So... What are YOU doing? - Part 6

[Lamb]

Relaxing

 

[Krissy Cakes]

Eating .. sandwiches .. yummo!

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[ImaginaryDay2]

Enjoying my evening without coughing. Finally quit hacking - it's been about a week, and went out with a bang, bit it's gone. My whole abdomen is sore, though. Now I'm sipping peppermint tea - nice and soothing

 

[tango]

Trying to wake up this morning. Had trouble getting to sleep last night - my brain was buzzing with possibilities how to work with these new hardware doodads I found. Sometimes when that happens I find myself in a strange world where I drift from being awake to being asleep and the only difference is that the ideas I have are more or less surreal depending on where I am on the scale. Sometimes the ideas I have when I'm kinda-slightly-dreaming are flashes of inspiration that make life vastly easier, sometimes they just seem that way until I try and actually implement them.

Anyway, despite feeling like I didn't sleep very well last night I've got a headful of ideas to work with.

 

[Lamb]

I have an appointment this afternoon. Not looking forward to it at all so I'm trying to keep my mind off it by being on here

 

[tango]

... and by fnding yourself a new avatar, I see

Hope the appointment was better than you feared.

 

[Lamb]

... and by fnding yourself a new avatar, I see

Hope the appointment was better than you feared.

:mug: Thank you!! Still have to wait for results but my doctor didn't seemed concerned about anything so WHEW.

 

[Krissy Cakes]

I'm waking up.

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[Lamb]

Knitting Christmas gifts!

 

[ImaginaryDay2]

Starbucks and Jethro Tull

 

[tango]

More fun with walls. I found a few more gaps that needed attention, some of which were very hard to get at. I've still got at least one that I just can't get at all right now, so I've stuffed some fiberglass into areas to try and contain the drafts that they are causing. it seems to be having some effect - during the time I was working the unheated area increased from 48 to 52 degrees. The only source of heat is what radiates from the (temporarily) exposed chimney breast and what rises through the floor from where the furnace is. I think I'm going to need a full 8-foot strip of fiberglass to fill one gap, between a room I still want to use and the area where the gap in the wall is lurking.

I also got an oil delivery today. They deliver when they think my tanks will be about 1/4 full but one was at 3/8 and the other was slightly over. So that means I've used 16% less oil than the oil company expected. This is a good thing. Hopefully it continues through the winter.

 

[Lamb]

More fun with walls. I found a few more gaps that needed attention, some of which were very hard to get at. I've still got at least one that I just can't get at all right now, so I've stuffed some fiberglass into areas to try and contain the drafts that they are causing. it seems to be having some effect - during the time I was working the unheated area increased from 48 to 52 degrees. The only source of heat is what radiates from the (temporarily) exposed chimney breast and what rises through the floor from where the furnace is. I think I'm going to need a full 8-foot strip of fiberglass to fill one gap, between a room I still want to use and the area where the gap in the wall is lurking.

I also got an oil delivery today. They deliver when they think my tanks will be about 1/4 full but one was at 3/8 and the other was slightly over. So that means I've used 16% less oil than the oil company expected. This is a good thing. Hopefully it continues through the winter.

We have propane and it's about the same price as gasoline. How is the oil pricing? I read that it is used differently so that it doesn't use as much as propane.

 

[tango]

We have propane and it's about the same price as gasoline. How is the oil pricing? I read that it is used differently so that it doesn't use as much as propane.

It's gone up a lot compared to last year - something like 30% higher. Which is frustrating, because it means all the savings in oil I achieved last year went away just because of a price increase. That said, paying 30% more for oil had I not made those savings would have been ugly.

Recently the unheated rooms in my house have dropped to 48 degrees overnight when it stays below zero. This morning they were holding 52 degrees. Still not particularly warm, but those four degrees suggest I've got more savings coming. I just wish I could get at the back of my junk store closet so I could fix the last couple of obvious ones. There's just a fair chunk of stuff in there that doesn't play nicely with fine dust and a few things that really could do without being left in the cold of the attic.

