Dear Ken: Do you recommend the wind turbines I see on many houses? If so, are they hard to install and do they let water into the attic? – Thomas

Answer: They are a good choice because of the wind. When these devices spin, it creates a vacuum effect that helps pull warm air from the attic. The warm air that rises by convection also augments the spinning effect. So turbines are a great way to cool an otherwise hot attic space, especially on a hip-roof house – a design that prohibits gable end vents.

If you were to look through one of these turbines from underneath, you’d see the design is a series of twisted, narrow slits – not the holes you’re worried would let in rain. Also, when they’re spinning (which is most of the time), they tend to deflect raindrops.

In theory, turbines aren’t difficult to install. You simply cut a hole in the roof and tack them down. The hard part is flashing their bases into the shingle system and then sealing the installation from the weather.

In the winter, when we like to preserve attic heat, wrap the turbines with a garbage bag and bungee cord. That not only retains the warm air but also prolongs the life of the bearing assembly on which the spinning part rests.

Dear Ken: A landscaper I’ve hired wants to put plastic under my dryscape area next to the house. I thought that wasn’t a good idea. – Marge

Answer: You’re right; plastic is a no-no. While it does control weeds, it also holds water near the house and it’s important to keep the soil dry next to the foundation. Over the months, water tends to creep under the plastic and saturate the soil. Since plastic retards evaporation, the moisture stays and begins to move under the house. If you must have a weed barrier, there are landscape, meshlike fabrics that can “breathe” and let most of the ambient moisture escape.

Dear Ken: My basement is finished, but they forgot to put in the floating walls. Now the Sheetrock is buckling. Can I fix this myself? Who should I call? – Cal

Answer: The floating wall system protects the structure of the house from concrete slabs that move around (most times in an upward, heaving direction). You probably have seen them in model homes. They’re easy to spot: The part of the wall that rests on the concrete floor consists of two 2x4s separated by an air gap. The gap allows the floor to move without affecting the walls.

In your case, the gap either was left out or it has closed. There might be more than one cause for the buckling. If the Sheetrock touches the floor and it is bulging on its own, you can remove the baseboard and cut a slice off the bottom of the wall panel. You also can relieve the pressure by cutting studs in two selectively inside the affected wall. After cutting access holes in the Sheetrock, use a reciprocating saw to make the slit in each vertical 2×4.

These are pretty easy repairs to make if only limited areas of the basement are affected. On the other hand, if the whole lower level is involved, you should contact a structural engineer and a contractor to make repairs similar to what I’ve described around the entire perimeter.

These troubles are usually water-related. So check the drainage and downspout systems to make sure that water doesn’t soak into the soil near the house. The best way to prevent that is by attaching 3-inch flex pipe to each downspout and running it at least 10 feet away from the foundation.

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Moon is a home inspector in the Pikes Peak region. His radio show airs at 9 a.m. Saturday on KRDO, AM 1240 and FM 105.5. Contact him at aroundthehouse.com.