How cold do you feel?

[cjsmith]

I am firmly convinced that chilly is colder than cold. Cold hisses across your skin; chilly gets into your bones. Cold means a parka in the snow, and thin watery sunlight; chilly means trying to type with mittens in your office, and sniffles, and a deadline.

California has chilly. Of all the places I've lived*, northern California does chilly in the biggest way.

*eg Boston

(From a comment elsewhere.)

Comments

[patgreene.livejournal.com]

No insulation is a biggie. I live in an Eichler, which because of the way it is situated does not get much sun on the sheet glass windows in winter. Talk about a heat sink. Brrr...

It also does not help that I live with people who are utterly incapable of shutting the door to the (unheated, uninsulated) garage when they go out there, or even when they are back in the house.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I just do not get the Eichler thing. I understand that people find them aesthetically appealing (though I don't, particularly), but did Mr. Eichler ever try to pay the heating bill for one? What was he THINKING?

I keep hoping that after another generation or two, every house built shoddily by stoopid people in the fifties will have been lived in by someone with enough extra cash to insulate it. But the Eichlers, I don't know what can be done about those.

utterly incapable of shutting the door

Ah yes, you have children. ;-)

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

Floor heaters. Mmm.

Joe's cats say thumbs up for floor heating.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'd enjoy floor heating, especially if there were (insulated) walls and a (n insulated) roof involved. :-)

I'm surprised my kitties haven't discovered the joys of my electric mattress pad. That thing is wondrous. It should be kitty heaven!

[joedecker.livejournal.com]

I just do not get the Eichler thing. I understand that people find them aesthetically appealing (though I don't, particularly), but did Mr. Eichler ever try to pay the heating bill for one? What was he THINKING?

It's surprisingly non-awful, at least my Eichler is. We noticed a signficant improvement in that by insulating the roof, which seems surprising on one hand (you'd figure the windows would dominate, but even R9 foam roofing makes a palpable difference). We also have our house sitting with a pretty good facing, light coming into the living room via the atrium.

Our worst winter gas/electric bills, with the hot tub and everything, come in about $225.

[joedecker.livejournal.com]

By insulating the roof, I mean we replaced the tar and gravel roof (when it gave out) with a foam roofing material that's rated at R9. Also helped in the Summer.

[joedecker.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the door is a biggie. Sounds like we have a better orientation to our Eichler. Do you still have tar and gravel on the roof?

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

If they only work in good orientations and after the roof gets replaced, I'm not giving Mr. Eichler huge thumbs up for design. But maybe I'm picky.

[joedecker.livejournal.com]

I can't speak to orientations, but I can say that I didn't consider the electric/gas bill "bad" before we redid the roof.