Still Burning, Anyone Else?

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I've still got a few more left. One or two a day. No more 24hr. burns. Getting rid of any odd sized/shaped pieces and lower quality wood.
 
Not sure if I'll burn anymore or not.

We had the windows up all night last night... it gets quite hot upstairs. While it is inconvenient in the summer(and something i'd like to fix) our poor attic ventilation means that the solar gain through the day is pretty high in the upstairs of our house. My last fire was Saturday into Sunday. Looking a the weather report, I don't think that I'll need one in the next few days either.
 
Not sure if I'll burn anymore or not.

We had the windows up all night last night... it gets quite hot upstairs. While it is inconvenient in the summer(and something i'd like to fix) our poor attic ventilation means that the solar gain through the day is pretty high in the upstairs of our house. My last fire was Saturday into Sunday. Looking a the weather report, I don't think that I'll need one in the next few days either.

I've always found it funny that people are so happy and proud of their home's solar gain. To me, that means your insulation sucks! I mean heck, the envelope of your house is supposed to protect you from outdoor heat or cold. Ideally you wouldn't even know if it was sunny or not.

We're at that awkward time of year where every other day fires are not enough and the room temps roller coaster a lot. Soon the sun will come out I hope!
 
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Had my last fire a week ago and might have a few more before May arrives. It is warming up during the days into the 60s and low 70s which keep the house fairly comfortable throughout the evening and night.
 
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I've always found it funny that people are so happy and proud of their home's solar gain. To me, that means your insulation sucks! I mean heck, the envelope of your house is supposed to protect you from outdoor heat or cold. Ideally you wouldn't even know if it was sunny or not.

We're at that awkward time of year where every other day fires are not enough and the room temps roller coaster a lot. Soon the sun will come out I hope!

To get the best of both worlds, simply take the insulation out of the attic every morning and stack it downstairs, and put it back in the late afternoon!
 
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To get the best of both worlds, simply take the insulation out of the attic every morning and stack it downstairs, and put it back in the late afternoon!

Or at least figure out a ventilation system that allows you to cool a hot house with cooler outside night air. Oh wait, the window.
 
Or at least figure out a ventilation system that allows you to cool a hot house with cooler outside night air. Oh wait, the window.

That's for common folk.

I have my whole roof on jacks so I can raise and lower it. Working on an automatic pneumatic cylinder system so I can tie it into my smartphone and both use it for climate control, and have it *PSSHWHOMP* pop up and down when I am speaking and need emphasis for a particular point.
 
I've always found it funny that people are so happy and proud of their home's solar gain. To me, that means your insulation sucks! I mean heck, the envelope of your house is supposed to protect you from outdoor heat or cold. Ideally you wouldn't even know if it was sunny or not.
That's describing a styrofoam cooler. Houses have windows, which from an insulation standpoint suck, but can offer good solar gain where the orientation is southerly. In some cases the house can have too much glazing. We have a lot, with some big ones facing north which doesn't help heating at all, but does offer a nice view.
 
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Guess you'll be getting cool nights for some time yet (?).

Yup . . . but where I live isn't so bad as say folks in The County. Last I knew they still had a fair amount of snow up that way.
 
I've always found it funny that people are so happy and proud of their home's solar gain. To me, that means your insulation sucks! I mean heck, the envelope of your house is supposed to protect you from outdoor heat or cold. Ideally you wouldn't even know if it was sunny or not.

We're at that awkward time of year where every other day fires are not enough and the room temps roller coaster a lot. Soon the sun will come out I hope!


Perhaps you misunderstood. I'm not proud of it. It's convenient for this short time, and it makes all summer a bear and causes ice dams and moisture issues in the winter (house air gets in, cools, and moisture condenses). I've put a good bit of thought into how to solve it. The house is 1 1/2 story, so the upstairs rooms are surrounded on both the sides and top with attic space. And there's no overhang on the roof; no place to put soffit vents, save the porch roof (which will be done this summer). This should help a bit, as there are two triangular vents at each end of the roof at the top to let air out. When I had the kitchen gutted, the attic was cooler, as air could flow from the kitchen up through. The roof is getting older and was poorly installed; upon replacement, it will have a ridge vent.

