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Poor insulation. Freezing in my home! What to do?



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amother
OP


 

Post Sun, Nov 28 2021, 9:51 pm
Wanted to put this in household management but I do want to be anon for this post so here it is.

We have awful insulation in our (new construction!) home. It was a duplex built by a builder with generic plans- we could not choose the windows. In two rooms in the front of the house, the guest room and my son’s room, it’s freeeeeeeeezing cold no matter how high the heat is on. in the rest of the house, I need the heat to be set to 73 otherwise it’s freezing (during the day I can do it to 71-72 downstairs when the oven is on etc.)

Is that normal??? Any solutions as to how I can fix the poor insulation problem, or suggestions for safe room heaters?
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amother
Pistachio


 

Post Sun, Nov 28 2021, 9:59 pm
You can get plastic window coverings that should help.

You can also caulk around door and window openings where there is a draft.

There are companies that could help with this, and it will pay itself back pretty quickly with reduced energy costs.

(We are also in a freezing house, and it is rented so there’s even less we can do.)
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esuss




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Nov 28 2021, 10:43 pm
Call your local utility company. Sometimes they have programs for free or low cost to help your house be more energy efficient. They may. Be able to help with this. I know someone who went to them with a new purchase not new construction though. The utility company replaced their windows and did some other work too.
There is also a state program that would do similar work if you are income eligible.
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amother
Mayflower


 

Post Sun, Nov 28 2021, 10:53 pm
I have a very old house with what feels like zero insulation. We have put up heavy curtains by the windows. Floor to ceiling and it makes a huge difference. We also use the plastic on the windows that you blow dry. For the night we each have a super soft fuzzy blanket from target plus the duvet and we’re warm. Heat is on 69/70. Pj we buy velour ones from tottini or kidichic both very thick and reasonably priced.
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amother
Jetblack


 

Post Mon, Nov 29 2021, 12:09 am
I had this too in certain rooms in my house. It was new house for us but the house itself was like 50 years old and in certain areas the insulation wasnt as good. we had a company come and blow in insulation from the outside of the house. so the paint and walls of the interior of my house was not affected. In one area they had to do it from the inside because of the material on the outside of that part so in that area there are some small holes. I need a painter to repaint that area. But so far its actually making a difference. it was hard to tell initially if it helped because we had it done in the summer but its been in the mid 30s where I live and the room def feels warmer then it did last year. Another thing that I want to do is put carpet on the floors. I have hardwood floors in those bedrooms and I think having carpet would make the room even warmer. Maybe I'll do it this summer.
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ra_mom




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Nov 29 2021, 12:24 am
First determine where the cold drafts are coming from.
Very often with new construction it is not bad windows, but bad installation of windows (gaps at the seams where the window meets the frame and/or beneath the windowsill).
It could also be coming in from a space under a balcony door (or both windows and doors).
Sometimes it's the actual insulation that's missing in the walls.
All of this can be fixed with time and money.
If you need a DIY option, you can buy a heavy duty tension rod to put up over the length of the cold wall, along with insulated curtains that run from ceiling to floor, so that all drafts are kept at bay.
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amother
Magenta


 

Post Mon, Nov 29 2021, 12:38 am
amother [ Jetblack ] wrote:
I had this too in certain rooms in my house. It was new house for us but the house itself was like 50 years old and in certain areas the insulation wasnt as good. we had a company come and blow in insulation from the outside of the house. so the paint and walls of the interior of my house was not affected. In one area they had to do it from the inside because of the material on the outside of that part so in that area there are some small holes. I need a painter to repaint that area. But so far its actually making a difference. it was hard to tell initially if it helped because we had it done in the summer but its been in the mid 30s where I live and the room def feels warmer then it did last year. Another thing that I want to do is put carpet on the floors. I have hardwood floors in those bedrooms and I think having carpet would make the room even warmer. Maybe I'll do it this summer.
I would not replace hardwood with carpet even for warmth.
Btw what is the blow insulation from the outside, how does it work? is it a new thing?
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amother
Magenta


 

Post Mon, Nov 29 2021, 12:40 am
We ended up adding insulation to the bedrooms that were always freezing, but it's an expense and we got to the point where we couldn't anymore. Also we put our heat between 72-74.
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amother
Crimson


 

Post Mon, Nov 29 2021, 12:44 am
I have this in my home also, some rooms are freezing. It seems the windows weren't properly installed, not sure exactly. It's not very often but on the really freezing days I need to put the steam up to 76...
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