Snug

[darkemeralds]

In what was by far the most painless home-improvement job I've ever experienced, the Clean Energy Works and GreenSavers contractors completely insulated my formerly-uninsulated house this past week.

November has been too mild so far to turn the heat on, but even so, I notice two distinct improvements already: when I wake up in the morning, my bedroom doesn't actually feel like the outdoors--there's a kind of snugness to it; and the place is quieter. Honestly, I didn't realize how hollow and echoey it was around here till all the hollows were fluffified.

The contractors found crevices and gaps to insulate that I didn't even know were there. They blew loose insulation into exterior walls from below by putting holes into the sill, rather than tearing up my interior walls. There's only a little bit of touch-up painting to do.

They replaced some old wiring in the attic crawl space so they could insulate up there. They put fancy sealing strips around the drafty mudroom door. They plugged the gaps around electrical sockets and light switches. I mean, the place is snug.

My little house is so happy! And so am I!

Comments

[silk_knickers]

That's awesome! And just in time for winter. My biggest complaint about my apartment, and renting in general, is my inability to properly insulate this turn-of-the-other-century building (which could definitely use some better insulation; my gas bills last winter were absurdly high.) In the meantime, there is the as-seen-on-TV "double-sided draft guard" under two of the doors to the outside that helps a teeny tiny bit.

[darkemeralds]

Apartment life is always rife with problems of non-investment, and so was life in this house for a lot of years. Stuffing things under door cracks was something I've done a lot of, and I also recall some really labor-intensive Saran-wrap-style window shields involving double-sided tape and a blow dryer to shrink-fit the clear film (and YEARS of unremovable double-sided sticky tape on window frames).

I can't say I'm looking forward to lower heating bills, because the cost of this upgrade is being added as a loan payment to my electric bill from now until eternity, but I imagine the retrofit will let me cut down on the number of hugely wasteful hot-bath-just-to-get-warm events I'll indulge in in the coming winters.

[ranunculus]

I -so- empathize with the hot bath thing!

[darkemeralds]

I'm sort of obsessed with the miracle of hot running water. It might be the single most important technology humanity has ever devised.

Perhaps I exaggerate...

[ranunculus]

No exaggeration!

Hmmm. Cooked food. But I digress.

[darkemeralds]

Cooking! The external stomach that expanded homo sapiens' diet by leaps and bounds!

I am so into reading What Technology Wants right now that every thought and idea seems to lead back to questions of human technology. Kevin Kelly, the author, uses the construct of cooking as a technology that gave us an external stomach, a form of pre-digestion, that took food we couldn't otherwise have digested or extracted nutrients from and made new sources of calories, and therefore of longevity (and therefore of ideas, and therefore of more technology).

It's a really interesting book.

[ranunculus]

Might be worth figuring out cost of insulating v.s. cost of heating. Then contact Landlord and ask for it to be done, and offer to pay part, or all if they won't budge.

[shezan.livejournal.com]

That is excellent news, because home improvement can be so awful to live through most of the time!

[darkemeralds]

It's generally a super stressful thing to do. This was practically invisible to me! Apart from a couple of items of furniture shifted and a few footprints on the mudroom floor, the only sign that they were ever hear are the improvements. It was fantastic.

[darkemeralds]

Gah! Of course I meant "here" there. *eyeroll*

[kis]

:)

[lyr]

I like to think of you all snug and happy! That's a good thought to start my day with.

[sobelle]

(hello again)

home ownership... what a concept

I've not had the opportunity... it does free one up to be more mobile, but there's a certain sweetness in having one's own place to do with as one pleases... if one can afford it =/

As I get older it all becomes that much more uncertain... the idea of living in one neighborhood or community, while ever so wishful, becomes less and less likely (unless it's an old folks home =/ )

Speaking of which... the Boomers should make for an interesting "old folks" (r)evolution. =)

But what I meant to say was congratulations on being snugged up... it really does make a difference!!

It's raining here today in the SF Bay area... we're up on the north side of San Bruno mountain watching the mist blowing and the rain sheeting down on the houses below.

[darkemeralds]

I came to home ownership the same way I've come to most things in my life: the path of least resistance. I was renting this house and when the landlord decided to sell it, it was actually easier for me to buy it than to move.

I've almost never regretted the choice: it was the perfect convergence of moment and means, and though the house and neighborhood were both utterly crappy at the time, both have improved significantly since--and one thing that couldn't be improved on is its proximity to the city center and urban life (and my job).

Now and then, though, when I'm wandering around, I see cool-looking apartments in cool-looking neighborhoods, and I think, that looks nice, wish I could move.

