Cooler weather is headed for us, with a 20 degree temperature drop expected. And I'm cold right now, sitting here with two sweaters on!

Here is a article i ran across this morning. here is the link that i copied and pasted it from, it should answer all your questions.. http://chimneysweeponline.com/library.htm Q: We just bought a newer, tightly built house, and are grappling with a rather strange problem with our fireplace. We might expect to smell a little smoke when we have a fire going, but we don't. We notice a strong smoke smell that comes from the fireplace when we're NOT using it. We had the chimney cleaned and it didn't help (maybe our Sweep didn't do a good job?). Do you have you any idea why our fireplace smells so smokey, and what can we do about it? Lionel A: Wood-burning fireplace chimneys smell smokey whether they've just been swept or not, because no matter how thoroughly your Sweep brushes the flue, he can't possibly remove every trace of soot and soaked-in creosote. Even if he were able to sand-blast every microscopic remnant of wood smoke deposits out of the flue, the very first wood fire would deposit a fresh layer, and the pungeant, smokey odor would return. So the real question isn't why your fireplace smells smokey: the question is, why is the odor entering your house? First, let's consider the fact that even the most tightly constructed homes have many, many openings (or air pathways) to the outside. There are intended air pathways, such as ventilation intakes, kitchen & bathroom exhaust fans, clothes dryers and combustion appliance flues, to name a few. There are also numerous unintended pathways, such as electrical, plumbing, cable and ductwork penetrations, leaky windows and doors, unsealed building cavities, ventilated flashings around vents and chimneys, etc. Companies that perform air infiltration testing express the total of all these air pathways as if they were put together into one big hole. It is not uncommon for a supposedly "tight" house to have an air pathway total of over 400 square inches, the equivalent of an open window measuring 20 inches square! At any given moment, air is transferring out of the house through some of the pathways that make up this 'window', and replacement air is entering through whichever of the others offer the least resistance. The biggest air pathway to the outside in most houses is the fireplace chimney. A fireplace chimney can allow airflow in both directions. When in use, a fireplace chimney is a powerful evacuating force: the chimney updraft created by an open fireplace fire can move hundreds of cubic feet of air per minute out of the house, in many cases more air than the other pathways combined can supply! This is why you don't smell the smokey odor when a fire is burning in the fireplace: it is only when the fire dies down, and the updraft diminishes to the point where evacuation from other sources overcomes it, that the airflow in the fireplace flue reverses and the odor returns. So what other forces are evacuating air from the house, causing makeup air to be pulled in through the fireplace chimney? At any given moment, a combination of evacuating forces might be at work. Some are mechanical, as is the case with unbalanced central heating and air conditioning systems, exhaust fans and clothes dryers. Some are from natural causes, as when the wind blowing against the house creates positive pressure on the windward side and negative pressure on the leeward side. Some are thermal, like the rising exhaust gases in woodstove, furnace or water heater flues. Another example of thermal evacuation is the so-called "stack effect". Heated air has lower density than cold air, so the warm, buoyant air in your house wants to rise through the roof, while the cold, heavy air in your unused fireplace chimney wants to flow downward into the house. If there are pathways in the upper stories or roof to allow the rising room air to escape, the warm air will flow up and out of the house and replacement air will flow down the chimney and in through the fireplace. The stack effect is more pronounced in taller, leakier houses and in houses with cold chimneys (like chimneys on outside walls, exposed to outdoor temperatures for their entire length). Rainy weather also accelerates the stack effect, because the wet air entering the chimney is heavier than the dry air in the house. Whatever the cause, whenever air travels to the outside of the house, an equivalent amount of air attempts to enter somewhere to replace it. If the chimney offers the path of least resistance for the makeup airflow, the smokey smell of wood creosote will enter the house along with the replacement air. What can you do to stop your house from using the fireplace chimney for makeup air? All you need to do is create enough resistance to the flow of air down the chimney so that the other air pathways will provide less resistance to nature's tendency to equalize air pressure inside and outside the house.

"Most of the buyers I take out put an offer in on something between 8 and 10 houses." Wow! Are you in a super hot market where everything gets multiple offers? Weedyacres, no, not at all. This is average. In a super hot market, offers were usually on the first or second house and I even had a few offers sight unseen. Seems like the majority of posters are right in line with my averages. If people know what they want, its usually pretty easy to find the right house for them. My experience has been that people who look at many many houses dont really know what they want or they feel they need to see everything before deciding on something. THe other scenario is that they are from out of the area and are trying to get a feel for what each town offers for the money. I talk to my clients. I dont show them every single house in a given price range. A little discussion and you can usually weed out their dislikes before wasting time visiting the house.

Hi again. Yes, he has a vistation order - has had ever since the divorce. So there's no doubt he should at least get visitation - the only question there is if they could somehow enforce it. I expressed my concerns to the attorney that it might be best if we got some transition visits before full time custody (so we could all get to know each other). He said he thinks DH can get custody now, but even if not he'll at least get visitation - but the trick there is that she will take off again and we're back to square 1. The attorney says they may be able to have child support order amended so that if he got visitation and she took off again, the court would order that CS be escrowed (DH would still pay, but she wouldn't get the $ if she ran) If she knows her money is at stake (she doesn't work, CS is her only income) then she might stay put and play fair. According to attorney, the only thing to be done about her not allowing him his visitation is to file contempt charges. Nothing criminal about it - simple contempt of court order. So unfortunately, yes, she can just take off with them and it's not really that big a deal from her perspective. Of course part of the statute is that she has to pay all costs associated with the proceedings - but like we'll ever see any of that money from a woman with no job. I don't know how CS works everywhere, but here in Ohio you get a debit card - so your current address isn't needed to get your money. It is put on your card each month and you just use the card like any visa/debit card. CS doesn't even have MY current address and it hasn't effected my receipt of support (I'm just lazy and haven't updated records in a year - my ex and I get along great so no worries there) So, she has never told the court or CS where she's been the last 5 years either. DH has paid THOUSANDS in attornies and investigators to try and find her over the years - but she keeps skipping. So he's hoping this time she stays put long enough for him to get some resolution to all this. As to DH wanting custody so he doesn't have to pay support - I don't buy it. He paid her CS even BEFORE the court ordered it - and when he had contact with the kids he also bought their clothing and school supplies and misc items (because she flaunts sick son church-to-church to get donations, free clothes, free school supplies - whatever she can. This woman has NO SOUL! She also eventually gets caught stealing from each church!) DH is genuinely concerned with making sure his kids have what they need. And despite his unrealistic expectations of what is to come, he truly wants to be in the kids' lives. Ceph - you are so right! I am focusing on the negative language with myself and I need to change that. I KNOW I CAN handle this - but honestly, I don't know if I WANT to. But I also know myself, and I will suck it up and do the right thing - I can't leave 3 kids who need help. Damnit! By the way - I am SOOO glad I found this site. It's really reassuring to know other genuinely good people are willing to admit their inner struggles and the fact that stepparenting is hard. It's nice to not feel alone!