Dear Ken: How do you know if a garage door is warped? We seem to get cold air around it. – E.J.

Answer: The best indicator is daylight seeping in at the sides or across the top and bottom edges. These gaps are where dirt, snow and cold air leak into the garage.

If these gaps exist, a tuneup by a garage door company is needed, where the rollers and the tracks will be adjusted for a tighter fit. Plus, new vinyl weather stripping likely will be installed around the door.

One special case that has nothing to do with the door is heaved concrete. If the garage floor has responded to shifting soils by humping up in the middle, daylight gaps will be apparent on each end of the door. The easiest, and least costly, resolution is adding a second strip of that bottom rubber gasket for a foot or two along the outer edges of the door. This strip will squish and hug the concrete when the door descends.

Dear Ken: I’m getting a new roof. What are the pros and cons of replacing flat roof vents with a ridge vent? – Richard

Answer: A ridge vent is quite effective. Basically, the roofer cuts a slot in the roof plywood along the peak (the hottest part of the attic). The vent itself is a plastic baffle that sits on top of that gap, followed by a layer of shingles to hide it.

Of course, the ridge vent itself is not sufficient to get hot air moving from the attic. For proper convection, there needs to be a supply of fresh, cooler air. Typically, this air supply comes in through the soffit vents directly behind the gutters.

A ridge vent can be pricey, even when it is installed contemporaneously with a roof. So weigh the extra expense against keeping the flat vents. If you have four or five flat vents, why not double that? Or add a couple of spinning turbines, which are efficient at sucking hot air from the attic.

Dear Ken: Is it a good idea to seal a plastic deck? We have Trex, and it is faded and stains easily. – Ken

Answer: You can apply an acrylic, water-based sealer that will darken it up and make it more resistant to stains and the elements. Like most clear deck sealers, these are vulnerable to high-altitude sunlight so plan on reapplying it once a year.

One brand is called Defy. It contains chemicals that resist mildew and other fungi plus it has zinc-based nanotechnology ingredients – such as those in sunscreen – to help reflect some of that UV light.

Dear Ken: What’s the valve you talk about when we drain the water heater? – Dru

Answer: All water heaters are required to have a shut-off valve on the incoming cold-water line. Here are the steps for draining it. Turn off the water heater – including its pilot light – first thing in the morning. Do a load of wash or take a couple of showers to use the heated water. Turn off the cold-water valve and drain the tank through a hose connected to the faucet on the bottom. Turn the cold-water valve on-off-on-off rapidly to stir up accumulated material on the bottom of the tank. Once the effluent is clear, reverse the steps to put the water heater back online.

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Ken 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.