winterizing house

Posted by mlarkin on December 9, 2008, 10:26 am

We are planning on retiring to a small lake house located in the NYS
Fingerlakes region in 2010.
We will need to totally winterize the house for year round living
and have no idea where to start..
This is the current state of the house:
-homeosote and plywood exterior (painted)
-no insulation
-PVC piping - not insulated
-metal roofs
-wood stove available but not hooked up
-gas heat not an option (no gas lines on our road)
-propane heat IS an option
-no basement or crawl space
-windows are in good shape
-house was built in the 1950's - and is rock solid

Our first thought was to insulate the pipes, side & insulate the house and
put in a propane tank for heat.
Is this a logical starting point??
Thank you
Melissa

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Posted by ransley on December 9, 2008, 11:06 am

On Dec 9, 9:26=A0am, thelarkinn_at_yahoo_dot_...@foo.com (mlarkin)
wrote:

> put in a propane tank for heat.
> Is this a logical starting point??
> Thank you
> Melissa
> -------------------------------------
> ##-----------------------------------------------##
> Delivered via =A0http://www.thestuccocompany.com/
> Building Construction and Maintenance Forum
> Web and RSS access to your favorite newsgroup -
> alt.building.construction - 15171 messages and counting!
> ##-----------------------------------------------##

Get an energy audit and blower door test first, code is minimum for
insulation. Unless you know houses and I dont think you do, an
inspection is a good idea. There are many types and R values of
insulation, to much for anyone to tell you how to do a house on
everything, www.energystar.gov is a place to start learning, A
written load calculation is necessary at different levels of
insulation before you get a heating system.

Posted by Bobk207 on December 10, 2008, 11:25 am

On Dec 9, 7:26=A0am, thelarkinn_at_yahoo_dot_...@foo.com (mlarkin)
wrote:

> put in a propane tank for heat.
> Is this a logical starting point??
> Thank you
> Melissa
> -------------------------------------

Is this a logical starting point??

No,

you to evaluate the structure in its current state.....energy audit
or home inspection (or both) but front loaded by revealing the desire
for year 'round use.

Determine the insulation "requirements" (codes are minimums), how
cozy you need the house to be for comfort, trees, sun exposure, etc
all play a part. Slab on grade construction in a super cold climate
maybe be a deal killer. Windows that you consider are in "good shape"
may be totally inadequate for winter occupancy.

The cost to retrofit may be prohibitive.

The house was built as a summer / lake cabin....not for year 'round
use.
The heating demand in your area is in the same ball park as winter /
ski resort demands.

Propane heat can be really expensive depending on regional weather and
home conditions.

It would be a shame to start this project "incorrectly" only to find
there is no way to achieve the desired results. :(

cheers
Bob

Posted by ransley on December 10, 2008, 11:54 am

> On Dec 9, 7:26=A0am, thelarkinn_at_yahoo_dot_...@foo.com (mlarkin)
> wrote:

> > We are planning on retiring to a small lake house located in the NYS
> > Fingerlakes region in 2010.
> > We will need to totally winterize the house for year round living
> > and have no idea where to start..
> > This is the current state of the house:
> > -homeosote and plywood exterior (painted)
> > -no insulation
> > -PVC piping - not insulated
> > -metal roofs
> > -wood stove available but not hooked up
> > -gas heat not an option (no gas lines on our road)
> > -propane heat IS an option
> > -no basement or crawl space
> > -windows are in good shape
> > -house was built in the 1950's - and is rock solid
> > Our first thought was to insulate the pipes, side & insulate the house =

and

> > put in a propane tank for heat.
> > Is this a logical starting point??
> > Thank you
> > Melissa
> > -------------------------------------

> Is this a logical starting point??
> No,
> =A0you to evaluate the =A0structure in its current state.....energy audit
> or home inspection (or both) but front loaded by =A0revealing the desire
> for year 'round use.
> Determine the insulation "requirements" (codes are minimums), =A0how
> cozy you need the house to be for comfort, =A0trees, sun exposure, etc
> all play a part. =A0 Slab on grade construction in a super cold climate
> maybe be a deal killer. =A0Windows that you consider are in "good shape"
> may be totally inadequate for winter occupancy.
> The cost to retrofit may be prohibitive.
> The house was built as a summer / lake cabin....not for year 'round
> use.
> The heating demand in your area is in the same ball park as winter /
> ski resort demands.
> Propane heat can be really expensive depending on regional weather and
> home conditions.
> It would be a shame to start this project "incorrectly" only to find
> there is no way to achieve the desired results. =A0:(
> cheers
> Bob- Hide quoted text -
> - Show quoted text -

And depending on where it is electric could be cheaper, although its
rare.

Posted by jamesgangnc on December 11, 2008, 9:38 am

I'm guessing you are going to pull off the plywood to insulate? Or are you
coming at it from the inside? The slab may be your biggest problem. Do you
have enough ceiling height to put a floor on top of the slab with space for
insulation? The more insulation you can get into the structure the better
off you will be.

Unfortunately propane is about the most expensive heat source. At your
location a heat pump is not going to be viable for the full winter. If
budget is not a real big issue I would look at a heat pump/propane hybrid
system. That way you can at least take advantage of the cheaper heat pump
during milder parts of the winter. Get all the insulation done first so
that you can size the heating system properly. If you are planning on
living there full time for an extended period you want to be as accurate as
possible on the heating system size. Your biggest utility cost is going to
be winter heat.

> We are planning on retiring to a small lake house located in the NYS
> Fingerlakes region in 2010.
> We will need to totally winterize the house for year round living
> and have no idea where to start..
> This is the current state of the house:
> -homeosote and plywood exterior (painted)
> -no insulation
> -PVC piping - not insulated
> -metal roofs
> -wood stove available but not hooked up
> -gas heat not an option (no gas lines on our road)
> -propane heat IS an option
> -no basement or crawl space
> -windows are in good shape
> -house was built in the 1950's - and is rock solid
> Our first thought was to insulate the pipes, side & insulate the house and
> put in a propane tank for heat.
> Is this a logical starting point??
> Thank you
> Melissa
> -------------------------------------
> ##-----------------------------------------------##
> Delivered via http://www.thestuccocompany.com/
> Building Construction and Maintenance Forum
> Web and RSS access to your favorite newsgroup -
> alt.building.construction - 15171 messages and counting!
> ##-----------------------------------------------##

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