Cold Effin Weather!

[jclay]

This is playing hell on the frame I'm trying to get painted. Starting tonight lows in the mid/lower 20s for the next four or five days in Tallahassee. Possible snow. You know, you guys really can keep your cold weather foolishness up north, where it belongs. This is the Sunshine State...as in WARM sunshine.

There was a period, a very long time ago, when living in snow country sounded attractive. That time has passed.

[Wisco]

20's at night is pretty cold for Florida, even as far north as you are.

I guess I won't bother discussing the -15F we had for lows the past few days... might be +5F for a high temp tomorrow!

[Saab2000]

It's been chilly in western Michigan as well, with near daily snow showers due to the warm Lake Michigan and the prevailing winds. As the lake cools this will taper off. We have a real winter here. The Bridgestone Blizzaks are a godsend.

The interesting thing is that this is how winters used to be until we got used to much milder winters. My house was built in 1950 and has had much insulation work done. It is still terrible. If I decide this is my home for a while I may do a 'down to the studs' re-conscrution and will have much, much better insulation and windows, all of which are mediocre at best.

I turn off the heat and it cools off rapidly. Many of the neighbor homes are much worse, with serious icicles (basically ice stalactites and stalagmites). Because this is the season of near-constant furnace running and bad things, I bought a couple CO detectors. Both read 0 and that makes me happy. The previous owners maintained the property very well and the furnace was serviced professionally each year.

BTW, I bought way too much house. Even at 1500 square feet above ground square feet I have no idea what do do with the space. But that's another story.

I remember winters in Wisconsin that were like this in the 1970s and 1980s. We've gotten used to the change and a chillier winter has been probably a good thing. Here's a shot from my bedroom window about 3 days ago. This was a rare sunny spell for western MI at this time of year. The snow is really not much, but at least it looks like winter. I may go skiing tomorrow.

This is a pic from the new iPhone X with a 'touchup' and a bit of cropping. Too much blue but a crisp image for a cellular telephone.

[guido]

-10 in chilly Stow this morning. Hasn't been out of the teens for over 2 two weeks. Warms up tomorrow and thursday for some snow then they are saying -13 on Sunday morning...
This is starting to get a bit old, and it is barely January. Oh boy...

[mmoore]

its cold.

didn't slow us down from having a little hockey game on the ice on sunday.

-22c today (-10f) but its been between that and -27c for the last week or two.


not looking forward to this months gas bill. like @saab2000 we have a '50s house and its been fitted with some insulation where its easy but it still cools down fast and the interior walls are cold to touch at any given point in time. if the house were in a better location I would strip the old aluminum siding and insulate/wrap the house too.... but I don't love living across the street from the commercial plaza.

[Tom]

The good thing about this weather that is like the old days is that the various fungi and insects that haven't been knocked back by the cold in recent years are going to be reset to earlier levels. We've had a couple of years of extra bugs and blights in the trees so a little die back would be OK.

[NYCfixie]

...My house was built in 1950 and has had much insulation work done. It is still terrible. If I decide this is my home for a while I may do a 'down to the studs' re-conscrution and will have much, much better insulation and windows, all of which are mediocre at best.

I turn off the heat and it cools off rapidly. Many of the neighbor homes are much worse, with serious icicles (basically ice stalactites and stalagmites)...

Our previous NJ home was a 1940s era center hall colonial with about 1800sqft. The windows were old, divided light, and not well maintained which was weird because the rest of the house was. We spoke with several architects, builders, and renovators who all said they same thing; newer windows will have the most impact on drafts, warmth (or cooling in summer), and energy efficiency assuming you purchase quality windows and have them installed correctly.

We purchased the highest-end divided light "replacement" Pella windows and had them installed by a professional we trusted and not Pella. He removed the old sashes, counter weights, and other materials from the old windows. He then used spray foam before and during window installation to seal the area between the old wood and the new windows as well as caulk/sealant after the stops went back on. It was expensive, we did the work over 3 years (back of house, sides/basement/attic, front of house) so we could better afford it, and it was worth every penny.

The house was warmer in the winter, cooler in the summer, and our energy bills decreased. Added benefits were we kept windows open more often during the shoulder months because they were no longer stuck closed and they were much easier to clean. Even though the payback would have taken so many years, we did it anyway because it increased the enjoyment of our home and increased the resale value.

The moral of the story is ask a professional because windows usually make a bigger/better difference in older homes than insulation.

[Saab2000]

Our previous NJ home was a 1940s era center hall colonial with about 1800sqft. The windows were old, divided light, and not well maintained which was weird because the rest of the house was. We spoke with several architects, builders, and renovators who all said they same thing; newer windows will have the most impact on drafts, warmth (or cooling in summer), and energy efficiency assuming you purchase quality windows and have them installed correctly.

We purchased the highest-end divided light "replacement" Pella windows and had them installed by a professional we trusted and not Pella. He removed the old sashes, counter weights, and other materials from the old windows. He then used spray foam before and during window installation to seal the area between the old wood and the new windows as well as caulk/sealant after the stops went back on. It was expensive, we did the work over 3 years (back of house, sides/basement/attic, front of house) so we could better afford it, and it was worth every penny.

The house was warmer in the winter, cooler in the summer, and our energy bills decreased. Added benefits were we kept windows open more often during the shoulder months because they were no longer stuck closed and they were much easier to clean. Even though the payback would have taken so many years, we did it anyway because it increased the enjoyment of our home and increased the resale value.

The moral of the story is ask a professional because windows usually make a bigger/better difference in older homes than insulation.

I believe you on the windows. This house does have some newer windows and a few older ones. The older ones have storm window, making me think they're not bad. That said, if I stay here new windows are likely. I'm undecided if this is my forever house or not though. It will become more clear over time.

It's amazing how poorly insulated places like this are. Furnaces must have run nonstop back when places like this were built.

[guido]

Another approach that helps a lot is to seal the leaks. An inexpensive leak detector like this:

Amazon.com: Black & Decker TLD1 Thermal Leak Detector: Home Improvement

and a good supply of calk, foam, weatherstripping etc. applied with care can go a long way towards sealing the leakiest of older constructions...

[NYCfixie]

I believe you on the windows. This house does have some newer windows and a few older ones. The older ones have storm window, making me think they're not bad. That said, if I stay here new windows are likely. I'm undecided if this is my forever house or not though. It will become more clear over time.

It's amazing how poorly insulated places like this are. Furnaces must have run nonstop back when places like this were built.

We had storms on the old windows as well but they did not help much. They stuck, the caulk was cracking, they were not sealed well, and I guess it was better than not having them.

We thought that was our "forever house" and moved a few years after doing the windows - 10 years total in the house and we wish we had replaced them sooner. Buyers noticed and it did help with resale but most of the rest of the house was updated as well.