01-27-11, 10:50 AM | #11 |
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I'd highly suggest sealing the house as best you can. You can do a DIY leak test and there are many good guides out there. This is very cheap to do and helps a ton. I have a fairly poorly insulated 2nd floor on my house, but sealing really helped out.
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01-27-11, 10:52 AM | #12 |
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Peanuts, peanuts, peanuts...
So if you're going to begin an insulation crusade, consider the idea that "heat rises". The truth is that heat does not rise, it radiates in all directions. But heated air does rise. So the temp of the air upstairs is warmer than the floor downstairs, but the floor is still warmer than the air outside and you are radiating heat out of the house there, too. Don't neglect the floor.
Regarding insulation, cellulose is generally regarded as the best bang for the buck. But styrofoam peanuts (not the corn-starch ones) are excellent but they don't pack together very tightly and air can still move between them. So, if you can find a really big supply of free styrofoam peanuts and mix that with fluffed-up cellulose, the air migration would be stopped and you'll have just about the best possible loose-fill insulation at the lowest possible price. Also I tested the flammability of the peanuts, and they will not suppost combustion alone, but if they are on somethng like wood that is already burning, they will burn along with the wood. If the peanuts were mixed in with cellulose (which is treated with fire-retardant) fire risk would be very low. When I was going through a lean-patch, I used this kind of mix in the weather-side walls of my house, which had no insulation and it worked very well. There's another approach you might consider, and that is asymetric insulation (I just made that up)... Most people consider that all walls should be insulated the same, but I think that idea should be reconsidered. I don't know how the weather is where you live, but where I live, the really cold weather comes from the same direction. So the side that recieves the brunt of the cold winds will lose more BTUs/sq ft than other sides, and should have better insulation. Just a thought... -AC_Hacker
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I'm not an HVAC technician. In fact, I'm barely even a hacker... Last edited by AC_Hacker; 01-27-11 at 11:05 AM.. |
01-27-11, 01:22 PM | #13 |
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There are four main sources of leaks that I know of:
1. The front door leaks badly--not only around the edges, but through the bottom. I have a metal threshold and a metal scraper. I'll get some of that rubber seal for where the door meets the frame, but what's the best way to seal up the bottom? 2. The door from the unheated laundry/entry room into the rest of the house has a half inch gap underneath. What do you recommend to close up that gap? 3. The front windows rattle in their frames. There's no good seal between the movable pane and the frame. (These windows open sideways.) I'll take a pane out this weekend and get some pictures to see if you guys can help. I'm also planning to build the clear plastic "double-pane" inserts, as the cold air is palpable when you pull back the curtain. 4. This is the most embarrassing one: We have a window A/C unit in one of the living room windows. It's simply too small for the window, so I had to make up the difference with coroplast and duct tape. I plan to pull it out and cut a hole in the wall to mount it permanently, restoring the use of the window. |
01-27-11, 01:36 PM | #14 |
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Can you caulk the glass to the frame to seal them and stop the rattling?
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01-27-11, 01:38 PM | #15 | ||
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Quote:
Trees shouldn't trigger the light, since it usually has an infrared sensor, so it only sees warm things like cats, dogs, and racoons, sometimes people and cars. Unless it's an ultrasound sensor... Also it is possible to rewire the set up so that the light is far away from the sensor(s), for example a sensor at each end of a sidewalk with the light in the middle. Quote:
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01-27-11, 01:46 PM | #16 |
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01-27-11, 02:07 PM | #17 | |
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mine look something like this http://www.groupepromax.com/files/ca...961_18-040.jpg and go on sale for about $10 each every fall. |
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01-27-11, 02:27 PM | #18 | |
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For around/between the two sliding frames you can use a product called seal'npeel which is like caulk, but easily pulls off once summer rolls around.
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01-27-11, 06:31 PM | #19 | |
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2. A rubber threshold strip. 3. I have the same issue in my living room. The right thing to do is to replace the windows. Instead, I have it sealed up tight with plastic window sealing film, from the same aisle of the store as #1. 4. This is also the cheapest one to fix, as the above will cost around $13. Remove the A/C unit every September, and install it every July. Store it in the basement until you get around to permanently installing it in the wall. |
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01-28-11, 07:44 AM | #20 |
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motion sensors can't be used with CFLs.??
I got a great deal on some really weak CFL indoor/outdoor floods
and installed 2 of them in a new outdoor security light. They work fine. I repaired the old security light (bad photocell) and stuck it down in the basement shop area, using two new CFLs and they work fine.. I think maybe those series X-10 wall switches need a bit current flow.. |
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