| Posted By |
Message |
| Pages: [1] 2 |
pnbplus1
Family
Member since 5/09 5751 total posts
Name:
Mommy
|
My house is FREEZING, what can I do?
We just purchased our center-hall colonial (built in 1939) in June 09, about 1300 sq ft. I think our house is freezing cold. We have a 3 month old and I feel that he and we are cold all the time.
The thermostat is in the living room and will read 70 or whatever we put it at (we go up to 74) but another room thermometer placed 2 feet away will read a couple of degrees lower. AND, the upstairs is always cold. We have the egg room thermometer from the nursery up there and it always reads 63 or 64 so we have to raise the thermostat temp so the radiators go on and warm up the upstairs. Is is driving me crazy and its uncomfortable.
Does anyone have any possible long term solutions? The boiler is pretty new. We are considering adding another heat zone upstairs in the summer. Any idea how much this costs and if can even be done? What else can we do? Can an entire heating system somehow be redone?
TIA!
|
Posted 1/4/10 12:48 PM  |
| |
|
Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate
Long Island's Largest Bridal Resource | Long Island Weddings |
Ophelia
she's baaccckkkk ;)
Member since 5/06 23378 total posts
Name:
remember, when Gulliver traveled....
|
Re: My house is FREEZING, what can I do?
first, check to see if your windows are allowing air in.
what kind of drapery do you have? that could also allow air to get in.
we have a similar problem. my house was built in 1800. the warmest parts are the downstairs kitchen and living room.
our den was an addition and it is ALWAYS cold. we have a space heater in there.
the upstairs is cooler than the downstairs, but our master bath takest he cake. it's always about 10 degrees colder than our bedroom.
we are looking in to doing THIS right now...we will probably have to get new windows and a few other things.
our heating SYSTEM is awesome..state of the art (updated by the prior owners) but we still bleed it through other areas of the house.
for you, I would look into smaller space heaters rather than raising the temp of the whole house (costs less overall) and putting up heavier curtains with lining over the windows to start.
good luck. we always have the heaters going when Luce is in one of the colder rooms. 
|
| Posted 1/4/10 1:03 PM |
| |
|
Janice
Sweet Jessie Quinn
Member since 5/05 27567 total posts
Name:
Janice
|
Re: My house is FREEZING, what can I do?
i grew up in an old house...we used space heaters in the upstairs rooms. also plastic on windows
|
| Posted 1/4/10 1:06 PM |
| |
|
lbride
Lovin' my mini man!
Member since 3/07 2475 total posts
Name:
Lisa
|
Re: My house is FREEZING, what can I do?
my friends shrinked wrapped their windows in the city when they were drafty and it really helped!
|
| Posted 1/4/10 1:13 PM |
| |
|
sunnyplus3
:)
Member since 11/05 8749 total posts
Name:
|
Re: My house is FREEZING, what can I do?
as everyone mentioned you are probably loosing heat threw windows and doors and possibly even the walls.
Based on the age of the house it was probably built with lathing and wire mesh and plaster. Any insulation that was used probably deteriorated years ago. You can have insulation blown into your walls but your best bet is to have an "energy audit" there are companies that do this, then figure out what your best solution is.
Our house was built in the 1980's and we've improved the doors and windows and insulation but we still have issues with great room being cold. We bought a pellet stove and now its toasty & we use much less oil.
Message edited 1/4/2010 1:31:04 PM.
|
| Posted 1/4/10 1:27 PM |
| |
|
Beth
The Key to your new home....
Member since 2/06 24849 total posts
Name:
Beth
|
Re: My house is FREEZING, what can I do?
Posted by lbride
my friends shrinked wrapped their windows in the city when they were drafty and it really helped!
I might have to do this
that awesome ocean breeze we had all summer (corner apartment, long beach, direct ocean view- no building blocking us)
has turned into a freezing, drafty nightmare
Message edited 1/4/2010 1:47:30 PM.
|
| Posted 1/4/10 1:46 PM |
| |
|
Salason
♥
Member since 6/05 9878 total posts
Name:
|
Re: My house is FREEZING, what can I do?
