Sunday, October 30, 2011

My $70 a Month Heat Bill

 Everyone always wants to know how we can have a $70 a month heat bill in the dead of an Iowan winter - in a 1905 Victorian house - well this is how we do it.  NOTE the house is 1105 square feet.

We keep the house at 65F during the day and 58F at night or when we are not home. Caulk around the outsides of every window, door, etc. and do this every few years, oh and LOTS of insulation! We use mortite on the inside for the windows, the windows are original except for two modern windows and it's the modern windows that leak like a sieve. 

Winter 2010

Make sure to change those furnace filters too.  Another tip is to put insulation behind outlets and switches that are on outside walls, these are also major draft stoppers.  Repair any storm windows with new spline and the fuzzy insulating stuff every 10 years or so.

It also helps that we are on budget billing, and the gas company keeps bugging us to pay the new rate which is $59 a month but John keeps refusing.  November is our reconciliation month, and by paying the $70 a month we don't get a "suprise" spike in our heat bill.

edited to add:  The orignal builder insulated the house and big time, way back in 1905, he filled it with woolrock from the basement all the way out the attic rafters.  We're thinking he didn't like being cold. The house maintains and beautifully, it's been 65F in here for two weeks now.

Paint Update 103011

Caulking around the windows.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

The Scaffold Shuffle

The top two towers have been removed, so we can paint the area between the windows

Setting up another four stage tower, I'm too tired to explain it I'll take pictures tomorrow.

Paint Update 102511




Now with some color!

Monday, October 24, 2011

Paint Update 102411

working one section at a time, slowly but surely the painting is getting done.

Saturday, October 22, 2011

It's Orange

New garden tub, soon to be filled with weeds, leaves, and other compostable yummies.