Wow! That's frighening sounding weahter outside! (houses, living in, floor)

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by greg42

It's pretty hard to recover indoor heat when the temp is 4 degrees! The sun has been out but doesn't help much.

I know. If I lose 5 degrees each night, and only recover 2 degrees each day, what does that mean if outdoor temps last for weeks? That's a 3 degree loss each day. After 14 days, that would be a 42 degree loss. Starting out at 70, I'd be at 28 degrees inside, right? Unlikely but it's an unsettling thought. We'd reach a point (probably when we can't get it above 50) where we'd winterize the house via draining the pipes (after somehow getting them unfrozen to drain them), and leave to live at camp.

[Impala26]

Originally Posted by Hopes

I know. If I lose 5 degrees each night, and only recover 2 degrees each day, what does that mean if outdoor temps last for weeks? That's a 3 degree loss each day. After 14 days, that would be a 42 degree loss. Starting out at 70, I'd be at 28 degrees inside, right? Unlikely but it's an unsettling thought. We'd reach a point (probably when we can't get it above 50) where we'd winterize the house via draining the pipes (after somehow getting them unfrozen to drain them), and leave to live at camp.

As an earlier poster said Hopes, the end of this is in sight. The high tomorrow peaks just over 20F and Saturday and Sundays highs are going to get into at least the 40s. Don't worry, Pittsburgh isn't going to become International Falls, Minnesota overnight or anything...

[Copanut]

Hey, it's supposed to be 50's by Saturday.

[greg42]

Originally Posted by Hopes

I know. If I lose 5 degrees each night, and only recover 2 degrees each day, what does that mean if outdoor temps last for weeks? That's a 3 degree loss each day. After 14 days, that would be a 42 degree loss. Starting out at 70, I'd be at 28 degrees inside, right? Unlikely but it's an unsettling thought. We'd reach a point (probably when we can't get it above 50) where we'd winterize the house via draining the pipes (after somehow getting them unfrozen to drain them), and leave to live at camp.

It's going to be above 40 for 4 or 5 days starting Thursday. Next 3 are supposed to be sunny again too. Rain on Saturday but 50+ temp.

Does sound like you have undersized heat though. Something to consider. Either that or insufficient insulation. Heating should be able to keep up with this in a house. A car is different, you're forcing zero degree air through the system at 60 mph, it's gonna be tough! A properly insulated house with sufficient heating should not be trouble to keep at normal temp. I'm guessing you know this and telling you now won't help anyway but just in case you needed reinforcement on that.

[hinsey86]

We have two feet outer stone walls. Our house has stayed warm for the most part. But we have a few closets that were likely built without any insulation between the plaster and the outer stone...they are like opening a refrigerator.

We are looking into having a whole house energy evaluation done soon and updating/ insulating as needed. Updates and insulation were done by previous owners about 25 years ago but I think there is improvement to be had. But overall( knock on wood) our old house has functioned well. I just hate to see our heating costs.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by greg42

Does sound like you have undersized heat though. Something to consider. Either that or insufficient insulation. Heating should be able to keep up with this in a house. A car is different, you're forcing zero degree air through the system at 60 mph, it's gonna be tough! A properly insulated house with sufficient heating should not be trouble to keep at normal temp. I'm guessing you know this and telling you now won't help anyway but just in case you needed reinforcement on that.

Our insulation is extremely well done. I bought a boiler big enough to accommodate a huge addition we never built. The radiators are burning hot. We have huge high ceilings. Our windows are new, except for just a couple we haven't changed yet. We discovered today that an interior pain is broken on one of our windows. It doesn't feel colder there. The remaining pane seems to be enough for now. We can't find drafts anywhere but the outlets and light switches. We're going to insulate them soon.

My husband noticed that our front door wasn't sealing shut well. He could see light from the outside. He thinks it shrunk in the cold temps because it's metal. I'm not sure what I think about that theory but I'm leaning towards . Even if that's not the reason the door isn't sealing properly, the door problem is probably the main reason we're fighting the cold here. This is a new development, and I have no idea what caused the door to suddenly not seal.

I appreciate the reinforcement. My husband is becoming annoyed by my questions. I think he fears I will put him to work.

[shadowfax]

Almost had an asthma attack on my way from the garage in to work this morning. I have not had it act up that bad in a very long time. Came home to a 41* house and frozen pipes. Got the water moving again and the house is up to 43*. Had to skip my martial arts class tonight because taking a shower after class and before bed would be dangerous.

My cor did warm up nicely for me to and from work today though.


I really can't wait to move out of this place.

[BarqCider]

my car was the only thing that seemed to struggled to turn on today, around 8:40am. after it turned on, I left it warm upf or 15 mins but saw I had no choice but to drive off with still some frost inside the car. didn't drive far until I landed in my parking spot and then proceeded to take the bus.

though the winds between 9am-noon nearly froze my face. it got to the point where it felt like needles hitting my face.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by shadowfax

Almost had an asthma attack on my way from the garage in to work this morning. I have not had it act up that bad in a very long time. Came home to a 41* house and frozen pipes. Got the water moving again and the house is up to 43*. Had to skip my martial arts class tonight because taking a shower after class and before bed would be dangerous.

43 degrees. Wow. You have it worse than me. I'm glad your pipes thawed.

[greg42]

Originally Posted by Hopes

Our insulation is extremely well done. I bought a boiler big enough to accommodate a huge addition we never built. The radiators are burning hot. We have huge high ceilings. Our windows are new, except for just a couple we haven't changed yet. We discovered today that an interior pain is broken on one of our windows. It doesn't feel colder there. The remaining pane seems to be enough for now. We can't find drafts anywhere but the outlets and light switches. We're going to insulate them soon.

My husband noticed that our front door wasn't sealing shut well. He could see light from the outside. He thinks it shrunk in the cold temps because it's metal. I'm not sure what I think about that theory but I'm leaning towards . Even if that's not the reason the door isn't sealing properly, the door problem is probably the main reason we're fighting the cold here. This is a new development, and I have no idea what caused the door to suddenly not seal.

Sheesh, something doesn't add up here. I mean, my front door has a seal problem at the bottom, something I notice from time to time during the cold, and this morning there was actually this bit of white frost on one side. At first I dismissed it as some paint that was on the bottom rubber sweep thing. Nope, right the first time, didn't think that white spot had been there before. My window in the bedroom got enough condensation around it this morning to make ice on the inside (I suspect simply spot where the window closes, not the seals failing, never done that before but they all pretty much did that today). And yet, it's quite toasty in here with no struggles at all. A little bit colder over here by the sliding glass door, that thing of course is one of the worst sealing of an opening there is, made all the worse by the fact the interior seal is gone meaning the double pane effect is mostly not helping anymore. And yet, it's not getting cold in here.

I know one other reason why, and maybe I need to give more credit than I usually do: the ceiling is low. It's not even quite 8 feet. I'm sure that helps. But it can't be the only reason I'm comfy here.

Originally Posted by Hopes

I appreciate the reinforcement. My husband is becoming annoyed by my questions. I think he fears I will put him to work.

Well, I can't help but think someone should go to work! It seems like something is wrong. Are you sure there's nothing wrong with the boiler? If insulation and heating size is good I don't see why you should have such trouble keeping the house temp up....