House is warmer this year... does anyone else do this??

[crs7200]

I have had a OWB for 5 years now. It has made my house much more comfortable. Not having to worry about the t-stat setting because I would owe my left arm to the oil comp.

On the really cold days of winter, when it is zero or below, my furnace would hardly ever turn off. Poor insulation in certain parts of the house would bleed air.

This year I heard a couple of guys at work talking about putting snow around the house. I asked what they were talking about??

They said that now that we have snow, they shovel or snow blow the snow up against the house's foudation and up over where it meets the siding to help keep the cold air out. Especially with the older stone basements like I have. They said that both their Dad's always did it. I looked it up online (oh great internet ) and sure enough found many who do this.

So, for the last few weeks, when ever we get snow, I have been blowing it up against the house. Now that we have the cold settling in, I really do notice a HUGE difference. The house actually is able to get warm just as fast as it would if it were 20 instead of below zero.

One thing you have to remember is that if your cellar is prone to getting water in it once the spring thaw sets in, you need to move the snow away before that. Fortunately I have good drainage so I don't have that problem.

You know, living my whole life in the country, you think I would have heard about this before now??

 

[woodsmaster]

I used to do that around the skirting when I lived in a mobile home. It made a big difference. My house foundation is sealed well enough that I don't worry about it and wouldn't want the moisture getting in the crawl space.

 

[salecker]

Hi
Common practice up here in the cold country.Free insulation when you really need it.
Enjoy the warmth.
Thomas

 

[Fred61]

I have had a OWB for 5 years now. It has made my house much more comfortable. Not having to worry about the t-stat setting because I would owe my left arm to the oil comp.

On the really cold days of winter, when it is zero or below, my furnace would hardly ever turn off. Poor insulation in certain parts of the house would bleed air.

This year I heard a couple of guys at work talking about putting snow around the house. I asked what they were talking about??

They said that now that we have snow, they shovel or snow blow the snow up against the house's foudation and up over where it meets the siding to help keep the cold air out. Especially with the older stone basements like I have. They said that both their Dad's always did it. I looked it up online (oh great internet ) and sure enough found many who do this.

So, for the last few weeks, when ever we get snow, I have been blowing it up against the house. Now that we have the cold settling in, I really do notice a HUGE difference. The house actually is able to get warm just as fast as it would if it were 20 instead of below zero.

One thing you have to remember is that if your cellar is prone to getting water in it once the spring thaw sets in, you need to move the snow away before that. Fortunately I have good drainage so I don't have that problem.

You know, living my whole life in the country, you think I would have heard about this before now??

Oh yeah, Polish fill! Done that!

 

[James Ascherl]

my dad used to rake the leaves into 5o gallon bags and pack the bags around the foundation of the house.

 

[JustWood]

Been doing it for years.
I have prolly 6 feet on the prevailing wind side of the house now. 2-3 around the rest of the house. It works despite what some may believe.

 

[pybyr]

I've tried it but find that there's enough heat escaping through the granite blocks of my foundation that the snow melts away... a sure sign that I would do well, when I can get to it, to put some insulation on the indoor side of the above-ground portions of the cellar....

 

[homebrewz]

I see a lot of hay bales stacked against houses too.

 

[guy01]

We've been doing this for years also, just remember to keep adding snow once a week or so to keep it packed against the stone.
Guy

 

[rowerwet]

old timers trick up here to stack hay around the foundation for the winter, just be aware mice find them to be a nice home

 

[flyingcow]

Spruce and fir bows. Basically limbs off of the trees. Put 4ft plastic around house. Bank it with the softwood limbs and shovel snow against it. grew up in a very old farm house.

I do this trick just on my west side, especially up against the patio door. Take banking down in spring, put it in a pile out in the field, throw a match, poof.

 

[roaring fire]

Evergreen boughs stacked a couple of feet around the foundation gives substantial
insulation in itself if done in the fall. You get a double bonus when the snow comes
& the wind blows the snow into the boughs & building up around the boughs giving
substantially more protection. ;-)

 

[ihookem]

I still do it but I have 3" closed cell foam between the joists in the basement. I push it up against the brick with my kubota. I also leave a lot of snow 4 or 5 ft. out cause that keeps the frost out of the ground near the basement walls. My uncle used hay bales long ago. Do it and watch your basement temps go up several degrees.