If you have an attached garage at your Calgary-area home, you may have concerns about creating a safe home. Carbon monoxide and other airborne contaminants are frequently found in garages. When your garage is attached to your house, it is important to take steps to seal the connection between the garage and house to avoid having those contaminants enter your home.
What steps should you take for creating a safe home? If a detached garage is not an option, you can take these steps to make your attached garage safer:
- Keep pollutants out of the garage as much as possible. Cars, lawn mowers, paints and any other substances containing harmful chemicals should be stored outside if possible. Gas-powered machines should be started outside the garage when possible, or at the very least the garage door should be open whenever these machines are powered up.
- If you have ducts running through your garage, make sure that they are properly sealed. If you’re not sure how to do this, schedule an appointment with your HVAC contractor.
- When upgrading your furnace or remodeling, make sure that no supply or return vents are located in the garage.
- A passive roof vent should be installed to ensure that the garage’s air pressure is negative in comparison to the house. You can also vent air outside through use of a timed exhaust fan.
- Make sure that the common wall is airtight by sealing any penetrations using airtight drywall technique.
- Make sure walls are finished with drywall that is sealed with caulk at the ceiling and the floor.
- Install a fire door between the garage and the house.
- Make sure that you have carbon monoxide detectors located in your home to warn you if any carbon monoxide gases do leak into your living space.
For more information about creating a safe home or any other HVAC matter, contact Arpi’s Industries Ltd.We’ve proudly served the Calgary area for more than 49 years.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Calgary, Alberta about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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