with the roof whether it’s asphalt shingles or concrete the sun is constantly beating down on it. Jonathan Lines is the owner of Lines and Lundgreen Roofing and Insulation.
"We've got guys working on a roof behind us, where the roof was installed about 30 years ago but because of the extreme heat, the felt underneath is absolutely cracked and has disintegrated. And so we are lifting up all the tile and we're going to put down a new felt, and then we're going to reset the tile." Lines explained.
He says his company sees this at least once a week during the summers but it's not just that. During maintenance calls, crews may even find damages to your roof.
“It's extremely critical that people are checking their roof yearly. They think that, you know, just because it's a brand new roof, they don't really have to do any maintenance but with the expansion and contraction between the aluminum between the steel between the tile which is concrete, or between the fiberglass shingles or the wood shakes, you actually have expansion and contraction, and it will break those seal,” he warned.
From outside to inside, cooling down your house is the number one thing you want to do. Take it from Ariel Sanchez, a local electrician.
“By just turning off the switches on their lights, either being in the kitchen or restaurants, they can help dissipate heat, and another thing is, leaving the fans on. So leaving the fans on, even at a low speed, will help keep that cool air right,” the electric expert stated.
Sanchez says regular incandescent bulbs radiate up to 80 percent heat but there are alternatives.
“If you switch over to leds and give it to an led bulb, or to the new led trims, you can actually cut down to zero,” Sanchez added.
There’s also a new product for your roof that will help cool down the inside.
“There's a new material that you can install underneath the tile, and it's a radiant barrier and it will actually help keep your home cooler. We've done a few tests with that that's a good material.” Lines continued.
Your power box can heat up quick also. During the summer, calls for service are up and electricians say it's best to shade them from the sun.
Back inside the house, Albert Espinoza from Master Finishes says to always check your baseboards for cracks.
“One of the main things that happen is a lot of your seals are on your baseboard. See all this is nice and sealed needs some touch-up paint but nice and seal won't come back. Well, if you turn off your ac 100% all that humidity or the non western area, we'll contrast, it will move, and it'll split all your caulk out,” Espinoza explained.
Down to the floor, hardwood panels are known for sliding due to the heat and humidity.
He told us about a new type of flooring that interlocks on all four sides.
“Nowadays there's a lot of flooring options out there that will eliminate not 100% eliminated, but will help, not have it as bad. They are interlocking floors. So the whole floor moves together which will naturally help it out. But either way, with our extreme weather we have,” Espinoza said.
Overall, whether it's inside or outside, the heat can cause major havoc if you are not prepared.
“Always check caulking and we check your flooring. It does also move on tile, you'll notice some grout marks crack you'll notice pop tiles, and that has a lot to do with the key difference that you see,” Espinoza recommended.