The insulation does need improved up there as well; it's currently a double layer of r-13 batts installed in the mid-60's in the places that could be gotten to. I'm fixing the worst place this summer by gutting a room below an inaccessible part of the attic that has absolutely no insulation. The upstairs bathroom is in a gable (?) jutting out the back, cutting that attic space into two, with no access on the south side of the bathroom. This is directly above the room I plan on gutting and making a media room. (that will also be insulated and wired to current code).

So I suppose I'm replying to say that I understand it's a problem and not a good thing, and I'm knocking out pieces of the problem as I bundle it with other projects. Much of the house is original, built in 1954, so there are many things that need done.
 
Perhaps you misunderstood. I'm not proud of it. It's convenient for this short time, and it makes all summer a bear and causes ice dams and moisture issues in the winter (house air gets in, cools, and moisture condenses). I've put a good bit of thought into how to solve it. The house is 1 1/2 story, so the upstairs rooms are surrounded on both the sides and top with attic space. And there's no overhang on the roof; no place to put soffit vents, save the porch roof (which will be done this summer). This should help a bit, as there are two triangular vents at each end of the roof at the top to let air out. When I had the kitchen gutted, the attic was cooler, as air could flow from the kitchen up through. The roof is getting older and was poorly installed; upon replacement, it will have a ridge vent.

The insulation does need improved up there as well; it's currently a double layer of r-13 batts installed in the mid-60's in the places that could be gotten to. I'm fixing the worst place this summer by gutting a room below an inaccessible part of the attic that has absolutely no insulation. The upstairs bathroom is in a gable (?) jutting out the back, cutting that attic space into two, with no access on the south side of the bathroom. This is directly above the room I plan on gutting and making a media room. (that will also be insulated and wired to current code).

So I suppose I'm replying to say that I understand it's a problem and not a good thing, and I'm knocking out pieces of the problem as I bundle it with other projects. Much of the house is original, built in 1954, so there are many things that need done.
Sounds great. I have a 1963 built house that was built cheaply for the time. There's a lot to do.
 
Sounds great. I have a 1963 built house that was built cheaply for the time. There's a lot to do.

Don't I know it. My grandparents commissioned the building of this one, and lived here most of their married life. It's build well, but they only took care of maintenance issues as things broke. So there's a decent amount of renovation to be done.
 
Sat on the back porch watching birds and drinking beer most of the afternoon. I think winter is over here!
 
Ill be at it for awhile yet. There is still a bit of snow in the yard but Im sure that will be gone within a few days unless it snows again which isnt unlikely. We hope were done though. Its nice to be able to move around again outside without so much effort. Even the back roads are opening up so I can start processing firewood again!
 
I'm just about done - maybe a couple of fires on a rainy or damp day but soon even that will be over. It does make me sad to see the burning season end, mainly because I don't like the heat and humidity to come. I do miss the sound and smell of the fire - but there's always campfires in the summer and October will be here soon enough.
 
We haven't burned in a couple of weeks now. If this weather stays crappy then I might get one going just to get the chill out of the house. Fortunately next week is going into the 80's.

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Rainy nasty day here in NJ and yes wife is burning again today
 
I haven't had a fire since April 6th. House temps will be unbearable if i light the stove. I cleaned out the stove for the last time today and the sweep will be here in 10 days. Its been cool and rainy so I lite the gas fireplace today to run here and there to keep the chill out for the next 3 days.. after that its going to be in the mid 70s to 80s next week... the season went by fast... sorry to see it go..
 
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Burning on the occasional colder days here in CT. Have had fires the last few days.


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We had a small fire the other day. It was rainy, chilly, and the temps were in the low 50's. The wifey built a small fire to get the chill out and then the sun came out. She wound up opening windows.
Have not tried one since. Mowed the lawn however.
 
I had one fire this week due to cloudy overcast rainy days. Looks like maybe one or two more little fires this coming week too, just depends on how it plays out. My fire this week was a good hot fire that cleaned the glass well and left things in good shape for a final brushing out of the chimney should it prove to have been the last fire. It was nice to feel that warmth seep into my bones as the basement gained temp quickly. Need to mow around the fire pit real well and spend a little time making sure it is ready for those nights I want a fire but its too hot to run the stove.