by "boxrocket" (boxrocket)
Published 11/20/2017 at 06:47
by "boxrocket" (boxrocket)
Published 11/20/2017 at 06:47
Tags: Winter
STARS: 2
I grew up in a house that was just younger than my parents’ marriage by a few years (late 1970s). As such, one of the things that I didn’t realize was so effective was the HVAC system in that relatively-new house, especially until I bought my own house, which is almost as old as my parents themselves (context!). So while it was new enough for central air rather than a radiant heat system, I suspect the designers didn’t quite have the insulation and HVAC ratios quite figured out, at least not for the Midwest, which experiences all four seasons, sometimes all in one day. The previous owners attempted to improve that with a newer system, but I suspect at was as much for efficiency in running costs as it was an update. As a result, I’ve spent the few years I’ve owned the place figuring out how to overcome the HVAC system’s shortcomings, which usually requires fans and space heaters, depending on the season.
This morning it was literally almost freezing in the bathroom, which shares its long wall with the back of the house. I believe the only insulation between the inside of the bathroom and the outdoors is the tile walls, some plaster, and the brick exterior (not including the window). Thankfully, there’s a space heater in there, but I keep it as far away from anything potentially flammable or wet as I can get it, so it takes a while to be effective. What’s particularly silly about that bathroom being so cold is that it’s almost directly above the furnace/fan unit in the basement and has the shortest ducting in the entire house, but it barely seems to get any air (and no, it’s not blocked).
Long story short: I may be buying a heated toilet seat soon.
"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
11/20/2017 at 07:01, STARS: 5
If you plan to keep this house for a long time, look into getting spray foam insulation injected into the walls. I’ve got a 1925 bungalow in Chicagoland. I gutted the second floor and had the second floor walls and roof sprayed. It’s amazing what a difference it makes. They can do it without gutting the house by drilling into each stud cavity and injecting the foam in.
It is expensive though, so I would only do it if you plan to stay in the house for a while.
"duurtlang" (duurtlang)
11/20/2017 at 07:04, STARS: 2
I’m not an expert in any way, so take this with a grain of salt, but: wouldn’t it make most long-term sense to install proper insulation to the whole house? It would significantly reduce both heating requirements in winter and cooling requirements in summer.
"MeatSaber" (ax30)
11/20/2017 at 07:29, STARS: 0
Various forms of insulation can be installed but I would have a profession check it out before doing so. Depending on the permence value of the other pieces of the wall assembly you may end up with some serious moisture issues in the frame and subfloor. Modern homes use air barriers in the wall that act as vapor retarders to help combat this problem. A HERS rater or a Building Science Advisor could help you find a long term solution if there are any that are active in your area.
"TheRealBicycleBuck" (therealbicyclebuck)
11/20/2017 at 07:54, STARS: 1
That would depend on the annual cost of hvac, the cost of the renovation, and whether or not he can afford to pay for the renovation. Think about ripping out the interior portion of all of the exterior walls. Drywall isn’t that expensive to replace, but bathrooms and kitchens are (think wall-mounted cabinetry and tile).
If he can afford to do the injectable expanding foam, that would be a much cheaper route, but it’s still expensive and there’s a risk of damage. It’s a different formulation, but they use this stuff to fill gaps under foundations and driveways, even going so far as lifting the concrete back into its original position. It takes talent to get that right and talent isn’t cheap.
"TheRealBicycleBuck" (therealbicyclebuck)
11/20/2017 at 08:01, STARS: 2
This is how they used to do it. I burned my butt on the one in my grandma’s house when I was a little kid. That’s when I learned to move away from the heater when pick my towel up off the floor. :)
"Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom" (will-alib)
11/20/2017 at 08:07, STARS: 1
My old home (CT) was a small Cape a mile from the coast that had zero insulation as well. It was built in 1959, and I guess heating costs were so low then nobody cared. We only discovered this when the kitchen was remodeled, so roll-in insulation was added, and the plastered front wall got taken down and insulated also. The older windows were a bit drafty, esp the front where the wind hits, but the added insulation did make a difference.
"KevlarRx7" (kevlarsupra)
11/20/2017 at 08:14, STARS: 1
Have you looked into solar powered air heaters?
"diplodicus" (diplodicus)
11/20/2017 at 08:17, STARS: 1
How many cold air returns do you have? My house is mostly uninsulated because its old as shit. Will be fixing that eventually. My upstairs used to have one heating vent and no cold air returns. It would be 10 degrees or so colder than the downstairs in the winter and 10-15deg hotter in the summer. I got a couple more vents installed upstairs, and two cold air intakes as well. Now it is much better.