No advice but we're in the EXACT same boat. We want to explore putting a second zone upstairs too.
|
| Posted 1/4/10 1:54 PM |
| |
|
alli3131
Peanut is here!!!!!!
Member since 5/09 18388 total posts
Name:
Allison
|
Re: My house is FREEZING, what can I do?
My guess is it probably isnt the heating system but more the fact that you have an old house and the insulation might not be that great. Are the perimeter walls cool/cold? if so then I'd guess its insulation that you need.
|
| Posted 1/4/10 2:18 PM |
| |
|
smdl
I love Gary too..on a plate!
Member since 5/06 32461 total posts
Name:
me
|
Re: My house is FREEZING, what can I do?
We have old aluminum windows. VERY drafty in my house. Our 2 bedrooms downstairs are freezing. Once we know we won't open the windows due to the weather in the winter we put that plastic over them and remove them in the Spring.
Check your AC units too if you have them. Ours bring drafts too.
Also open all the doors of all your rooms so heat circulate. If you don't use a room upstairs, close that room.
|
| Posted 1/4/10 2:21 PM |
| |
|
lullabella
LIF Adult
Member since 5/05 2246 total posts
Name:
|
Re: My house is FREEZING, what can I do?
Do you have base boards? They may need to be bleed, I have no clue what this means I just know we had to do this in our old house!
|
| Posted 1/4/10 2:23 PM |
| |
|
MrsList
Sweet cheeks
Member since 4/09 1696 total posts
Name:
|
Re: My house is FREEZING, what can I do?
Do you have a draft underneath your doors? We had to put something in front of the door to stop outside air from getting in because we were FREEZING.
|
| Posted 1/4/10 2:37 PM |
| |
|
KittyGags
LIF Adult
Member since 7/09 5614 total posts
Name:
|
Re: My house is FREEZING, what can I do?
I'd buy those things that go under the doors and shrink wrap the windows. You should notice an IMMEDIATE improvement from those two things.
If your windows are old, you might want to upgrade those because odds are, they're leaky and you're ripping thru oil or gas (whichever you use to hear your home)
Additionally, we have 3 zones in our house and its the BEST having control over each level. Highly recommend doing that!
|
| Posted 1/4/10 3:46 PM |
| |
|
NASP09
...
Member since 6/05 6030 total posts
Name:
|
Re:
Message edited 3/4/2010 9:57:51 AM.
|
| Posted 1/4/10 3:53 PM |
| |
|
LightUpOurLife
Totally in love
Member since 8/06 12785 total posts
Name:
Bonnie-Jean
|
Re: My house is FREEZING, what can I do?
I suggest the plastic for the windows too. My bedroom growing up was always the coldest room in the house. The plastic helped a lot.
Space heaters are very much improved from years ago, so I suggest those too.
|
| Posted 1/4/10 4:03 PM |
| |
|
MissJones
I need a nap!
Member since 5/05 22150 total posts
Name:
|
Re: My house is FREEZING, what can I do?
Posted by lbride
my friends shrinked wrapped their windows in the city when they were drafty and it really helped!
We do this because it's unbelievable how much cold air comes in and we have NEW windows!
Also, get little draft blockers for the doors, check to see if there are any cracks in the floor. We had a HUGE air leak and had to caulk the floor and it cut down on the cold air a lot.
Another trick...we fill a hot water bottle with hot water, stick it under the comforter for about 20 minutes before we get into bed and then the bed is nice and toasty!
|
| Posted 1/4/10 4:58 PM |
| |
|
Ophelia
she's baaccckkkk ;)
Member since 5/06 23378 total posts
Name:
remember, when Gulliver traveled....
|
Re: My house is FREEZING, what can I do?
