What are some tricks to keep your home warm in winter?
I “inherited” a farmhouse that had been fairly recently built in the 70s, but to my shock and dismay, it had very little insulation under its new roof.
A tornado had taken off the roof a few years earlier, and taken the insulation with it to Oz. It hadn’t been replaced. Subcontractors cut corners. As if no one would notice, no snow on the roof? I guess they were initially right.
They took advantage of my then nearly 90-year-old grandmother. Oh wait…I can see in places, light from the stairs. Caulk and tape. Around all light fixtures, around pipes, wrap is applied. I added insulation to the attic. R-30 in between rafters, R-30 perpendicularly rolled out, above them. For R-60. Huge, huge improvement in warmth, and to my fuel bill. The house retains heat far better.
Out comes the caulk gun, again, and three cases of caulk. Went around the windows, the trim pieces, and he sill plates between the house and foundation. Water faucets. Cable runs,
More insulation. Basement walls. R-10 Foam.
More insulation. Blown in. Inspecting the walls, the insulation had settled, leaving, in places, the top 40%, just brick and inner drywall. Just a brick and 3/4″ drywall separating us from the great outdoors.
Clear plastic, shrink-wrapped the windows.
This “stuff” gets taped to the windows, and you use a hairdryer to shrink it and take any wrinkles out for a surprisingly clear view. Put uptitight-fittight-fittingulated storm doors, working securing storm windows. Adjusted wooden trim and structural pieces around doors, and I could see daylight. Installed door sweeps. Added a thermal layer of inner window treatments. Sunny and warm, they open and let the sun warm the interior up; they close at night.
Other tricks. I reinstalled a wood stove in the basement. I installed a blower, somewhat tied into my existing duct work…heat rises. For now, they work independently. Working towards creating a big masonry overlay, creating a huge mass to slowly heat up, and very slowly release the heat over time.
Ductwork gets hot.
I do all of my baking on the coldest days, when possible. I closed off two bedrooms, I don’t use. I readjusted the airflow to the now much better-insulated basement. Heat rises. My on-again, off-again roommate’s space is so much warmer. My floors are noticeably warmer,t too
Planted (and still planting) a wind break for the N and NW side of the house in evergreens. Deciduous trees went in due west, for shade in summer, and maximum winter sunlight (heat). Trellised vines are seasonal as well.
