Been lurking for years and finally moved!

Itsnotme1988 · 05-12-11, 08:14 PM

Just recently moved into the first home for my wife and I! Found an old house in NC (built in 1930) to rent and finally get us to our own place. Being this old the home obviously needs some help but I want to keep it on the cheaper side as it is a rental and we only plan to be here for about 3 years. Our ultimate plan is to move out to Oregon where we want to purchase a home at that point. Anyway, here's some pics from when I first went to look at it.

(For Sale is still up because the landlord had just purchased it...asking price was only $23k...

)

Edit: Guess I don't have just enough posts yet...

Piwoslaw · 05-13-11, 01:06 AM

Welcome to ER, again

I have family in NC, in an old house from 1936 iirc. After moving in the two things that helped the most with heating/cooling were:

Replacing old single pane windows with argon filled double pane. This brought the temperature up about 3-5°F in the winter and greatly reduced drafts and gas usage. Also made it easier to cool in the summer and reduced A/C usage.
Insulation in the attic. It became noticeably cooler upstairs during the summer and also reduced bills year-round.

#1 is probably too expensive for you to invest in a rental house, but maybe you could talk to the landlord about it? Maybe propose that if he replaces the windows with low-e models, then you'll insulate the attic. IF that doesn't work, then try making interior storm windows.

You could also ask the landlord about doing an energy audit. This would tell him what to do in the future, while could implement any of the cheaper suggestions.

Daox · 05-13-11, 06:30 AM

Air sealing would be my #1 priority. Its quite cheap to do too.

Itsnotme1988 · 05-13-11, 12:06 PM

Video walkthrough

Behind shed on right of house.

Inside of shed (no foundation and only 2/3 of a floor....)

05-13-11, 01:06 AM	#2
Piwoslaw Super Moderator Join Date: May 2009 Location: Warsaw, Poland Posts: 961 Thanks: 188 Thanked 110 Times in 86 Posts	Welcome to ER, again I have family in NC, in an old house from 1936 iirc. After moving in the two things that helped the most with heating/cooling were: Replacing old single pane windows with argon filled double pane. This brought the temperature up about 3-5°F in the winter and greatly reduced drafts and gas usage. Also made it easier to cool in the summer and reduced A/C usage. Insulation in the attic. It became noticeably cooler upstairs during the summer and also reduced bills year-round. #1 is probably too expensive for you to invest in a rental house, but maybe you could talk to the landlord about it? Maybe propose that if he replaces the windows with low-e models, then you'll insulate the attic. IF that doesn't work, then try making interior storm windows. You could also ask the landlord about doing an energy audit. This would tell him what to do in the future, while could implement any of the cheaper suggestions. __________________ Ecorenovation - the bottomless piggy bank that tries to tame the energy hog.

05-13-11, 06:30 AM	#3
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	Air sealing would be my #1 priority. Its quite cheap to do too. __________________ Current project - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. & To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

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05-12-11, 08:14 PM	#1
Itsnotme1988 Lurking Renovator Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 8 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Been lurking for years and finally moved! Just recently moved into the first home for my wife and I! Found an old house in NC (built in 1930) to rent and finally get us to our own place. Being this old the home obviously needs some help but I want to keep it on the cheaper side as it is a rental and we only plan to be here for about 3 years. Our ultimate plan is to move out to Oregon where we want to purchase a home at that point. Anyway, here's some pics from when I first went to look at it. (For Sale is still up because the landlord had just purchased it...asking price was only $23k... ) Edit: Guess I don't have just enough posts yet...

05-13-11, 12:06 PM	#4
Itsnotme1988 Lurking Renovator Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 8 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Video walkthrough Behind shed on right of house. Inside of shed (no foundation and only 2/3 of a floor....)