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velvetpageIt is chilly up here.
This probably has a lot to do with two or three factors.
The first, obviously, is that it's November, and windy, rainy, and chilly outside.
The second is that our thermostate is located in the dining room. Therefore the only temperature in the house that counts is the temperature in the dining room. The office is a long way from the dining room.
The third is that, over the course of the three years we've lived here, my wonderful husband has taken out storm windows or screens or both from three or four different windows, and not put them back in. So instead of two panes of glass between us and the elements, there's only one. This is true of the bedroom, the office, and the living room windows. In most cases, the reason the storm windows never went back on is that they were bent in order to get them out in the first place, and now my slightly-handy man isn't sure how to unbend them so they'll fit again.
The fourth reason is the front door. Last year we put weather stripping on the screen door, but if you were to stand in front of it right now, the draft would be quite obvious. This last is, in my opinion, the gap which has the largest effect on the temperature of the overall house, and certainly has the largest effect on the work our furnace does. There's a vent right next to that door.
Home improvements needed: New storm windows that are easy to open, close, remove and put back, as necessary. Approx. cost: $5000. New weather stripping for both the inside and outside front doors. Approx. cost: $200. Some cheap fabric draft blocker thingies from the Regal catalogue: $20, and endless hours of frustration as we all trip over them.
Cost of doing nothing: about $400 over the course of the winter in extra heating bills.
Anyone want to start a pool on who we'll be paying this winter, the home-improvement guys or the gas company?
This probably has a lot to do with two or three factors.
The first, obviously, is that it's November, and windy, rainy, and chilly outside.
The second is that our thermostate is located in the dining room. Therefore the only temperature in the house that counts is the temperature in the dining room. The office is a long way from the dining room.
The third is that, over the course of the three years we've lived here, my wonderful husband has taken out storm windows or screens or both from three or four different windows, and not put them back in. So instead of two panes of glass between us and the elements, there's only one. This is true of the bedroom, the office, and the living room windows. In most cases, the reason the storm windows never went back on is that they were bent in order to get them out in the first place, and now my slightly-handy man isn't sure how to unbend them so they'll fit again.
The fourth reason is the front door. Last year we put weather stripping on the screen door, but if you were to stand in front of it right now, the draft would be quite obvious. This last is, in my opinion, the gap which has the largest effect on the temperature of the overall house, and certainly has the largest effect on the work our furnace does. There's a vent right next to that door.
Home improvements needed: New storm windows that are easy to open, close, remove and put back, as necessary. Approx. cost: $5000. New weather stripping for both the inside and outside front doors. Approx. cost: $200. Some cheap fabric draft blocker thingies from the Regal catalogue: $20, and endless hours of frustration as we all trip over them.
Cost of doing nothing: about $400 over the course of the winter in extra heating bills.
Anyone want to start a pool on who we'll be paying this winter, the home-improvement guys or the gas company?
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(no subject)
Date: 2004-11-25 06:29 pm (UTC)How much was your thermostat?
(no subject)
Date: 2004-11-25 06:34 pm (UTC)Any house older than the 70s (and even then) is sure to have some leakage through the walls via the outlets. Our house is about 75 years old, with thin (frame) walls, so any little bit helps. :) There are tips available through the provincial gov't's website (Ministry of Energy, I think) on how to check for leaks in all kinds of places you'd never dream of, actually -- worth a look.