Old House... Burnout

Surprise!  Other than a quick front closet storage revamp and tool storage makeover, I have barely touched a tool in my house since finishing the garage.  Last year, we did SO much, that I just needed a little break from all the planning, working, and cleaning that came with the near-constant renovation over the last six years.  I took a break!  And we're all better for it.

So, where have I been?  There has definitely still been planning, data collecting for long-term follow ups, and designing some smaller projects (among these a bathroom in another house... details coming!) while I figure out the best way to handle the attic.  I did come to the conclusion that adding soffits to my original eaves is going to be the best course, and I'm a little sad about it.  So, I'm working out how to make that happen without compromising the original look of the rafter tails even though those are already covered by the fascia and gutters.  

New Winter Data for All-Electric HVAC

So, now that we are through winter, I can confidently say that we spent more on heating with our heat pump and electric back up than we did in previous years. Once we hit July, I'll share some year-over-year data on that too.  What that didn't take into account, was the sharp increase in gas prices between last winter and this one, so when I compared where we were with the new pricing, I actually think we would have come out about even.  

There are a few additional nuances to the increase in price as well: rewiring disturbed a lot of our insulation in the attic, and we had significantly more heat loss this year (the primary driver for the attic conversion).  We also had significantly more days in the deep cold, so our back up heat coil had more days of use than it would have last winter.

​Heat pump heat also feels different.  Instead of heating the air in the system to around 120° F and blowing bursts of air at one hot temperature, heat pumps move air consistently, modulating the temperature like cruise control adjusts acceleration in a car.  That means the air coming out of the vents doesn't always feel hot (as moving air does in humans at over 95°), so we kept our heat settings higher this winter.  Where we used to sit at 65°, we instead settled into 68°.  If we needed that jet of hot air, we'd turn to the electric fireplaces. Since those weren't directly across from the thermostat anymore, its heat is used more by the kids too.  

Garage Floodwaters

Well, this year we got more snow than we have in at least a decade, with totals the highest we've seen since we moved in!  So, the French drain we installed around the garage -which is already a low spot compared to our yard- is completely filled with ice.  Looking at the side door yesterday, the ice was up to the level of the door, a level we haven't seen in our seven winters here.  Without our early freeze-thaw cycles, it'll be a rough mud season, and it's barely begun.  I do think the work did has helped, but this year looks like a data-outlier.  

We're now looking into other options. Do we want to lift any storage we have onto risers for now if we choose to build a new garage later?  Do we want to attempt to lift this garage and give it a real foundation? Time will tell on that one for sure.  What has been incredibly satisfying is seeing the mural when we're walking, and watching snow, water, and ice slide off the roof and over the drip edge.  It's made a big difference in the longevity of the roof, and I'm glad that we were able to do something this effective. 

So, now that I'm coming out of hibernation, I'm ready to get to work!  First up: the attic.  Once that's really underway, we should have a lot more that we can do.  I'd be lying if I didn't add that air sealing, moisture management, and reinsulating between the main floor and the attic space wasn't at least a little intimidating.  But it's necessary, and it'll be worth it!