This old house

Spend any time with me and I’ll chew your ear off about the nearly 100 year old house I bought last year. It’s in an amazing location, walking distance from most of life’s necessities (except for my job).

It’s also also air tight as a convertible with its top down.

100 years ago, the way you stayed warm in winter was to burn lots of wood. Burning lots of wood inside meant that the house needed to be very well-ventilated so that its inhabitants didn’t die of carbon monoxide/dioxide poisoning.

The lovely ventilation meant that the house is bitterly cold at the moment and we have lots of blankets on the bed and the couch to stay warm.

What do I need to do to make this house warmer in winter and cooler in summer? I have a plan, but it will take time and money.

• Replace all sash windows with windows that actually seal shut ($$$)
• In the meantime, seal sash windows as best I can ($)
• Block all internal vents ($)
• Rip up the entire floor, restump, put down an air-tight membrane, put floor down again (\(\))
• Put baffles on all extractor fans (once the asbestos is removed) ($$)
• Inspect ceiling insulation and replace as necessary ($$)
• Seal ($) or replace ($$) front door
• Replace laundry window with an actual complete pane of glass ($$)
• Remove corrugated metal roof, put down sarking, put on new roof (\(\))
• Install awnings over north-facing windows ($$)
• Properly block up chimneys ($)

The problem with the inexpensive things is that by themselves they don’t achieve much. I’ll be doing bits and bobs here and there, but to little effect. It will be hard to stay motivated while I save up the considerable amount of money I need to make this beautiful and well-located home actually liveable.

My partner said I should document everything I do as a resource for others who live in the area with similar houses. Not sure the best way of doing that - perhaps I’ll keep blogging once #blogjune is over?