My landlord is clueless. - Page 2

[MonieMama]

We have a 1920s bungalow with poor insulation. Our solution? We bought 2 electric space heaters and move them to whatever room we're in. We keep our thermostat on 68 around the clock...DH works from home and has a $10 heater fan in his office and DD and I have a $40 space heater in the living room. It keeps us cozy and our last gas bill was $45. (When we bought the house in March our first gas bill was $250 from keeping the furnace set on 74.) Especially if you're not planning on being there long-term, I'd recommend spending the $$ on a space heater that will keep you comfy now and you can take with you to the next place.

[amnda527]

I would say give up the whole insulating the floor thing. It doesn't sound like you landlord will give in, and even if he did it doesn't sound like it would solve all your heating problems. Wear socks and slippers to keep your feet warm, and invest in some throw/area rugs. Get some space heaters, put up heavy curtains, put the plastic stuff on your windows, etc. Another thing we do is close off our spare room that we never really go in, and close the vent to that room. In your case maybe you can just turn off that one particular radiator?? I'm not sure exactly if that will work for you. But why heat a room and pay for it, if you only run in there once or twice a day to grab a book or whatever? Maybe you could convince your landlord instead to get someone out to just "check out" the heat in your house. A professional could tell him exactly what the problem is, and how to solve it, plus you can usually find someone to do a free estimate. Good Luck!! Stay Warm!

[fuller2]

Wear a hat inside if you're really cold--makes a big difference. I live in the NE in a house built in 1915. My heating bill last winter was $200-$275/month--and I kept the place between 55-62 degrees, AND it was a mild winter. I am bracing myself for this year which is supposed to be colder. Turn the heat WAY down at night and if there's any time during the day when you are out.

My toddler still wants to run around naked even when it's freezing, too--go figure. It doesn't seem to bother him at all.

It's easy to make those 'draft dodger' things for the crack between door & floor, too--just sew a long tube of fabric and stuff it with whatever is lying around. (I made mine out of old clothes and stuffed them with whatever was left of the cut-up garment.)

Now I have to go change my furnace filter .

[~Nikki~]

This is our second winter in this house, which is the first place we have lived with insulation between the floors. And I can honestly say it doesn't make a lick of (noticeable) difference. It's hard to say if it saves money on the heating bill, because this house is much larger than the other, so we're obviously spending more each winter, anyway. But as for walking on the floor, it's freezing. We keep a good stock of slippers in a basket by the front door, so that nobody gets cold feet. We also keep the house fairly warm (working on weaning ourselves down a few degrees), but the floors remain chilly.

This thread DID remind me that we need to clean our filter, though!

[momto l&a]

This first time I have lived in a house with insulation in the floor and the floor is still ice cold.

[Attila the Honey]

As other's have said, I don't think anythign requires the landlord to insulate for you. It's one of those "you should have known it wasn't insulated when you rented it" deals. He's required to make repairs, not necessarily 'upgrade' for you.

We lived in a drafty old house and $350 with ice cold floors was pretty much the norm. Alot of good suggestions were made - hats, area rugs, weatherstripping. We also hung heavy quilts and blankets over the windows sometimes. Good luck!

[srain]

Have you offered to do it yourself if the landlord pays for the insulation?

It's fairly normal to not have insulation on the basement ceiling- if not properly installed, it can cause serious moisture/ condensation issues. A weatherization program came to work on our hosue two years ago and did tons of stuff, but did NOT bother insulating there because the benefits were so minimal.

[SleeplessMommy]

The priorities for reducing heating costs/more comfortable house are:

* attic insulation
* insulated windows
* professionally installed, insulated doors.

Attic insulation is an easy DIY. Could cost $200-$500 for fiberglass with a payback of 2-5 years. And much more comfort in winter and summer. You could ask the landlord to pay for the insulation, and you install it. If he won't, just do above the br and baths that you use.

For a rental, I would suggest door and window insulating strips (draft blockers) plus plastic on the windows. Here, we have blocked off one of 4 exterior doors to reduce drafts.

I would reduce any drafts into the basement first, and not insulate under the first floor unless there was a crawl space. With ins under the floor, there is difficulty in keeping it close enough to be useful. Professional spray in foam insulation ($$$$) could be used. For a basement, you would worry about freezing the plumbing.

If you ask around at local thrift shops/freecycle, you may be able to get FREE or really cheap wool rugs for the floors.

It sounds like you have radiator heating. Have you tried insulating the hot water pipes in the basement? Also, vacuum the outside of the radiators to improve the radiation of heat.

You might want to look into this product: http://www.radiantguard.com/index.as...PROD&ProdID=37
reflective bubble insulation. It is available at Lowes, Home Depot, etc. And portable, so you can take it to the next house. I would suggest trying it above one bedroom, to see if it makes any difference.

Also, if you bring in a furnace service technician (about $100 here) it is possible the technician will find something wrong with the boiler. Get a written report, and make the landlord pay to repair of replace.

My sympathy to you for having such a cold house!

[3daughters]

We, too, rent an old house (80 years old). We did a lot of weatherstripping and found that cutting out the drafts from around the doors made a significant difference. We spent about $20 total. I hope that this will translate into a $$$ savings on our heating bill and I KNOW that the rooms are more comfortable without the cold air blowing in.