An Educational Morning
I've been spending a lot of time on PSE's website (the power company), keeping track of rebates and things, and rather on a whim I scheduled a HomePrint assessment a few days ago, because, hey, I've been having trouble with decisions, and more information is good, and it was free.
I was a bit worried that it wouldn't be useful, since there are things about my house I *know* are bad that I can't fix, like the minimal wall insulation, and other things I'm planning to fix but haven't gotten to yet. (I was also afraid the guy would see my house and go 'how can you live in such filth and squalor!' but that didn't happen). It was actually pretty interesting, though, and, hey, I got a bunch of free CFLs, and free stuff is cool.
And I learned things! I even learned things I can do immediately, and things I can work into my remodel, and potentially a way to get the benefit of furring out the wall without actually doing all the tedious work with furring strips -- all of which is awesome!
From top to bottom --
I was a bit worried that it wouldn't be useful, since there are things about my house I *know* are bad that I can't fix, like the minimal wall insulation, and other things I'm planning to fix but haven't gotten to yet. (I was also afraid the guy would see my house and go 'how can you live in such filth and squalor!' but that didn't happen). It was actually pretty interesting, though, and, hey, I got a bunch of free CFLs, and free stuff is cool.
And I learned things! I even learned things I can do immediately, and things I can work into my remodel, and potentially a way to get the benefit of furring out the wall without actually doing all the tedious work with furring strips -- all of which is awesome!
From top to bottom --
- I need to unkludge the bathroom fan vent that dad I kludged because it was raining. Currently the very nice bathroom fan takes up one of the roof vents, and the roof could really use more ventilation. More roof vents or a ridge vent would be good in future.
- I need to replace the cardboard baffles in the attic, not just make new ones for the new area, because they've fallen from the right position and are actually hindering things. That job takes zero money, but it'll be miserable to actually do. NOT looking forward to it. Ick.
- In related news, he suggested a 2x4 two instead of the 2' OSB I have up there to make it easy to get through the attic, since the OSB seriously reduces the insulation in the areas it's in. I knew it was an issue; 2x4s are a decent solution, I suppose. I'll probably put up more than one, though.
- vent hood for the oven, for CO and moisture reasons. Well, that's not news. What is cool is that the guy suggested moving the old bathroom fan -- which has been replaced but not removed -- into the kitchen in the interim between now and actually shelling out for a vent hood and possibly moving the stove, which is a nice idea.
- Should do lots of caulking for air sealing around joints and electrical fittings and things.
- advice on water heaters. Apparently a gas storage heater (like I'd been planning) is a bad idea in a conditioned space, and I should either look at gas tankless, condensing gas (a fancy storage heater), or an electric heat pump water heater. Back to the drawing board -- but good to know!
- The walls are a problem, and will probably always be a problem. :( They're very poorly insulated, but since they do have some insulation, they're not candidates for drill and fill. Poo. Only way around that is to reside the house, and that's not in the cards.
- The floor is awesome! Not only is it well insulated (which I knew), but there's an air barrier between the insulation and the floor (which is 2x6 boards, not sheet stock, so there are lots of air gaps). Also, I managed to keep Calliope from following him down into the crawlspace. Yay!