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Hunkering down for the winter

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protokatie:
Well, the cold weather is getting even colder up here in Maine. I have started "hunkering down" for the long cold trip ahead. And decided to make a thread about how people are/have getting ready for it.

The only thing I have done this year (as I rent a room from a guy who has a cage around the thermostat) was to buy one of these:
http://www.air-n-water.com/product/NX3.html

I just got it tonight and it is working great in my tiny 8x10 bedroom.

So, what has everyone else in the northern northern hemisphere done to prepare for old bastard winter?

CheffoJeffo:
I've got to seal up the stairs leading outside from the basement, but have been putting it off hoping to pick up another cabinet ... and I was just offered POW in a Dynamo for free, so perhaps I will put up with the drafts for another couple of days.  ;)

ChadTower:

--- Quote from: CheffoJeffo on December 02, 2008, 10:01:25 pm ---I've got to seal up the stairs leading outside from the basement, but have been putting it off hoping to pick up another cabinet ... and I was just offered POW in a Dynamo for free, so perhaps I will put up with the drafts for another couple of days.  ;)

--- End quote ---

I usually seal up the same stairs but I'm not going to this year.  I'm finally making progress on the gameroom and need that stairwell to move materials in.  I replaced my furnace in September anticipating $5/gal heating oil.  Needed to be done soon anyway, the old one was 22+ years old, and was developing a hole inside that wasn't worth repairing.  I spent the last couple of days of spare time sealing air leaks in the basement and putting up sheet insulation in prep for framing.  I also have to replace a lot of the window locks since they're not pulling tight anymore and the wiper brushes on the windows probably need to go since I'm getting condensation next to them now.

EDIT:  forgot to mention, I have a working POW PCB and marquee in great shape I'll sell you cheap if it turns out you need them.

CheffoJeffo:

--- Quote from: ChadTower on December 03, 2008, 08:31:15 am ---EDIT:  forgot to mention, I have a working POW PCB and marquee in great shape I'll sell you cheap if it turns out you need them.

--- End quote ---

Thanks, but if the board doesn't work (and perhaps even if it does), the cab's getting a cleaning, monitor rotation and 48-in-1 ... and off to Craigslist.

SavannahLion:
Those oil heaters practically saved my life one winter. I lived in an apartment with an in-wall gas heater. The thermostat was in a drafty place so running it meant you reached tropical temperatures in a hurry. One year I purchased two oil heaters and decided not to run the wall heater ever again. They were very effective with one in each room.

After I moved out, I learned the next family that moved in experienced a minor fire from that wall heater. It's not entirely clear what happened but my best guess was the family grossly misjudged the wall heater's capacity and something nearby caught fire.

As for my home. Not really a whole lot. Insulation against the cold has taken a sort of second rate of importance against resolving some serious leakage issues that only crop up around winter time. I guess by default fixing the leaks also fixes any insulation issues.

I want to do some remodeling to the garage to ensure the temperature is more consistent (ie cooler in the summer, not so wet in the winter) throughout the year.

I also did discover a curious draft from the windows in the kids rooms. I'm inclined to believe the moronic construction crew installed our windows backwards. The bottom of the window track has slots that lead to the outside. Almost like they're runoff channels for condensation.  ???

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