VERY INTERESTING: HOUSES

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Shocking Facts About Your House You Never Knew

Though we're all quarantining at home now, many of us still know remarkably little about the space that occupies so much of our precious time. From how the paint on your home's exterior was originally chosen to the real reason behind those creaking floorboards, we've rounded up the most amazing facts about your home you never knew.

1.The creaks in your house have little to do with its age.

While you may hear people bemoaning the nighttime cacophony in their old home, those creaks aren't actually all that likely to be related to the age of the house.

The sounds are more likely to be the result of temperature and humidity changes inside your house, explains Alex Berezowski, owner and general manager of The Foundation Experts. "Wood is porous and can expand and contract with changes in temperature and humidity. During the wintertime, wood flooring tends to contract, and in the summer, it often expands," says Berezowski, who notes that if your home's relative humidity isn't between 35 and 55 percent, you're more likely to hear creaks.

2.That space under your lower cabinets serves a very specific purpose.

There's a reason your lower cabinets are lifted and protrude slightly—and it's not just aesthetic. This area, called a toe kick, allows you to stand closer to the counter while you're cooking, explains Jason Pickens, designer and host of HGTV.com's The Work Around.

"It's just enough when combined with your countertop overhang to keep you from having to lean your upper body forward while working. At the same time, it also raises the doors of the cabinets off the ground so they can swing over your toes," Pickens explains.

3.The cabinet under your sink isn't really for storage.

While you'll likely find assorted cleaning products under the kitchen and bathroom sinks in most homes, that's not what the cabinet is for. "It's actually designed to be able to access the plumbing in case of leaks," explains Robert Taylor of The Real Estate Solutions Guy.

And you might want to keep it that way—or risk damage in the future. "When used for storage, the plumbing gets bumped around and leaks occur," he says.

4.Your brass doorknobs may keep you healthy.

If your home has brass doorknobs, it's staying cleaner on its own than homes with wood or glass ones.

"Brass doorknobs will typically disinfect themselves in about eight hours," explains Vancouver-based Realtor Shannon McNulty. "This is because the metal ions in brass and copper are actually toxic to mold, viruses, and other living things." 

5.Those holes on the bottom of your brick house aren't foundation problems that need correcting.

While they may look like a foundation problem, those holes in your brickwork shouldn't be filled in.

Architect Colin Haentjens, a designer with The Knobs Company, notes that these holes—called "weep holes"—are actually an essential part of brick structures. Haentjens says that between a home's exterior brick and the plywood beneath, "there is an air gap that functions as a rain screen—any moisture that gets behind the brick drains down to the bottom of the wall and out through the weep holes."

And as always have a chilled day from the Viking