"facw" (facw)
11/20/2017 at 08:42, STARS: 2
Careful: http://oppositelock.kinja.com/holy-shit-1820578125
"Svart Smart, traded in his Smart" (svartsmart)
11/20/2017 at 09:01, STARS: 1
I have a baseboard heater in my apartment’s bathroom, which stays on for most of the winter (day and night) to provide a modicum of warmth for the bathroom and adjoining kitchen; and a heater fan built into the wall of my living space, which has a theoretical thermostat that works more like an on/off switch. Definitely can’t afford to keep the heater fan running all the time, nor do I want to: It would be too hot. I’m currently shopping online for an electric oil-filled radiator, as one of my supervisors at work has one to keep her office warm in summer (when the building AC is massively overboosted) and in winter (when the building heat is sorely lacking), and it works marvelously.
"TorqueToYield" (torquetoyield)
11/20/2017 at 09:15, STARS: 1
They can blow in cellulose based insulation relatively cheap and easier than expanding foam.
"Highlander-Datsuns are Forever" (jamesbowland)
11/20/2017 at 09:17, STARS: 1
This is an excellent idea. My dad had it done on his 1907 house and it made a huge difference.
"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
11/20/2017 at 09:21, STARS: 1
That stuff is amazing, isn’t it?
"Highlander-Datsuns are Forever" (jamesbowland)
11/20/2017 at 09:36, STARS: 0
Yes, and I was trying to remember how much it cost, seemed like less than $10,000.
"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
11/20/2017 at 09:45, STARS: 1
Probably. Mine was like $6500. Not cheap, but definitely worth it if you’re going to be in the house for a while.
"TheRealBicycleBuck" (therealbicyclebuck)
11/20/2017 at 10:06, STARS: 0
It takes significantly larger holes, top and bottom, in every stud cavity. The materials are cheaper, but the repairs are more complicated and expensive.
"boxrocket" (boxrocket)
11/20/2017 at 12:45, STARS: 0
That is part of the plan. I’m lucky because my dad owns a remodeling company, it’s just a matter of timing and finances. The timing is a factor because it’s the only shower on our main floor, and usually whenever we have money it needs to go to some other project, haha.
"boxrocket" (boxrocket)
11/20/2017 at 12:53, STARS: 0
That’s exactly my situation. Plaster walls with 4"x4" tile over 3/4 of the walls and crappy peeling wallpaper on the top 1/4, amd a brick exterior. Thankfully the windows on the backside of the house were updated by the previous owners.
"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
11/20/2017 at 12:54, STARS: 2
I hear you there. We’ve put tens of thousands and countless hours into this house. And yet, the outside desperately needs facias and soffits and a paint job. The kitchen is a second-hand POS. The first floor bathroom needs to be gutted, and the basement is an un-finishable hot-mess. They joys of home ownership!
"boxrocket" (boxrocket)
11/20/2017 at 12:59, STARS: 0
3 CARs and non-adjustable floor vents. My wife works for an HVAC contractor and it’s on our list to update the ducting setup someday. We had to fix the leaking basement foundation the 1st year, asbestos tile removal and abatement 2nd year, roof 3rd year, gutters last year, and deciding to redo the lawn next year and replace the original front windows (which are 105"x105"!), or redo the two main-floor bathrooms, the other of which is set up with a disability-access bathtub and toilet, but both are functional, so less need to replace.
"boxrocket" (boxrocket)
11/20/2017 at 13:28, STARS: 1
Oh yes. I’m extremely paranoid about space heaters, so none run unless my wife or I is in the same room (hence why the bathroom takes so long to heat up), each one gets a surge protector, and the few fully-grounded outlets are the only ones that get the surge protector plugged in. Even though we updated the circuit breaker box prior to moving in, the wiring itself is new enough to not require replacement, but it also means there’s only about 1 grounded outlet (3 holes per plug) per room. The rest are a three-high stack of dual-plugs, which is nice for 2-prong plug-using items like lamps, but lousy for 3-prong needing items like computers, TVs, power tools, etc.
"boxrocket" (boxrocket)
11/20/2017 at 13:31, STARS: 0
I haven’t, though solar is on the list of potential future upgrades, since our house faces South. The bathroom in question faces due North and gets zero sun, unfortunately.
"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
11/20/2017 at 13:39, STARS: 0
Those are pretty good.
"KevlarRx7" (kevlarsupra)
11/20/2017 at 14:06, STARS: 1
I’m researching all sorts of options at the moment for the same problem, in a perfect world you’d have a heater that charges of solar and turns on when you need it.
Have you looked at infrared heaters? They’re apparently cheap to run but more efficient than storage heaters.