Help needed from northerners on staying warm

[jkcove08]

You might want to go to Walmart and see if you can find the heavy duty plastic that is in 100 ft rolls. I would wrap your whole house other then the doors of course... Even if you put plastic on the inside windows you still will probably have drafts. You might want to check into blowing insulation in the walls too. We are going to do that in a month or so. This can be done by you and your family and doesnt need a contractor to do. Go to your local Home Depot or Menards or Lowes and I bet they can help you out. Jenn

 

[patandchickens]

Oh my, that sounds unpleasant!

For leaky uninsulated houses, the most important two things are probably:

1) close off all gaps that a breeze can come thru. Use duct tape, foam backer rods, old newspapers shoved into cracks, silicone or latex caulk, plywood nailed over holes, rugs covering gappy floors, anything and everything that it takes, no matter how doofusy looking or temporary seeming. Do not neglect floors, closets, or cabinets on exterior walls, all of which can be VERY drafty in older Southern houses IME. When you think you've got all the leaks, walk around with a lit candle to find all the spots you missed (look for flame blowing) and then fix them too. Lather rinse repeat when direction of wind changes

2) pick one room to try to heat, hand either keep the door closed or hand blankets over the doorway to keep the heat in.

Other things that will help a lot:

-after caulking windows shut (use removeable caulk!), use those kits you can get where you stretch thin clear plastic film over the window with doublestick tape and use a hairdryer to shrink it tight. They really do help.

-don't use the fireplaces, they are generally net heat LOSERS unless properly designed which very few fireplaces actually are. Make real sure the dampers are in the closed position (check for drafts with strip of kleenex or a lit candle). If necessary, stack a big cardboard box in front of the (unused!) fireplace for the duration of the cold in order to discourage persistant cold downdrafts.

-weather in the 20s and 30s is not actually particularly cold to work in ONCE YOU GET YOUR BODY WARMED UP. THis is especially important if what you wanna do outside involves a lot of standing in one place and doing fiddly things with bare fingers. So, jog a quick half-mile before trying to do anything, or whatever your preferred means of getting your blood moving and body temp up before you try to do your outdoors work. Add and remove clothing layers as frequently as necessary to avoid getting sweaty and then chilled.

-when sitting around the house in the evening, consider an electric blanket or that sort of thing. They may have a few disadvantages but in a really really cold room they are The Thing. Also, go to the humane society and adopt several cats and or big hairy dogs to sit on you <vbg>

-if you do get a pellet stove or the like, be really really careful when installing it--- they often have very strict requirements for fireproof surfaces underneath/around/behind/above them and for how exactly the chimney must be run, and ESPECIALLY with an old wood house, it is insane to try to cut corners or out-think the official directions. Also check whether it will affect your insurance rates, as some people have been very very unpleasantly surprised.

Good luck,

Pat

 

[Frozen Feathers]

LOL SilkieChicken. the other day my DD turned the thermostat up and I didn't realize it. I was sweating thinking I was having a hot flash (geeshe I'm only 28! )..then I looked at the thermostat...it was up to 75!

 

[McGoo]

to add to the other ideas - when going outside Wear a hat, mittens and warm socks. Also like everyone says, layer up. A t-shirt, and a long sleeve polar fleece or wool sweater and a windbreaker outside of that. It's not always how thickness, it's about a couple of layers. remember that air is the best insulator... so wool and polar fleece keep in the warm air pockets. And put the windbreaker outside.

Same for indoors. I wear ls t-shirts and polar fleece on top and polar fleece pants, thick wool socks and wool slippers to stay warm inside. And since it's temporary, put a blanket over any windows that seem to be letting in the cold winds.

ps. Another idea instead of warm baths, is to try jumping rope and/or jogging in place. it'll really get the heart rate pumping and warm you up.

