In this episode of the Ask Derrick Cole Show, host Derek Cole and guest William Skipper answer homeowner questions about two common issues. First, they discuss the implications of standing water in a yard, explaining how it often means water is also present in the crawlspace, leading to humidity, mold, rot, and poor indoor air quality that can infiltrate the HVAC duct system. They note that homeowner insurance typically won’t cover gradual moisture damage and advise homeowners to inspect crawlspace dampness and address drainage promptly. Second, they examine whether an existing HVAC system can be tapped to serve a new addition such as a sunroom or master suite. They explain that the decision depends on the size of the addition, the existing system’s capacity, and the number of new exterior walls, warning that undersized systems cause discomfort throughout the house and can strain ductwork. Practical examples illustrate when tapping is feasible (small closet‑type additions) versus when a new or upgraded system is required. The episode ends with a call for listeners to submit more comfort and energy questions.
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On this episode, we talk about water standing at my house, and can I tap onto my existing system when I build a new addition? You ask your comfort and energy questions and they get answered. This is the Ask Derrick Cole Show. Hey, it's Derrick Cole. Welcome to episode 94. Yeah, 94 of the Ask Derrick Cole Show, answering your home and energy questions. And as you notice, I have somebody with me today. That's William Skipper. Yeah, just making sure. So it's kind of a nasty week, right? I mean, all this rain and everything.
I wouldn't say nasty.
Kind of a nasty week.
I wouldn't say nasty.
And for once, you haven't been here and haven't seen this, but I've been kind of salty in the last few shows, so I feel pretty good today. Not sure I'm gonna feel when you start talking, but right now I feel good. All right, let's get into the questions. Wait a minute. Yeah, I'm ready.
Water is standing in my yard. Is it under my house too?
Water is standing in the yard. Is it under my house? What do you think?
I would just about bet that it was the case as will.
So is it going to be a problem?
Most definitely. Crawl spaces and moisture do not mix. You're going to have humidity problems in the house. You can have growth, biological growth of some sort, and rot as well, which are not, not good for your home.
Yeah, and the bad news is that the homeowner's policies are not going to cover this because it's not something like a pipe burst and it happened all of a sudden. It's going to be a slow process if you don't get the water out.
Most points, that's right.
Yeah, so if the water is staying in your yard, it's probably under your house, which is a problem because water and wood don't really mix too well together. So you're going to have that challenge there. So what I would do is once it dries up a bit is crawl into the house, see how damp it is, see if you need to pay attention to what's happening there because You're breathing that air in the house, right?
Yep, 80% of the air you breathe in your home originates in the crawl space. Air travels in the home as a stack effect, chimney effect, so it's continually rising through the house. It's going to start here and you're going to breathe that nasty air in the home.
Yeah, I've actually had a homeowner challenge me on that point that the air comes from down to up. He's like, "I don't believe you." I'm like, "Well, think about people smoking a cigarette. When you light a cigarette, where does the smoke go? It goes up. Air is not different than that." All kinds of things could happen if you have standing water in your house, so that's something you want to pay attention to and get it fixed right away. Really, if you go in your house at all and it's damp and sticks to your hand, You have a moisture problem.
And we are in the air conditioning business, and what we see most of the time is very seldom do you have a duct system that is airtight. If it's not airtight, we've got damp, musty air under the house and biological growth. Where is it going to eventually get? In the duct system. And where is that going to carry it? Into your home.
Yeah, so it could be a problem you're breathing the air. It can also penetrate into the duct system. Things are happening because now You're introducing cold air and condensation to that moist, damp environment, and it's going to be a problem for you. So I would check it out and see what's going on.
I'm building an addition to the side of my home. Can I just tap into my existing system?
When you add to your home, I'm going to say it depends because it's not 100% necessary you need another system or you need something added on. If you're building a little closet room, on the north side of the house, you might be able to tap into it. But most cases, people are building sunrooms or living areas, adding to the house, right? So now you have 3 exposed walls to the outside that you didn't have before. Where there was 1 wall, now you have 3. So you're gonna have to attack it with something greater than the system you have in your home.
That's right. What you see most of the time is an addition, is a substantial addition most of the in most cases. You're either going to add, like Derek said, a master suite. We see a lot of master suites added on to homes where you add a master bedroom, another bath, a walk-in closet. That's pretty substantial square footage. If your unit in your home was put in with any sort of quality or concern for sizing, you don't have enough capacity to add a tap-on and go to that room. But like Darryl says, it's not 100%. There are cases that somebody put a 5-ton unit in a house that might not need but 3 tons. It's oversized, and it might be to your benefit to tap onto it and go for energy and, you know, unit purposes. But most of the time, not.
Yeah, most of the time not. And we've been in that house, we've all been in the house where they've had the sunroom and, yeah, I just want to tap in a few little runs to my duct system, throw it over here.
Miserable.
No, not going to happen, not going to be comfortable because now you're building 3 walls of glass. And this lady in particular, it was on the southwest side of her house. And she was like, I'm using my unit. I said, where's your thermostat at? She pointed to the middle of the house where it's supposed to be. There is no way that thermostat can read what's happening in that sunroom.
And what you need to be aware of, most people say, well, if it doesn't work, this addition, I'm fine with it if I'm not comfortable. You're not just gonna be not comfortable in that room, it's gonna affect the whole house. Because when you take that air off of that duct system to go into that room, you're taking it from somewhere that needs it in the rest of the house. So you're not just gonna be affected in that new area, you're gonna start suffering in your old part.
Yeah, it's gonna— I mean, it affects the whole envelope. What we call the house is the envelope. So it— I mean, there's a cause and effect. It's like taking medication. I mean, yeah, you're You're curing one thing or you're masking over symptoms, but you could have higher blood pressure or it could lead to liver problems. You know, there's always a cause and effect. So when you start tapping into existing things and not sizing it properly, you're going to have challenges.
Problems, not challenges.
Problems. Yeah, you're not going to be comfortable. I mean, you're spending that money to add the house, add the room on, and you've turned a comfortable home until the whole house is now uncomfortable.
Exactly.
Yeah. All right, that's episode 94 of the Ask Derrick Cole Show, but William Skipper was here, so we asked him too. But all your questions, please hashtag them #AskDerrickCole and we'll get them on the show. You ask your comfort and energy questions and they get answered. This is the Ask Derrick Cole Show.
