This month's quote:
"Blessed are those who give without remembering and blessed are those who take without forgetting."
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Winterizing Your Home
Patio furniture should be covered to help it last longer. If a deck needs a fresh coat of sealer, this is the time to do it. Drain the gas from lawnmowers or just run them until the gas runs out.
Drain any water fountains and unplug the pumps. Have sprinkler systems winterized by the end of October, which include turning off the water supply and blowing compressed air through the sprinkler lines to purge them of water to prevent from freezing and bursting.
Check the roof for missing or damaged shingles and have them replaced. Check flashing around chimneys and other roof projections. Make sure gutters and downspouts are clean, having no leaves, as wet leaves remaining over winter add significant weight and volume to the gutter when frozen, which increases the risk of damage. Also, check for tree limbs that could be weighted down with ice that may fall, damaging the roof.
Turn off the bib-tap for your garden hoses from the basement. After doing this, turn on the bib-tap to drain any remaining water out. Remove hoses and, roll them up and hang it in a basement or garage. Place an insulated cover over the hose bibb.
Check basement windows wells and remove any leaves or garbage. Remove old caulking between the metal or cement block and the outside wall and replace with new caulking, as well as caulking around windows, vents and other openings. Examine walls and foundations for cracks. If any are found, caulk them to keep moisture out. Also insulate exterior outlets and switch plates with foam sealing gaskets.
All exposed piping needs to be insulated. Foam insulation will do, but it is best to wrap them with electrical heating tape first, then insulate them.
Put a cover on the central air-conditioning unit and tie it down, if possible. Any window units should be removed, if possible. If they cannot be removed, close the vents and cover unit with a similar cover used for central air-conditioning units.
Hot water tanks should be insulated with an insulating blanket.
If fireplaces aren't used very often, cut a piece of fiberglass insulation and stuff it into the fireplace behind the glass doors to block cold air coming down the chimney. Of course, remember to remove this before making a fire. Have the chimney cleaned by a professional chimney sweep. Check the fire brick for any open mortar joints. Have these repaired immediately. Store firewood in a dry place away from the exterior of the home.
Have the heating unit tested yearly to make sure it's working properly. One of the most neglected, but easiest maintenance features is to change the filter every month. If the furnace is oil or propane, top off the tank. Some manufacturers estimate a savings of up to 30% can be saved by installing a programmable thermostat, so this is something to consider installing. Install a carbon monoxide detector and remember to replace the batteries often in them and in all smoke detectors.
If the temperature drops below freezing where you live, adding extra insulation to the attic will prevent warm air from creeping to the roof and causing ice dams.
Sample Exam Questions
1. Open compressor motor windings will be indicated by a/an _____ resistance reading on the ohmmeter.
A. Infinity
B. Less than normal
C. Low resistance
D. None of these
Correct answer: A
2. Shorted compressor motor windings will draw _____ amperage.
A. No
B. Excessive
C. Low
D. Somewhat higher
Correct answer: B
3. When checking voltage across a two terminal overload, line voltage is indicated when _____.
A. Open
B. Close
Correct answer: A
4. Shorted compressor motor windings will be indicated by a/an _____.
A. More than normal resistance reading
B. Excessive resistance reading
C. Less than normal resistance reading
D. Infinity resistance reading
Correct answer: C
5. Grounded compressor motor windings will be indicated by a/an _____ resistance reading.
A. Excessive
B. Infinity
C. Less than normal
D. Low
Correct answer: D
6. When checking voltage across a two terminal overload, no voltage is indicated when closed.
A. True
B. False
Correct answer: A
7. On compressors, the oil level in a sight glass should be ____ the center of the sight glass.
A. At or slightly below
B. Exactly at
C. Above
D. At or slightly above
Correct answer: D
8. Loss of oil in a compressor could be caused by all of the following except _____.
A. Refrigerant leaks
B. Oil logging of the evaporator
C. Low refrigerant charge
D. Faulty starting components
Correct answer: D
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Read by intelligent construction professionals.
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Have a great month!
Maggie (editor)
www.contractorexam.com
Additional Information
Reference books - if you can't find the title through one of your favorite construction book suppliers, try doing a title search at amazon.com or isbndb.com to see if the book is still in print or if a used copy is available.
We would like to remind all visitors to our web site that we can not take responsibility for the accuracy of reference document titles and/or editions given to us by third party testing administrators or state licensing boards. We only re-publish the information we find on their web sites. If you want to know when our trade page was last checked against their published information, check the date at the very bottom of the web page.
