This article will teach you how to make sure your caulked joints, gaps, and cracks stay sealed for as long as possible. When you’re air sealing your home (or caulking anything else around your house!), the last thing you want is for your work to go to waste. And unlike the caulk around your kitchen … Read more
If your goal is to make your home more comfortable and energy-efficient, you will inevitably find yourself in the weatherization section of one of the big box stores. You know, the aisle where they sell weather stripping, door sweeps, and sheet plastic window covers. And that stuff’s all great. But frustratingly, those aisles usually don’t … Read more
In Part 1 of this article, we introduced the two main types of products you’ll use for air sealing—and more importantly, outlined a framework for prioritizing air sealing projects in your own home. In Part 2, let’s walk through that framework and introduce some of the specific projects you might encounter along the way, including … Read more
You should be proud of yourself—the fact that you’ve come to this page looking for information about how to air seal your house means that you’re way ahead of the pack in terms of making smart energy-saving decisions. Let everyone else spend a fortune on new windows. Air sealing is probably the single most cost-effective … Read more
This article explains the final concept that you should understand if you want to make sure your next home energy improvement project has maximum benefits (savings and comfort!) and minimal costs (your time, money, and frustration). If you haven’t already, take a few minutes and start with Concept 1 and Concept 2. This article will … Read more
This article explains the second of three fundamental concepts that you should take a few minutes to understand before starting your next energy efficiency project in your old home. The short time it takes you to read these three articles could save you quite a bit of money, energy, and frustration. If you haven’t already, … Read more
This article explains the first of three concepts that you need to understand if you’re serious about saving energy—and money, and frustration. If you started with the first post, you know that my goal is to help you learn how to think about your house so that you can make the right decisions about what … Read more
Or: Change Your Clothes, Not the Thermostat You may have noticed a few common recommendations missing from the list in the previous article. For example, I haven’t yet mentioned setting your thermostat to 78 °F in the summer, as the Department of Energy recommends. That’s because while raising the temperature on your thermostat is “really … Read more
Or: The Bare Minimum Before we start thinking too hard, let’s step back for a moment and make sure we’ve got the basics covered. At the risk of sounding like the guy on tech support who asks you if your computer is plugged in, have you already taken care of the quick and easy items … Read more
Are you a millennial who bought an amazing property you found on Cheap Old Houses, and now you’re going through buyer’s remorse after your first summer of air conditioning bills? Maybe a baby boomer fantasizing about moving into one of those new condos downtown rather than endure another drafty winter in your old stone farmhouse? … Read more