We first experienced frozen water pipes one night a couple weeks ago. Thankfully, the pipes' contents thawed the following afternoon due to a combination of afternoon sun and a warm kitchen. (Note to self: don't try to save money on the energy bill by shutting the cold-and-unheated bathroom door.)
Well, it happened again. No wawa in the bathroom. And I don't think we'll get the benefit of any afternoon warmth today. So, if anyone has any good ideas on how to cut through an inch thick layer of a very durable steel and concrete mixture that currently serves as my basement ceiling, give me a call. I'm currently unconvinced that there are enough saw blades in the world to tear through it.
And it's apparently a little chilly under the kitchen sink, too. At least, given that the dishwasher soap is frozen, that's my assumption. But you know what happens when you assume wrong.
We keeping the house at a nice, cool, brisk, 60 degrees. We learned to keep the house cool when living in College Hill with a 50-year-old-45%-efficient Williamson furnace and 100+ year old windows that didn't quite shut. Of course, with aluminum windows and replacement doors that are less than ideal, this house's temperature also qualifies to be discussed with a wind chill factor.
The November energy bill was $430, almost exclusively for natural gas. And it wasn't even cold. We were pleased that December's bill was only $480-something, given that it was a much colder month. Draining the crud out of the bottom of the boiler tank seems to have its benefits on the bill.
I guess we better start budgeting for this summer's official Rm113 Energy Saving Blitz. I'm predicting a new boiler. Possibly a new water heater and a few windows. Just don't ask me how we're going to fund such an endeavor. I'm not a big fan of debt.
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get in my sweats and huddle under a blanket.
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2 comments:
Hey Scott-
You're not alone. We're over here in Westwood (my wife and I) in a 70-year old house that has solid masonry walls (appears to be 2 rows of brick on some sort of block. The kitchen and kitchen nook (including inside the cabinets) is always freezing.
We've got all new Pella windows, and they do OK, but still let a little cold in. We've also got some original leaded pane windows that might as well just be giant holes in the wall. Need to get those replaced.
To the beast in the basement: it's actually (2) beasts -- when it was installed over 30 years ago, gas was cheap, and installers almost always oversized. They told the former residents that Bryant didn't make a furnace 'big' enough to heat this house, so they daisy-chained two gas-eating monsters together...the noise when it kicks on (just the gas) sounds like something from the pits of doom. It's still doing what it was built to do -- and it was built well -- but it is from another era and has maybe a 40-50% efficiency rating.
We need to replace some windows and doors, seal whatever minor gaps are left, look into those retrofoam companies and see if they can do anything with the icy downstairs masonry walls, replace some original and now air-leaking doors, add $1100 worth of insulation in the attic (oh, plus about $700 worth of soffit vents and baffles), plus probably replace the furnace.
Doing all of this on the west side of town is dicey because you never know if you'll get your money back if you have to sell.
Makes me want to go back to renting...;-)
ps: love the site -- you guys are great and the house looks lovely!
thanks anonymous. i can't even imagine having 2 gas guzzlers in the basement. gotta love homeownership in the 'hood.
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