 

[MTtroutwithwings]

Ok here goes....we live in 100 year old house too in the country with propane as main source of heat that is expensive to run as well, we had moved from the city with natural gas so the change was financially a shock for us. We installed a high eff. woodstove in an existing fireplace on the main floor (heats up to 3500 sq. ft. but we only needed 2900 sq ft) & relocated an existing pellet stove already in the house to the second floor as there was NO heat source at all upstairs.
Pellet stove are expensive to purchase but cheap to run depending on your needs. We spend about $4. a 40 lb bag of pellets which last between 2 day & 2 weeks depending on the need. The woodstove burns a cord of wood every 3-4 weeks, again depending on the demand. A cord of wood here goes for about $130.00. What we needed to consider was the overall cost of the stove and monthly wood/ pellets to the cost of monthly fillings of the propane tank. Previously it cost us $1,000.00+ a month to fill the propane. And here we need it Sept thru to June. All in all since it was installed last season, our woodstove has paid for itself 10 times over and we make a point of stocking wood in the summertime as it is also cheaper then too. Right now it is -9 here and we're comfortable.
As far as the windows go, go to home depot and buy the 3-M insulated shrinkwrap plastic for windows, it works wonders!!!
Hope this helps!

Lori

 

[Aun <HIS><]

I live in New Hampshire, it was -5 where I am last night!

Put a rolled up towel in front of each door, on the floor.

Dress in layers.

Get insulation for under each electrical outlet and light switch on all outside walls. This is very cheap and sold in the hardware store.

Buy foot warmers and hand warmers, inexpensive at any walmart etc.

Sit on a heating pad for awhile to warm up, and keep a couch blanket nearby.

Wear slippers that cover your whole foot, seriously, this really helps.

Outside, wear a hat and a SCARF. It was 37 today, and I did my chicken chores in jeans/turtleneck with another shirt over that/ a scarf/ work gloves/ and tall work boots. The scarf makes all the difference.

Cover windows with plastic made for the purpose. You can still see through it. I use this over the windows in my henhouse. You can get it at the hardware store.

Keep a tea kettle on and sip hot tea all the time. Not only does the tea warm you up, but if you get dehydrated, you'll feel colder.

Eat a healthy breakfast that causes your engine to get going, like oatmeal. You'll feel warmer.

Buy wool socks. It makes a HUGE difference. A wool sweater over your regular clothes will make you feel very toasty also.

LOTS of blankets on your bed, and maybe even the heating pad if you need it. Many years ago, I lived in a VERY drafty 5 bedroom farm house that had VERY expensive electric heat. I was spending over a grand a month on heat with the thermostat all the way down. At night, it would get down to 40 in my room, and I slept with several blankets, a heating pad and a hat and I was always very warm at night.

It won't cost too much to get yourself set up to be warm. I know what you mean, though, it is so miserable when you get cold and can't get warm. Start with the plastic, outlet insulators, and towels rolled up under the doors. Those will make the greatest impact. Oh and close the flues on the fire places. If you don't have your fireplace going with a fire, the open flue allows all the heat in the room to go up the chimney!

If I think of anything else, I'll let you know.

Blessings,
Aundrea

 

[ruth]

Thanks all. Keep up the good suggestions. I guess I need to layer my clothes more. I went to the dollar store (only store in town) and bought several pair of sweats and that's what I'm living in but I wasn't layering - maybe why I couldn't get warm. Kept telling my husband "I'm freezing and I'm wearing a sweat suit" - guess I thought that alone should have warmed me up. Of course I wear a coat, hat and gloves when I go out but it's a light weight wind breaker (all I had).

No, I didn't really move that far but it sure seems like I moved to the other side of the world between the temps and the differences between a 100 year old home and a new efficiency designed home. I had no idea there was plastic shrink wrap for windows. Wish I had known. Will have to try some of that till we can gradually get the windows repaired and recaulked. I don't know what's keeping some of the old leaded glass from falling out of the windows - there are 1/4 inch gaps between glass and frame and I don't think there's one that still has any caulk left in it. Must be age holding them in.

 

[coloradochick]

Ruth I'm with MTtrout on this one. We're in the process of finding a Pellet Stove ourselves. We have friends who swear by them and they are much much cheaper to use. Do this, and then you can slowly fix the windows, doors, etc. Good luck, I know it stinks to be freezing all the time.

 

[Wildsky]

 

[ChuckenGirl]

layers layers layers
and heat
thats all you can do.
and hot soup lol