Posted by kbeana24
Something I learned this weekend is that drafts can come through electrical outlets (if its on a wall opposite the outside). We were painting and took off all the plate covers and freezing air was coming in. I have no idea how it is done but oulets can be insulated too.
yes!! we've been using those child safety plugs in the outlets in our den. we insulated around the plate, but the air even comes through the plug holes!! 
|
| Posted 1/4/10 5:02 PM |
| |
|
Acerone
I hate ants and ugly people.
Member since 3/07 6437 total posts
Name:
Chris
|
Re: My house is FREEZING, what can I do?
what kind of plastic do you buy for those windows...
|
| Posted 1/4/10 5:12 PM |
| |
|
MsSissy
xoxoxo
Member since 3/07 39159 total posts
Name:
|
Re: My house is FREEZING, what can I do?
Posted by Acerone
what kind of plastic do you buy for those windows...
We use this kit. Picked it up at Lowes.
Message edited 1/4/2010 5:40:13 PM.
|
| Posted 1/4/10 5:39 PM |
| |
|
astroqueen74
Vibrant Health
Member since 1/07 2822 total posts
Name:
Karina
|
Re: My house is FREEZING, what can I do?
Maybe your walls are no longer or were never insulated (due to age of the home)
|
| Posted 1/4/10 7:49 PM |
| |
|
CAMCaps
Live Laugh Love Run
Member since 6/07 4922 total posts
Name:
|
Re: My house is FREEZING, what can I do?
Certain rooms in our house are freezing as well. The master bathroom is unbearable. We spoke to a man at Lowe's and he said we may have plaster walls with little to no insulation. We have plastic on the windows, blankets blocking the drafty doors and covers over the outlets, but I feel like it has not helped too much.
We are looking into getting an energy audit sooner rather than later.
|
| Posted 1/4/10 8:44 PM |
| |
|
Cpt2007
A new love!
Member since 1/08 5946 total posts
Name:
Liz
|
Re: My house is FREEZING, what can I do?
we're in the same boat. house built in 1950, the insulation has deteriorated and we have old doors that have warped over time and just seep heat. the other thing we discovered this weekend is that the newer windows in our house (7 y/o vinyl windows) were never caulked either on the inside or the outside. we went to home depot and bought caulk and will be doing that this weekend.
to bleed old radiators, find the valve, and put a cup or bucket underneath and release it. it will let water out that has built up that is mucking up the system. my dad used to do that once a year to keep the system going at top notch.
|
| Posted 1/4/10 9:16 PM |
| |
|
luvmytwins
pretty princesses
Member since 7/09 1424 total posts
Name:
Nancy
|
Re: My house is FREEZING, what can I do?
i am in the same boat and my house is new construction. dh and i are still in talks with the builder because something is not right with our windows. We are thinking all the windows might need to be replaced 
|
| Posted 1/4/10 10:28 PM |
| |
|
danielleandscott
My new 71 Super Beetle
Member since 5/05 13476 total posts
Name:
Scott
|
Re: My house is FREEZING, what can I do?
Home depot and lowes sell insulation that goes around your sockets and light switches. All you do is unscrew the plate and place the felt pad under the light switch cover. It has cut outs for the sockets or light switches and then you screw the face plate back on.
|
| Posted 1/4/10 10:42 PM |
| |
|
junebride06
love my boys!
Member since 2/08 3181 total posts
Name:
Robin
|
Re: My house is FREEZING, what can I do?
the 2nd floor of our house has the replacement type of windows and we have a terrible draft from all of them. it's always freezing up there and in our baby's room. DS shrink wraps the windows and what a adifference it makes. It's a temporary solution but it really helps!
|
| Posted 1/5/10 12:24 AM |
| |
|
Mrs-D-Girl
Love my fur baby
Member since 8/07 5183 total posts
Name:
|
Re: My house is FREEZING, what can I do?
Posted by Mssissy
Posted by Acerone
what kind of plastic do you buy for those windows...
We use this kit. Picked it up at Lowes.
IMAGE
We just did this on my bay window and it makes a world of difference!!!!
|
| Posted 1/5/10 8:37 AM |
| |
|
| Pages: [1] 2 |
