This reallyfreakin'cOld House 18

The mercury has dipped in this part of the country. It has dipped and stayed close to record lows. We have a few more days of the bone-chilling stuff ahead of us. In spite of our new HVAC system, and the flurry of window and door taping we did this weekend, the furnaces (all three) have been going non-stop for over 72 hours and the house is just above 60 degrees. Dale stopped by and did a couple of adjustments, including speeding up the blower on the basement unit but we are losing the battle. The storm window guy is coming on Thursday to quote the girls' room, and I'm just going to have him do the living room and dining room at the same time. When we put the plastic over the dining room windows, it BILLOWED. So much so that we couldn't even get it taped. We just slid the window seat cushions over it.

Walking past any window in the house, even the ones well taped and covered, the drafts are keenly palpable. The cold air is seeping THROUGH the front door. Not, not around the edges, but actually through the jointed panels. It's so cold, Tommie-Cat just snuggles deeper into the bed, the mice run rampant in the kitchen all night, their little frozen turds left like caraway seeds on the counters and stove, greeting me in the morning.

I'm starting a pool: Guess our gas bill for February!
Rules: Entrance fee is $5.00 The closest guess (over or under) wins one half of the pot, the other half going to pay a portion of the gas bill. In the case of a tie, proceeds will be split 1/4 each winner, half to the house. To help you out, December's bill was $354.41.

Rob and his crew have retreated to an indoor job. They were able to almost get the steel bracket attached to the garage wall where the concrete lid will be welded and bolted, but it's not quite finished, and we have to wait a couple of weeks for the roof to come anyways.

Dan and I will continue to prowl around the house with a roll of duct tape and tube of caulking targeting baseboard cracks and holes. Remember, this house has NO insulation, so the outside walls are icy on the inside, and wherever there is a penetration, a draft spills through.

The girls haven't bathed for four days - but hopefully, with the space heater going full blast all day in the bathroom (to keep the pipes from re-freezing) we'll get them in tonight.