Home Inspection Geeks
  • Home
  • Your Inspection
    • Single Family Homes
    • Condo Inspections
    • Multi-Unit Inspections
    • Commercial Building Inspections
    • Radon Testing
    • Your Report
  • Pricing
  • About
  • Areas We Serve
    • Aurora, IL
    • Chicago, IL
    • Evanston, IL
    • Naperville, IL
    • Northbrook, IL
    • View All Service Areas
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Book Now
  • Menu Menu

Why Won’t My Window Stay Open?

Taking Care of Your Home

Sometimes a window not staying open is just an annoyance. Occasionally, it’s a bigger inconvenience if you want to air out your bedroom or kitchen. In an emergency, it can be a significant safety issue if the window is needed for emergency egress out of a bedroom.

This issue occurs a lot when we inspect homes, and many future homeowners are concerned about this issue and think that it is an expensive fix, but most of the time, it is an easy DIY project. The key to your windows staying up are the balances on the system, which I will talk about more below.

What Is a Window Balance?

Balances are the components of a window that helps you smoothly open and close a window and keep the window open when needed. Older hung windows have an elaborate pulley and weight type balance system that is more complicated than modern balances. Most balances nowadays are constant force type that is considerably smaller. See below for the two types of balances.

Pullet & Weight Balance
Pullet & Weight Balance
‹
›

What Causes Your Window to Not Stay Open?

If your window will not stay open, 90% of the time, the balance is the issue. The balance is either broken or has disengaged from the window. Now, as you can see from the pictures above, the repair can be complicated based on what type of balance system it is. However, the modern constant force balances are effortless to fix or replace with a little proper instruction. Usually, all it takes is a screwdriver and a couple of minutes to have the windows working like brand new.

Here is a video that can walk you through that process. If you have an older style hung window with an older pulley/weight or spring-loaded system, you should hire a window professional for the repair or consider upgrading your windows. Newer windows can help you save on your utility bills and increase the comfort level of your home.

September 24, 2020

The Different Ways an Outlet Can Be Miswired

Electrical

One item that you will usually not find a shortage of in modern homes is electrical receptacles or more commonly known as electrical outlets. Outlets help power all your household plugin fixtures and appliances. Just with any electrical component of the fixture, proper wiring of outlets is essential for your family’s safety. In this article, we will talk about the five main ways an outlet can be miswired and why each can be hazardous, but before we do this, let us talk a little bit about the proper wiring of an electrical receptacle.

How an Outlet is Properly Wired

Before I get started, I will warn this is a dumbed-down version of how to wire an outlet. There are several different scenarios where there are multiple outlets and fixtures on a circuit requiring slight variation in the wiring. In simple terms, the hot wire, neutral wire, and ground wires must all attach to the right screws on the outlet. For those without much electrical background, here is a breakdown of what each wire does.

a. Hot Wire – Carries the electrical power from the source, which is usually the main electrical panel for the home. These wires are typically color-coded black (occasionally red) and need a return path (see neutral wire below to allow for the flow of electricity.

b. Neutral Wire – Carries electricity back to the power source and completes the power circuit. In an outlet, the hot and neutral lines are not connected until an appliance is plugged in. When a plug engages the outlet, it allows the electricity to flow from the hot wire through the appliance and the neutral wire.

c. Ground Wire – The ground wire is there as an electrical safety net. Grounding provides an alternative path for electricity to flow through instead of electrocuting an inhabitant. Appliances have internal grounds that connect to the outlet, so if the wiring of the appliance loses and causes a short, you are protected from shock.

If you are completely confused by what I am talking about above, hopefully, you will find the below diagram helpful:

Figure 1- Standard wiring of an outlet

Now that we understand a little better how an outlet is wired; let’s talk about the different ways it can be miswired.

Different Ways an Outlet can be Mis-Wired

1) Open Ground – As we discussed above, grounding is a safety feature. Suppose you live in an old home and see a two-prong outlet that is a receptacle without a ground as it was installed before grounding was required by code. A three-prong outlet can also be considered ungrounded if the ground terminal is found to be open (wire not connected to the ground terminal).

The safety issue with an open ground is pretty simple, your appliance will not be grounded, and if electrical wiring becomes loose, there is a potential for electrical shock. For a three-pronged outlet, the fix is simple, securely connect the ground connection to the screw terminal. For a two-pronged outlet, you will need to replace the outlet itself and then properly wire it.

2) Open Neutral – Like an open ground, an outlet with an open neutral has no wire connected to the neutral terminal screw (or has a loose wire connection). As you might deduce from reading about the purpose of the neutral wire above, if the neutral wire is not connected, you would assume there would be no power to the outlet. While that may be true the voltage of the outlet can actually increase to 240V if a neutral is shared between two circuits. The result is a power surge and your appliances breaking. The fix is most likely just re-connecting the neutral wire, but if you don’t understand the inner working of an electrical circuit, it is best to hire a qualified professional only in case.

3) Open Hot – If you have been following along, then you have probably figured out an open hot is an outlet that has no wire connected to the hot terminal screw (or has a loose wire connection). This will result in the outlet not working. The real concern is that there may be a live wire that is not connected behind the outlet, which is a potential arcing and fire hazard. Once again, the fix usually is as re-connecting the hot wire, but make sure you turn off the outlet breaker before removing it; otherwise, there can we a live wire waiting to spark or electrocute you.

