Comments on: Now is the Time to Winterize Your Home

By: Dean the dehumidifier guy

Dean the dehumidifier guy — Mon, 23 May 2011 11:54:39 +0000

Hi Mark, I get what you mean about the humidity. My house was a lot colder in the winter before I got a dehumidifier. I bought it origianally to get rid of the damp in the basement during the autumn but it really made a difference to the level of cold in the winter too.

By: Mark

Mark — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 17:35:29 +0000

Thanks for the ideas everyone. I live in an old (1924) farmhouse with an uninsulated attic. Each winter, humid air from the house freezes in the ceiling of the second floor (someone blew some kind of insulation into the attic floor at some point) and the freezing buckles the attic flooring. Also the humid air freezes on all the nails in the attic and then thaws into puddles on the floor. How did folks deal with this in the past, and how can i deal with it now? Just keep humidity low in the house with a dehumidifier? Thanks in advance!

Mark

By: Frugal Fixes Around the House - Duct Tape, Foam and a Rubberband | The Happy Rock

Fri, 22 May 2009 04:03:38 +0000

[...] If you’re new here, you may want to join hundreds of other readers and subscribe to my RSS feed or my free email subscription to receive free updates. Thanks for visiting!Back in September I wrote about how it took me two days to fix a screendoor. [...]

By: Runaway Electric Bill - Looking For Electricity Savings Tips | The Happy Rock

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 03:55:06 +0000

[...] took some steps to winterize my house, we’ve added insulated curtains, and have been wearing our smart wool socks we got for [...]

By: lee @ strategiestosavemoneynow.com

lee @ strategiestosavemoneynow.com — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 23:19:49 +0000

Yep, it’s a lot more pleasant winterizing your home when it’s still warm out! I live in New Hampshire and it can get pretty cold here too so taking care of a few of those things you mention are important.

Another thing to think about is getting your furnace serviced and a new filter before winter. This will help it work more efficiently and use less fuel which, as we all know, is going to cost a bundle this year!

By: Finance and Frugality Blog Carnivals: Week of Unexpected Delays | Our Fourpence Worth

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 22:43:13 +0000

[...] post from this carnival that I found helpful is the reminder that Now is the Time to Winterize Your Home by the Happy Rock, because our heater decided to go on vacation last winter and we are now trying [...]

By: Lesley

Lesley — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 22:30:53 +0000

Years ago when we had two years of blizzard winters and the furnace couldn’t keep the house warm we resorted to all kinds of heat conservation. Pick one room to live in such as the family/living room. Close all vents to the other rooms. Hang blankets in the doorways of the living/family room to contain the heat. Use the air dry on the dishwasher and open the door for free humidity to help make the air feel warmer. After using the oven leave the door open for the free heat. I had a shake shingle house that was very drafty. I used clear caulking and sealed around the windows and the shingles.This was a major improvement in the drafts. I am not handy or patient so the clear caulking did not show my mistakes. If the windows are very drafty, use a row of insulation on the bottom half and then cover the windows with plastic. If you have laminated flooring they (pardon me) suck in the winter because they get very cold, use as many rugs as possible to cover them. I swear my laminated flooring radiated cold air back into the room, loved them in the warm weather but they became a problem unless the house was kept at 67 degrees and I will turn the house down to 62 daytime and 55 nighttime. Use an electic blanket to heat your bed before getting in but turn it OFF when in bed. I believe that electric blankets can and do contribute to cancer because of the electromagnetic waves.

By: gWallet

gWallet — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 09:52:40 +0000

I hear ya on those pesky basement windows. A few years back I was in a similar situation, and thought, I don’t need to drop over a grand on windows that I’m barely ever going to see/look out of. And sure enough, just like your predicament, we basically paid the same amount to the utility company over the course of the next two years. I finally bit the bullet this July and decided to drop some nice thermal pane windows in there. Looking forward to a nice and cozy winter. In a basement I rarely spend time in. Go figure.

By: Josef Redaktion

Josef Redaktion — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 11:56:06 +0000

Well honestly, I don’t have any good winterizing tips. Here in Germany, for the past couple of years I have lived in a flat on the third floor. What is nice about this is that heat rises, and heat from our downstairs neighbors’ flats absolutely rises up to ours! Winters can be quite bitter here (although not the snow that it looks like you have there!), and we hardly ever have to turn on the heat.
Congrats on being handy when it comes to windows and doors! I wish you a toasty warm winter in your lovely home!
Cheers!

By: John (Debt Defier)

John (Debt Defier) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 04:56:34 +0000

@ Sid – I like the changing the colors of the fall, but not the leaves falling. Just means I have to rake.

@ jacquelin- I know my relatives who live in the country use hay bales, but I’ve never seen it done in town. The boards in the window is a good idea.

@ Connie – Sock Puppets…what a great idea. I think my kids will love it. I know the dog will, which might defeat the intended purpose.

@ First Creditor – Without a doubt, “keeping warm” with Mrs DD is my favorite part of winter.

Here’s hoping for a late and mild winter…but with plenty of snuggling.