Ssooo…. I’m not exactly certain where to post this question, but this is where I’ll stick it.
I’ve seen a lot of folks post questions about heating drafty old farmhouses. I’ve spent the last couple of years sealing up mine – ripping out lath, plaster, imperial board. I’ve yanked out and replaced warped fir and cottonwood (yes, cottonwood!) studs and lumber and stuffed insulation where the sun does shine and the wind blows. Great Stuff ™, silicone caulking, and new windows purchased as returns or open box items. I sealed up one 14 foot stretch of wall I wished I had started on after realizing how much draft is allowed into my house. It was a north wall and after completing the sheath insulation the warm air from my wood stove actually flowed northward into my kitchen. It was 10 degrees outside, snowing and the wind was just HOWLING out of the north. That was an experience! I stood there for at least 15 minutes in amazement.
I just finished the kids’ bedroom this summer since school was out. So the overhaul of the exterior walls amounted to about a couple grand. That accounts for insulation, windows, odds and ends and drywall. I expect my wood stove to heat the entire home, including the extremities very adequately now after my experience with the north wall.
My question is.. I realize I had resources to make this big job simpler, a buddy who is a drywall contractor, I have lot of experience in carpentry and construction, so I went overboard to make the house new, but there are cheaper means to accomplish similar results. It has also been in the family since homesteading and that has added to my motivation. So why don’t folks invest money and effort to seal up their home instead of looking for a bigger stove?
I’m just asking other people’s point of view. Our heating season outside the shoulders is typically November through March. If it saves a couple cords and makes the house attractive to somebody else if I decide to sell, and is hospitable to the folks I have as guests, ain’t it worth the effort? My favorite part of winter is coming in from the cold.
I’ve seen a lot of folks post questions about heating drafty old farmhouses. I’ve spent the last couple of years sealing up mine – ripping out lath, plaster, imperial board. I’ve yanked out and replaced warped fir and cottonwood (yes, cottonwood!) studs and lumber and stuffed insulation where the sun does shine and the wind blows. Great Stuff ™, silicone caulking, and new windows purchased as returns or open box items. I sealed up one 14 foot stretch of wall I wished I had started on after realizing how much draft is allowed into my house. It was a north wall and after completing the sheath insulation the warm air from my wood stove actually flowed northward into my kitchen. It was 10 degrees outside, snowing and the wind was just HOWLING out of the north. That was an experience! I stood there for at least 15 minutes in amazement.
I just finished the kids’ bedroom this summer since school was out. So the overhaul of the exterior walls amounted to about a couple grand. That accounts for insulation, windows, odds and ends and drywall. I expect my wood stove to heat the entire home, including the extremities very adequately now after my experience with the north wall.
My question is.. I realize I had resources to make this big job simpler, a buddy who is a drywall contractor, I have lot of experience in carpentry and construction, so I went overboard to make the house new, but there are cheaper means to accomplish similar results. It has also been in the family since homesteading and that has added to my motivation. So why don’t folks invest money and effort to seal up their home instead of looking for a bigger stove?
I’m just asking other people’s point of view. Our heating season outside the shoulders is typically November through March. If it saves a couple cords and makes the house attractive to somebody else if I decide to sell, and is hospitable to the folks I have as guests, ain’t it worth the effort? My favorite part of winter is coming in from the cold.