Keeping cold out/heat in rooms

[Stelcom66]

This is sort of hearth related - a question about retaining heat generated by a wood stove. My house is a cape, I'm the only one here so several years ago I hung curtains in front of the stairs to the 2nd floor. I do believe that helped retain some heat in the living room where the stove is. Years ago when my bedroom was upstairs and there were no curtains, the 2nd floor was quite warm from the stove. I'm considering also hanging curtains going into the dining room. I have a small ~4" fan in the corner of the entryway which I turn on to move heat from the living room when needed. Also there's no basement door for litterbox access. I wonder if it would be worthwhile to hang curtains there and into the dining room to retain some heat?

 

[Max W]

What are your curtains made from? How well do they cover? We have a single custom quilt that covers the stairway to the second floor. It is spot velcroed along the sides with a draft stopper at the bottom. It does slow heat from circulating and keeps the upstairs cool. Without the threshold type draft stopper at the base of the quilt we can feel a cold draft down the stairs. Is your cellar tight? If we didn’t have the weatherstripping and a sweep around our cellar door we would would be pulling cold air from the cellar and trying to circulate more heat upstairs with some chimney effect. Would a cellar door on with a cat door cut in help?

 

[EatenByLimestone]

We have a door leading to the stairs of our cape. Since it was a post war cape, the upstairs was not finished off when the house was built. When it was finished off, the door was kept. It, along with the insulation blown into the ceiling between the floors around 1980, keeps a good amount of the heat downstairs.

Cutting off rooms can also help with heat travel.

 

[Stelcom66]

What are your curtains made from? How well do they cover?...

Not sure of the material, but they seem of good quality, somewhat heavy. They were given to me several years ago. They don't cover the stairwell substantially, custom made would be ideal. The curtains I looked at recently at a discount store seemed like shower curtains, plastic/polyester-like. Passed on those. A cat door is an option - I have one now to the enclosed deck so the cats would likely adapt to it. My cellar isn't really tight. Standing on front of the stairs I can feel the cold air - I wasn't sure how much is actually being drawn upstairs to the living room. Maybe an amount to be considered - at times I can feel a slight draft, that would be the likely source.

We have a door leading to the stairs of our cape. Since it was a post war cape, the upstairs was not finished off when the house was built....

My cape was built in 1954. All the neighborhood capes were built as 4 room houses without the upstairs finished. The previous owner finished one of the 2 upstairs rooms. Based on the sheetrock taping quality, I'd assume not such great insulation. Maybe the design iof a cape is inherent to heat being distributed out of the living room. My son's ranch with an insert does an amazing job of heating compared to my stove, Then again, his is a newer stove I believe that's probably just more efficient. Around 1980 I believe (before I bought the house) the house had vinyl siding installed, with the typical Styrofoam ..Tyvek(?) insulation between the siding and the original shingles so moderately good insulation there, the windows not so much.

 

[3650]

I used to close all the bedroom doors until one day I opened one to find the entire wall covered in frost. Now I just leave everything open because I’m worried this old house might get moldy.

 

[Stelcom66]

I used to close all the bedroom doors until one day I opened one to find the entire wall covered in frost. Now I just leave everything open because I’m worried this old house might get moldy.

Wow! Yes good idea leaving everything open.

 

[Max W]

I think under and around cellar doors are an often overlooked source of significant infiltration into the living space. especially in taller houses, capes etc. If you see spider or cobwebs around the the cellar door it’s one sign of moving air.