The White House
Yesterday and today. Obviously, no shingling is happening!
Walking into the Cross House today it was 27-degrees outside yet clearly warmer IN the house. This is good! Because I recall all too well, and not with fondness, the several years when the house was colder inside than out during the winters.
Brrrrrrr.
Today, the thermostat was set at 45 and the inside temperature was…45. Yet the boilers were not running, the radiators were cold to the touch, as were the plaster walls (which retain heat). So, HOW was the house maintaining a steady temperature?
It’s a mystery.
In the house I live in, the forced-air kicks on like every 20-minutes in order to maintain a steady temperature. But, last year when I noticed the steady temperature in the Cross House during the winter, I was in the house for five hours, the radiators were barely warm when I walked in, and the boilers kicked on but once, briefly. Yet the inside temperature remained steady all five hours.
Five hours.
It’s a mystery.
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Ross it is because you have sealed the house snuggly against the elements with quality restoration. Also because Cross House was a well designed house with state-of-the-art elements of the time, once sealed and all cracks and leakage corrected; it is more efficient. Energy use is maximized by the good design of the pipes throughout the house and the placement of the radiators. It is all about quality and you clearly are about quality and doing things right.
Thank you, Sandra!
The previous owner reported that on cold days, with all the boilers running, and the radiators hot to the touch, he never got the house above 50 degrees.
So, yes, getting the house SEALED has made a massive difference. And there’s no insulation and no storm windows, and I have no plans to install either. Rather, my focus has been in sealing sealing sealing.
Hmmm, perhaps solar heat plays a part? At any rate, having lived in some very cold places myself, I’m glad for your sake there’s warmth.
The same thing with our old (238 yo) home. The oldest portions of the house — those with plaster walls and with southern exposure are rarely chilly and I’ll add that these rooms have cast iron, hot water baseboard heat. The two wings that were built in the 1960s, sad to say are the rooms we’ve struggled to keep constantly warm, however several years ago when renovating the master bedroom wing, we extended the hot-water baseboard heat. It has helped, but the new aluminum-fin baseboard radiators are no match for the old cast iron ones.
238 year’s old! Wow! Do you have a blog? Would love to see pictures and read the story.
Sorry, I have much neglected blog but not dedicated to “Stagfield!” We are approaching the 25th anniversary living here and the work is never finished! That said, Ross keeps me inspired to never be idle in any creative pursuits around the house and garden. I truly love this place, my dream home!
I live in a pre-1900 small Victorian house. We had no electricity one winter for ten days, so no furnace. I stayed in the house with my cats and dogs so I could monitor their well-being. At no time did the temperature in the house fall below 45 degrees and there was NO heat. It was between 10 and 20 degrees outside during the night and never over 30 during the day the entire ten day period. The big windows do act as solar heat collectors, and the plaster walls maintain the heat.
What a fabulous, fascinating story, Miriam! Thank you!
I got a “D” in my post-grad thermodynamics course, after which I promptly ended my pursuit of formal continue education. However that won’t stop me from suggesting that the answer to this mystery is the same as what you shared with us on our tour. The thermal mass in the house is able to hold a steady temperature inside despite it being 27 degrees outside (only an 18 degree difference). The air sealing you’ve done so far seems like it’s paying off. After you move in and bump that thermostat up to the 60’s or 70’s, I think you’ll see your boilers running a bit more.
Hi, Fritz
Last year, one day it was 23-degrees, and the thermostat was set at 63, a 40-degree difference. I was in the house for five hours and only once did the boilers kick on, and only briefly.
I wrote this at the time:
“I also know that my installing a return air system has made a huge difference. All the heated air rises to the second-floor, where much of it is captured, sucked down, and blown out through the supply ducts in the basement and first-floor. Without this endless loop, the heated air would rise, rise through the second-floor ceiling, and vanish from the house. The boilers, thus, would be working constantly to replace the endlessly lost heat.”
I agree. I think the return air system you put is an excellent idea. You might try an experiment and turn it off/close the vent for a day and see what happens. Perhaps the house is better sealed than you give it credit for, either by your hand, or the original builder.
We received today by post a thermal imaging camera, the Flir C2. I’ll let you know how well it works for tracking down our air leaks.
Hmmm…Let’s see…a stone basement, sealed against the elements, properly drained…properly redone windows that act as solar heating, two updraft stairwells, solid roof, properly fitted doors, plaster walls (heat sink), replaced shingles, air gap in the walls for insulation, solid floors? I’d say that everything is in place to retain heat! One thing though; when you move in and want to conserve the air conditioning, do simply open a window on the third floor. It will create an updraft through those stairwells and “wick” off the heat through that third story window.
Dodi, the house is far from being tight sill!
While most of the windows are now sealed, and most of the exterior cracks sealed, the interior is still porous. I really need to get all the ceilings on the second floor fixed, as my $$$$$ hot air is flying freely up into the third floor and out of the house.
While the return duct hugely helps, tight ceilings are a must! This will be a big push for the end of 2020.
The picture makes the house look so inviting! Just beautiful!
Your experience seems to be the norm for many people who live in big old houses with cast iron radiator heat. We had always had forced air before we moved into ours, and it took some getting used to, but in a good way. Like you, I have sealed and insulated, while still trying to let the hours breath like it was designed to do; no foam insulation here, LOL! Another thing I have noticed is that the colder it gets outside, the warmer it seems to get inside…we can set the thermostat to 68 when it is in the 40s outside, and the house seems a little chilly; we can set it on 68 when it is 12 degrees, and feel the need to crack a window or two…I don’t try too hard to figure it out, I just ENJOY it 🙂 Our young neighbors took out their radiators and boiler several years ago (against my strong advice) and instantly regretted it; the next winter, they nearly froze while their electric bill tripled. And BTW, I like the sign out front; is it new? Wish Illinois had signs like that!
Ross, I see your comments to Dr. David Johnston’s balintorecastleblogspot.com. Your work has put life back into the Cross House. I hate to read of Dr. Johnston warming his hands by a electric heater so he can type. Winter work “puir miserable” with insufficient warmth
Ross, I just think it is good karma. The house is just paying you back for taking such good care of it!