Mostly, though, I'm happy to come home. Your view today sounds lovely, and I hope you're comfortable, warm and dry watching it.

[sobelle]

The Path of Least Resistance.

I suspect that could be the name of just any number of chapters in my life too. =)

My present situation is testament to it.

I always wanted to end up in a neighborhood/community but always seem to either be moving or else in a neighborhood/community that I didn't WANT to stay in. =(

One of my sisters-out-law Rox (we're divorced from brothers) has lived in Santa Cruz for years and has built up the community that I covet... sux 2 B me =P

I especially like that your neighborhood is one of those ~recovered~ old neighborhoods. The few pix I've seen support my suspicions that the houses are all diverse and there are old trees and plantings.

Again, things that I like =)

Sunny today, up here on the hill. We've had a bit of rain and I can tell that winter is coming... as wintery as coastal California gets that is =)

[darkemeralds]

Sister-out-law. That's good!

Yes, the neighborhood I live in is diverse in terms of people and housing stock, and some blocks have great trees (mine isn't one of them, sadly, though I have a fantastic English walnut in my yard).

As to community: mine consists mostly of family, because it's not at all in my nature to be neighborly or to join things. I don't think it would matter much where I lived, though at least in this neighborhood, nobody minds that I park my car on the street and hang my laundry on the clothesline, and ride my bike a lot, so I could live in less-compatible places, for sure.

[sobelle]

because it's not at all in my nature to be neighborly or to join things

Hahhahahaa! That's how my life has turned out too but I really do think that I would like a community... it's good to be dragged out into the open (on occasion) my BFF Willa (we met in 1958) is even more of a recluse than I am.

But it's my BFF Melinda (we met in 1972) that is the social butterfly and was always dragging me out and about... but it worked well because she made all of the decisions and I could just be along for the ride. I got to go on a ~romantic~ New Orleans trip (because her husband couldn't get out of court)... again... and she didn't want to reschedule... besides, she said she had WAY more fun with me. =D

I guess my love of the idea of Community harkens from my University days when neighborhood friends would descend after classes and we'd drink tea and smoke joints around my big old kitchen table.

::sigh::

I guess those days are long gone. =(

[darkemeralds]

::sigh:: indeed. The fact that you've known anyone for so many years is very impressive. I think the oldest BFF I can still claim a connection to is a college friend whom I met in 1982.

Community depends on proximity to a very large extent, because spur of the moment activities and casual get-togethers and ad hoc helping out and borrowing a cup of sugar depend on proximity.

My online communities have become increasingly important to me for emotional sustenance as my so-called "real" community has scattered. They aren't the same as sitting around the kitchen table, but they aren't a bad substitute.

[sobelle]

I've been remarkably blessed with very good friends. I've lost a couple already... which I know will continue as we age... because that's life... =(

And I totally agree with the online communities! They really ARE important... to me too. I've got some long time online friends too... 1997-ish is when I started discovering the wonder of the interweb! =D I've actually met a few of my online friends in RL... and it's as easy a transition as I could have ever hoped for. =)

Re: the "borrow a cup of sugar" community... how freaking cool would that be?! Seriously, a community populated just with people you like. *slap* (and then I woke up) =D

When I was back in Fayetteville I lived on a family compound. (2 cousins & families & my aunt) 17 acres with 4 separate structures spaced out on the wooded hillsides. Without a doubt, my favorite place ever.

And I REALLY miss my Little Cottage in the Woods. =(

[darkemeralds]

That sounds wonderful!

My sister, who lives across the street from me with her family, just came by and had some dinner with me. That's the kind of thing that makes community. I don't require a lot of it, but it's nice to have some.

[tehomet]

Awesome, as Dean Winchester would say.

I'm glad you got this done and are happy with the results.

Last year, I persuaded my parents to get insulation put in the wall cavities, and chipped in with the costs. It's probably the best thing they've/we've ever done to improve their living conditions. I also got a carpenter to make a removable wooden hatch for the fireplace in the great room, and weatherseal strips around all the exterior doors. The place is a lot less draughty and the heating bills are less expensive. Even just from the ecological point of view, it's so worth doing.

[darkemeralds]

I would imagine that your parents are far more comfortable now.

The work here was paid for with a loan funded by the federal government, so they were eager to pluck low-hanging fruit like my house, where vast efficiencies could be gained by the simplest insulation and sealing techniques. The team that did the work were super-efficient: this is all they do, and they made quick work of it. I could not have done it myself--never would have, that's for sure.

Next, I'm going to replace my windows. Of the stunning total of nine windows in the entire house, six are still single-glazed and old and rattly. I might be able to manage three replacements this winter and three next. And then I'll be set for whatever winter wants to throw at me!