At the Intersection of Art, Architecture & Design

If you live in the Washington, DC area or anywhere north and a bit south of here, you were just walloped with a record-breaking snow storm.  In my neighborhood we got 18 inches.  And, the high temperatures in the next few days will barely break freezing.  So if the snow is melting off your roof, it’s because of inadequate insulation and poorly sealed spaces between the conditioned living areas and the wall & roof cavities.

Icicles - Dramatic Demonstration of Heat Loss

Compare Your House To Others in Neighborhood

The house, above, is an exaggerated example of heat escaping and prematurely melting the snow that’s accumulated on the roof.  Look at it compared to the house next door.  You can look at your house compared to others in your neighborhood.  Be careful to consider exposure – the snow on a south facing roof on a sunny day will melt much more quickly than on a north or east facing roof.  The pattern of melting can also give clues about where the leaks are coming from.  Remember, all the warm air escaping to melt the snow is being replaced with cold air coming in!

Lots of folks in old houses think that replacing their windows is the most important step to cure drafty, cold houses.  In fact, windows are quite low down on the list of areas for improvement.

Here are some rules of thumb:
1.    Seal all drafts first. They are the biggest winners, while conversely if you don’t take care of them they’ll undo the effectiveness of any other improvements. Many of the biggest ones are hidden; for instance, the vertical chase of each “wet wall” (space for pipes behind your tubs and showers) is usually open to the attic.

Next go from top to bottom.

2.    The attic is a huge area and usually the easiest area to install insulation or adde-to existing insulation.
3.    Next improve weather-stripping & sealing of windows and doors.  Good storm windows plus weather-stripping and sealing of windows brings them almost on par with new windows – at must less cost.
4.    Garage walls (insulate and drywall) and door (insulated unit) if you have rooms above.
5.    All of this comes before adding insulation to walls – it’s the hardest and most expensive to do.   However, if you’re planning on replacing your siding, that’s the perfect time to blow-in insulation from outside into the wall cavities and to add a layer of foam board sheeting to the outside walls.
6.    Last in effectiveness is under-floor insulation.

Finally, I must confess, that the house pictured above is mine!  When I bought the home, I planned an immediate remodel and figured I would take of everything then.  But the economy has shifted the remodel back in time.  It is well past time to make some necessary improvement – which I can promise you will be done before the end of the winter.  First on the list is sealing leaks, second is attic insulation, and third is to replace my storm windows and repair the broken sash cords and weather strip the existing windows.  And I’m sure that next winter will be much more comfortable than this winter.  I’ll reap the financial rewards of a better sealed and insulated home during both the heating and cooling seasons.

If you’re stuck inside and want to read more about saving energy & money, click here, for a free US Dept of Energy Booklet on the subject.

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