I also found a way to save myself some trouble. One wall in my dining room has blown insulation in the corner - it's amazing to see the picture on the thermal camera where you can see the wall studs and just about make out the wall laths, through the wall. There's about a 10-degree difference between one section and the next (caused by blown insulation, presumably). Since I've got so much unwanted cellulose insulation I figured I can put it in there as a temporary measure, pending getting to it and cutting insulation panels. But that means making a hole in the wall, which is unsightly. Thankfully I realised I already have a hole in the wall - above the offending section is the closet off our bedroom, and I already made a hole in the wall because my original plan was to run cables through that section. I don't want to bring cellulose in from outdoors because it could be wet and might have something living in it by now, but the next time I pull more out of the attic (which might be sooner than planned, now I have a specific use for it) I can dump a load into the hole from above and hopefully help keep my dining room a little warmer.

 

[Krissy Cakes]

Waking up

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[Lamb]

It's gone up a lot compared to last year - something like 30% higher. Which is frustrating, because it means all the savings in oil I achieved last year went away just because of a price increase. That said, paying 30% more for oil had I not made those savings would have been ugly.

Recently the unheated rooms in my house have dropped to 48 degrees overnight when it stays below zero. This morning they were holding 52 degrees. Still not particularly warm, but those four degrees suggest I've got more savings coming. I just wish I could get at the back of my junk store closet so I could fix the last couple of obvious ones. There's just a fair chunk of stuff in there that doesn't play nicely with fine dust and a few things that really could do without being left in the cold of the attic.

I also found a way to save myself some trouble. One wall in my dining room has blown insulation in the corner - it's amazing to see the picture on the thermal camera where you can see the wall studs and just about make out the wall laths, through the wall. There's about a 10-degree difference between one section and the next (caused by blown insulation, presumably). Since I've got so much unwanted cellulose insulation I figured I can put it in there as a temporary measure, pending getting to it and cutting insulation panels. But that means making a hole in the wall, which is unsightly. Thankfully I realised I already have a hole in the wall - above the offending section is the closet off our bedroom, and I already made a hole in the wall because my original plan was to run cables through that section. I don't want to bring cellulose in from outdoors because it could be wet and might have something living in it by now, but the next time I pull more out of the attic (which might be sooner than planned, now I have a specific use for it) I can dump a load into the hole from above and hopefully help keep my dining room a little warmer.

I wish I could find a way to insulate the laundry room. This past week I closed the door to that room and the entire basement has been warmer!! It's an unfinished room whereas the rest of the basement besides the furnace room is finished with drywall and ceiling tiles.

 

[tango]

I wish I could find a way to insulate the laundry room. This past week I closed the door to that room and the entire basement has been warmer!! It's an unfinished room whereas the rest of the basement besides the furnace room is finished with drywall and ceiling tiles.

You can get insulation panels that affix to bare walls and don't need to be covered. The ones I'm using need to be covered to comply with code (they are cheaper!). I think the ones that don't need to be covered run to maybe $50 for an 8x4 board, and I think that's for a 2" thick board offering R13. Obviously thicker boards cost a bit more. You'd also want insulating tape to seal the gaps between the boards, so you didn't get drafts blowing through around the boards. I've been using builders foam and sealant behind all of my wall studs to stop drafts getting in the space and blowing up and down between the boards.

Or, depending on space, you could attach studs to the external wall (or, at a push, rig something up with a stud wall attached to the joists in the ceiling and bolted to the floor) and use fiberglass to fill the voids. 3.5" of fiberglass will offer R13 - you'd just need to put some kind of covering over the paper facing to comply with building codes. If it's just for a laundry room you could probably just screw drywall into place and use tape to seal the gaps rather than doing a full job with drywall mud and paint. In theory it should be easy enough - you're looking at building a framework with pieces of lumber, evenly spaced, and since it's not load bearing you can use pocket screws to join them all together. Obviously check your local building codes but it seems like it should be an easy enough job.

