Phase 1
Phase 1 - 2009: Modest modifications and weatherization plus new double paned windows installed in all windows including basement. All doors except the front entrance are steel insulated core doors with insulated glass. Attic insulation – 8” cellulose + 6” fiberglass batts. Walls had blown in cellulose insulation that we suspected had settled after 12 years.
How our house looked in 2009 and how it performed for us.
The house was moderately comfortable to live in, but it had noticeable cold and hot spots. The house had blown in insulation before we purchased it but because of the balloon framing common at the turn of the century, much of the insulation had migrated between the second floor joists and also just settled over time leaving pockets of uninsulated wall. One area at the top of the second floor stairs was either hot or cold depending on the season and our great room addition built on a crawl space was always cold. We had added 8" of fiberglass insulation to the 8" of cellulose in the attic. The variation in temperature of the living space drove the thermostat up to make it comfortable to live in. Heat vents were left over from the gravity furnace with both heating and return registers on the center walls. Air cooled by the windows fell to the floor freezing our feet and the heating registers only served to feed the circulation of air past the windows again.
When we compared our heating and cooling bills to everyone else we felt that our bill was average.