4) Hot-Neutral Reversed (also called Reversed Polarity) – This occurs when the hot and neutral wires are placed on the wrong terminals (Hot Wire connected to Neutral Terminal, Neutral Wire connected to the Hot Terminal). The biggest issue with this type of miswired arrangement is that when something is plugged in, there usually are switches that disconnect the hot side since the neutral side is not live when the power is cut. Now that the two are reversed, some components may still be energized even when switched off. As an example, if you flip the switch off on a kitchen appliance and try to unjam something from a blender or toaster, there is a good chance that you could come in contact with a part that is energized due to reverse wiring. This is an electrocution hazard, and the issue should be fixed for your safety.

5) Hot-Ground Reversed – This configuration is just like the reverse polarity case except with the Hot and Neutral wires and terminals. This is a very rare configuration, and even if the outlet is wired this way, there are other things that need to happen for electricity to flow from the ground connection in the outlet. If your tester reads this configuration, then it should be evaluated by a licensed electrician to confirm what corrections need to be made.

How to Tell if Your Outlet is Miswired

You may be thinking all of this information is great, but how can I tell is my outlets are miswired. Well, if you just bought your property and had an inspection, your inspector should be able to say to you. But if not, all you need to do it buy a circuit tester like the one shown below. There are a lot of versions that cost less than $10 bucks and will do the trick.

Have questions? Feel free to write to us at info@homeinspectiongeeks.com.

September 17, 2020

Podcast: A California Method for Selling your Home for More

Podcast

In this episode, Jorge Caceras a realtor with Compass joined Tim to discuss his transition from the California market to Chicago and what he has taken with him to give him an advantage in selling properties in Illinois.  The topics discuss were:

  • What should be disclosed as part of a property sale?
  • Why is it a competitive advantage to over-disclose?
  • What type of pre-listing inspections should be considered?
  • Why Homebuyers will pay more for security?

For the full show notes visit: https://pod.co/the-home-geeks-podcast/episode-5-a-california-method-for-selling-your-home-for-more-with-jorge-caceras

September 11, 2020

Podcast: Asbestos, How to Locate and Safely Deal with it

Uncategorized

In this episode, Jordan Thomas from Indoor Science stops by to talk about one of his areas of expertise, Asbestos.  We covered a wide range of asbestos topics to help you better understand what the true safety concerns with the material are.  The items we got into are:

  • What is asbestos and why is it dangerous?
  • When was asbestos utilized in construction materials
  • The types of construction materials asbestos were used in.
  • The different types of asbestos tests that can be performed.
  • What to do if you do have asbestos in your home.

For the full show notes visit: https://pod.co/the-home-geeks-podcast/episode-4-asbestos-how-to-locate-and-safely-deal-with-it-with-jordan-thomas

September 11, 2020

Podcast: How to Keep your Exterior Walls from Leaking

Podcast

Frank Gonzalez, a licensed architect and the founder of US Building Efficiency Solutions, Inc. and US Construction Efficiency Solutions, Inc, stopped by the podcast to talk to Tim about leakage through exterior walls.  Some of the topics discussed were:

  1. What is the issue with Split Face Brick and is there a way to properly seal it?  Frank wrote an awesome blog article on this subject that you can see using this link.
  2. Why you should not paint most brick surfaces, especially if they are retaining water.
  3. What is efflorescence and why should you be concerned about it.
  4. How to make sure your windows and doors are properly caulked (Also discussed a tip on how to make your caulk not peel off)

For the full show notes please visit: https://pod.co/the-home-geeks-podcast/11-how-to-keep-your-exterior-walls-from-leaking-with-frank-gonzalez

September 3, 2020

Pages

  • About
  • Areas We Serve
  • Best Home Inspectors in Chicago, IL
  • Commercial Building Inspection Chicago, IL
  • Condo Inspections
  • Contact
  • COVID-19 Guidelines
  • Home
  • Multi-Unit Inspections
  • Our Blog
  • Preferred Contractors
  • Pricing
  • Privacy Policy
  • Radon Testing Chicago, IL
  • Sample Page
  • Schedule Your Inspection
  • Testimonials
  • Thanks
  • The Best Home Inspectors in Aurora, IL
  • The Best Home Inspectors in Evanston, IL
  • The Best Home Inspectors in Naperville, IL
  • The Best Home Inspectors in Northbrook, IL
  • Your Inspection
  • Your Report

Categories

  • Appliances
  • Attic
  • Basement
  • Deck
  • Electrical
  • Fireplace
  • Home Buyers
  • Home improvement
  • Home Inspection
  • Home Maintenance
  • HVAC
  • mold
  • Plumbing
  • Podcast
  • Real Estate
  • Resources
  • Roof
  • Safety in the Home
  • Taking Care of Your Home
  • Uncategorized
  • Water
  • Water Heater
  • Winterization

Archive

  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019

Providing Home Inspection Services to Cook, Lake, and DuPage Counties

We provide Inspection services to the Chicago Metro Area. Certified home inspection services including Buyers Inspections, Pre-listing Inspections, New Construction Inspections, Commercial Inspections, Radon Testing, and Sewer Scope Inspections.

View Service Area

Privacy Policy

773-242-9358
info@homeinspectiongeeks.com
Chicago, IL
Open Everyday 24 hours

Sitemap

© Copyright Home Inspection Geeks, Inc. - Managed by WolfPack Advising
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Yelp
Scroll to top