We've been spoiled. October, November and most of December were a delight. The outdoor temperatures kept peaking at near 60 degree highs. Recently, however, the night time temperatures have been falling. We're now close to 20 degrees at night and gradually dropping. For a "normal home" this wouldn't be much of an issue, besides, what's "normal" anyway?
Normal is what everyone else's home is like and your's is not. That is, insulated.
I came home from work today to find that the first floor was relatively warm, and the heating was off. My wife had closed the doors leading to the upper floor as well as closed off our bedroom and bathroom. Going inside our bedroom was a shock to the system, like the Polar Bear Club...
The temperatures in our bedroom and bathroom were dramatically colder than any other part of our home. Where it was a decent 60+ on the first floor, our bedroom was hovering in the upper 30's. Our walls are thin, yes, but what is much worse are our windows. They do not align correctly where the upper sash and lower sash have anywhere from 1/8" to a 1/2" gap between them. The outside air circulates quite well with this setup and lowers the temperature rapidly.
We purchased two boxes of Frost King's Window Insulation Kit from our local big name hardware store costing us $10.98 (plus tax) each. The kit comes with nine clear plastic sheets and double sided tape. The concept is simple enough. Clean off the area around the window along the molding. Apply the tape along the perimeter and stick on the clear plastic sheet. You don't have to be very neat as this last part hides most of the sloppiness. Take your wife's hairdryer and starting at one corner, work your way around the window. Just watch that plastic film shrink and become as tight as a drum!
My wife is a great helper, by the way. While I setup the next couple of windows, she heat shrank the plastic. When taught, the plastic is barely noticeable, especial with the curtains back up.
I also grabbed two bottles of paint-able white caulk and went at it in the bathroom. I caulked every seam and nail hole in our bead board wall. The wall divides the bathroom from the stair well, which leads to the attic... the Icicle Queen herself wouldn't stay up there....talk about a draft when you get out of the shower... We'll see how it is in the morning, if there is any effect. I hope for the best, our latest heating bill came in :(
