Smart people do questionable things

[greengeezer]

I was in a restaurant yesterday when a former colleague called to me. He was waiting for some of his friends so I sat and talked with him for a short while.

He lives in an old farm house and told me the electric bills, especially in the winter, had become ridiculous. His highest winter bill had reached $800.

His solution to his high utility costs was to pay a company $70,000 to install a solar system. Never mind that WV is in of the cloudiest states in the country. I believe he will be long gone before he realizes any savings.

I ask him if his old house had a vapor barrier and floor insulation. He replied that the house had neither. He turned rather pale when I told him he could probably have dropped his electric costs significantly with a few hundred dollars worth of fiberglass insulation and a roll of 3 mil plastic.

I’m bad about doing overly extensive research on home improvement topics. I guess I make up for the people who do none

 

[WV-FAN]

sounds like someone has more money than sense.

 

[greengeezer]

sounds like someone has more money than sense.

Yeah. Lots of people like that. My youngest brother, who has limited building ability, was once attempting to build an elevated deck. He called to ask about a stair stringer. He said he didn’t have a piece of lumber long enough so he wondered if putting two smaller pieces together with Super Glue would be OK. I told him it would be fine if he wanted to find his ass two stories down on the ground after his stairs collapsed.

 

[-CarlHungus-]

I was in a restaurant yesterday when a former colleague called to me. He was waiting for some of his friends so I sat and talked with him for a short while.

He lives in an old farm house and told me the electric bills, especially in the winter, had become ridiculous. His highest winter bill had reached $800.

His solution to his high utility costs was to pay a company $70,000 to install a solar system. Never mind that WV is in of the cloudiest states in the country. I believe he will be long gone before he realizes any savings.

I ask him if his old house had a vapor barrier and floor insulation. He replied that the house had neither. He turned rather pale when I told him he could probably have dropped his electric costs significantly with a few hundred dollars worth of fiberglass insulation and a roll of 3 mil plastic.

I’m bad about doing overly extensive research on home improvement topics. I guess I make up for the people who do none

I live in an old house too. Very leaky. I thinkyou're right.

Storm windows has helped. But we have zero insulation in the walls. When it gets cold the walls just ooze cool air.

Some of our neighbors have had their attic insulated and sealed and then that went on to have humidity issues, as the house couldn't "breath" anymore...or so I heard. So I've been reluctant to really seal my attic too.

My utility bills in peak winter (including gas, electric, and water) typically run me around $700/month.

 

[greengeezer]

I live in an old house too. Very leaky. I thinkyou're right.

Storm windows has helped. But we have zero insulation in the walls. When it gets cold the walls just ooze cool air.

Some of our neighbors have had their attic insulated and sealed and then that went on to have humidity issues, as the house couldn't "breath" anymore...or so I heard. So I've been reluctant to really seal my attic too.

My utility bills in peak winter (including gas, electric, and water) typically run me around $700/month.

I’m sure humidity would be a problem in your area, especially in the warmer months. There are systems that act as a dehumidifier when moisture gets too high. You might want to talk to a local HVAC company. Insulating those walls would amount to sizable savings for you.