Also check the venting in there. I assume you have some kind of external vent for the dryer, which potentially means you've got a tube running from outside to inside with little more than a flap or similar to keep the cold out in the winter. Any gaps in the vent ducting could let cold air blow in. I haven't looked into how a dryer vent might be insulated - it's not an issue for me just yet - but I'd have thought that some option would exist to stop it becoming a means for cold air to get in during the winter.

 

[NewCreation435]

it's my day off today, so I am just doing some reading and relaxing. I'm considering changing online companies I work through as a counselor and talked to someone today about that.

 

[Lamb]

You can get insulation panels that affix to bare walls and don't need to be covered. The ones I'm using need to be covered to comply with code (they are cheaper!). I think the ones that don't need to be covered run to maybe $50 for an 8x4 board, and I think that's for a 2" thick board offering R13. Obviously thicker boards cost a bit more. You'd also want insulating tape to seal the gaps between the boards, so you didn't get drafts blowing through around the boards. I've been using builders foam and sealant behind all of my wall studs to stop drafts getting in the space and blowing up and down between the boards.

Or, depending on space, you could attach studs to the external wall (or, at a push, rig something up with a stud wall attached to the joists in the ceiling and bolted to the floor) and use fiberglass to fill the voids. 3.5" of fiberglass will offer R13 - you'd just need to put some kind of covering over the paper facing to comply with building codes. If it's just for a laundry room you could probably just screw drywall into place and use tape to seal the gaps rather than doing a full job with drywall mud and paint. In theory it should be easy enough - you're looking at building a framework with pieces of lumber, evenly spaced, and since it's not load bearing you can use pocket screws to join them all together. Obviously check your local building codes but it seems like it should be an easy enough job.

Also check the venting in there. I assume you have some kind of external vent for the dryer, which potentially means you've got a tube running from outside to inside with little more than a flap or similar to keep the cold out in the winter. Any gaps in the vent ducting could let cold air blow in. I haven't looked into how a dryer vent might be insulated - it's not an issue for me just yet - but I'd have thought that some option would exist to stop it becoming a means for cold air to get in during the winter.

You have a lot of good ideas. Thank you As for the dryer duct, yes, it runs outside. I spent last winter sealing it with some expensive hvac tape so it's really efficient now!

 

[ImaginaryDay2]

Laundry fun! The dryer at the laundromat didn't even heat up (ice cold) and I only was credited for half the change I put in. The owner of the place got all snarky with a guy who said he may not be back in the 20-minute time it took for his laundry to complete the wash, so the owner said if he was late taking it out it would be placed in the dryer and the guy would be charged. The guy was incredulous (but not rude) and questioned the owner about it - the place is empty, mind you. Owner sticks to his guns and tells the guy he can't ever come back. This is the same owner who questioned me one time why I was asking for so many quarters for my wash/dry. I felt like telling him "because I'm an adult and I know what I need for my freakin' laundry!" It wasn't a lot.

 

[Lamb]

Laundry fun! The dryer at the laundromat didn't even heat up (ice cold) and I only was credited for half the change I put in. The owner of the place got all snarky with a guy who said he may not be back in the 20-minute time it took for his laundry to complete the wash, so the owner said if he was late taking it out it would be placed in the dryer and the guy would be charged. The guy was incredulous (but not rude) and questioned the owner about it - the place is empty, mind you. Owner sticks to his guns and tells the guy he can't ever come back. This is the same owner who questioned me one time why I was asking for so many quarters for my wash/dry. I felt like telling him "because I'm an adult and I know what I need for my freakin' laundry!" It wasn't a lot.

I'd invest in a washer/dryer combo and do small loads daily to avoid having to go to a laundromat. Even washing by hand has to be more fun.