Saturday, January 19, 2008

It Is Cold In Here

It's not just me. I've found significant air leaks into my basement along the North and South walls; the West wall's leaking cold air on the ground floor, at the baseboards. I've filled the bigger gaps with backer rod (closed-cell foam) but caulking or other methods will have to wait. (can't foam it with the furnace running and the aroma of even low-VOC caulk's a bit much to sleep in. No wonder it's been so chilly at floor level!

You have to wonder -- was a serious coat of dust keeping the gaps plugged for the previous owner? It's not impossible, some of the worst leaks are where I replaced the floor of the room I use as an office and had vacuumed very carefully around the sills when we had the old floor out.

At least I found it. I was starting to think I'd gone poikothermic.
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7 comments:

  1. CarteachJanuary 20, 2008 at 7:42 AM

    use the old candle trick?

    Hold a candle near the possible leak, and if the flame freezes solid, it's cold air.

    ReplyDelete
  2. CarteachJanuary 20, 2008 at 9:03 PM

    I have to ask....

    You actually know all the unusual words you use on your blog?

    You, more than anyone, forces me to look things up.. I am impressed.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Roberta XJanuary 20, 2008 at 9:47 PM

    Unusual? --These are just the same words I've always used.

    I do like really apt words. They have always drawn me like a moth to a light.

    ReplyDelete
  4. phlegmfataleJanuary 20, 2008 at 11:29 PM

    apparently dustbunnies and furballs work wonders for the ambient temperatures indoors.
    Once, on the isle of Skye, I drove out on a point overlooking the ocean to the very end of the goat path, and an ancient man, adorable with no teeth, opened the door and came out of a crude little stone hut where he lived, and behind him came a few pet sheep and goats. Needs must, I spose. Perhaps you need more varmintage around your homestead.

    ReplyDelete
  5. TamJanuary 21, 2008 at 6:57 AM

    [quote]Perhaps you need more varmintage around your homestead.[/quote]

    The cats would just eat it.

    ReplyDelete
  6. TamJanuary 21, 2008 at 7:00 AM

    Heh.

    Look at the vBulletin tags in my comment! Can you tell I've been hanging out at TheFiringLine.com all morning? :D



    (Word verification: "hlemtmig", which is Swedish for "verklempt".)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wide LawnsJanuary 21, 2008 at 5:42 PM

    Poikothermia?? Oh no. Is this a new disease that I need to start worrying that I have now?

    ReplyDelete

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