Ideas for how to fix uneven home heating/cooling?

z31maniac said:

llysgennad said:

The boosters your boss suggested would be a good cheap test fix if you have airflow at those registers. If you don't, (tried the yarn test?) there's not much else you can do with the existing system. Ceiling fans might help some. Lots of options to supplement the system, from the heated registers and window AC units, up to a mini-split system. Might be able to do a 3-4" duct hidden in a false soffit if you can tap into the supply at the furnace.

Agreed, nice looking house

There is airflow in the vents in the 2 bedrooms/offices, I often get up and stand over one to warm up my feet. There is enough flow I can hear it.

I'm starting to suspect that this "wing" of the house has no insulation in the "attic" space above it. I checked on my local electricity providers website and I'm not eligible for any of the testing/energy efficiency stuff because of my salary. So I'm going to give them a call and see if they can at least direct me toward a preferred contractor for the testing.

Unfortunately, on this side of the house, to get insulation up in this spot is going to mean cutting a hole in the ceiling in one of the rooms/closets/hallway, blowing a bunch of insulation up, then resealing the hole, fixing the texture, and repainting. It's not the god awful popcorn ceiling, but when the redid the house, they put the same texture on all the ceilings as they did the walls.

 

I think the other answer is windows. This house has a lot of them, and as you can see from the picture, all of them are 6' tall outside of the kitchen and 2 bathrooms. I don't want to think about how much it will cost just to do the bay window thing in the dining area, much less the whole house.

It definitely could be an insulation problem since you have it both too hot and too cold depending on time of year and how drastic the change is, you really shouldnt have a 10 degree plus change from room to room with a modern house. Mine was built in 1904 and doesnt even have that.

Are the windows double pane?

You may be on to something...

if your attic has blown-in insulation, it would have been installed after drywall. If there is no access panel, they may have skipped it. 

Your house should have an access to the attic space- why not just make a permanent access hole?

Do you feel a draft from the windows? Thick curtains can help with that problem. 

Also, for attic access... you want it anyways. Put in a permanent access point. If there is a convenient closet that would work, you won’t have to worry about matching the texture. 

I agree that a permanent attic access makes sense, but if you don't want to go that route They can also blow insulation in by drilling small holes every few feet in your soffits.

Those holes might be easier to plug and repaint than cutting a big hole in your interior ceiling and trying to repair it to match the texture.

SVreX said:

You may be on to something...

if your attic has blown-in insulation, it would have been installed after drywall. If there is no access panel, they may have skipped it. 

Your house should have an access to the attic space- why not just make a permanent access hole?

That's a great point. I know they put more insulation on the attic/bathroom/laundry room/kitchen. I don't know about this "wing" of the house. 

Do you have any suggestions for the most cost effective way to get it up there?

mtn said:

Do you feel a draft from the windows? Thick curtains can help with that problem. 

Also, for attic access... you want it anyways. Put in a permanent access point. If there is a convenient closet that would work, you won’t have to worry about matching the texture. 

I want to use my probably 2020 bonus to do windows, I just know it's going to be crazy pricey. The pic I shared isn't even all the windows on the front. 

Antihero said:

z31maniac said:

llysgennad said:

The boosters your boss suggested would be a good cheap test fix if you have airflow at those registers. If you don't, (tried the yarn test?) there's not much else you can do with the existing system. Ceiling fans might help some. Lots of options to supplement the system, from the heated registers and window AC units, up to a mini-split system. Might be able to do a 3-4" duct hidden in a false soffit if you can tap into the supply at the furnace.

Agreed, nice looking house

There is airflow in the vents in the 2 bedrooms/offices, I often get up and stand over one to warm up my feet. There is enough flow I can hear it.

I'm starting to suspect that this "wing" of the house has no insulation in the "attic" space above it. I checked on my local electricity providers website and I'm not eligible for any of the testing/energy efficiency stuff because of my salary. So I'm going to give them a call and see if they can at least direct me toward a preferred contractor for the testing.

Unfortunately, on this side of the house, to get insulation up in this spot is going to mean cutting a hole in the ceiling in one of the rooms/closets/hallway, blowing a bunch of insulation up, then resealing the hole, fixing the texture, and repainting. It's not the god awful popcorn ceiling, but when the redid the house, they put the same texture on all the ceilings as they did the walls.

 

I think the other answer is windows. This house has a lot of them, and as you can see from the picture, all of them are 6' tall outside of the kitchen and 2 bathrooms. I don't want to think about how much it will cost just to do the bay window thing in the dining area, much less the whole house.

It definitely could be an insulation problem since you have it both too hot and too cold depending on time of year and how drastic the change is, you really shouldnt have a 10 degree plus change from room to room with a modern house. Mine was built in 1904 and doesnt even have that.

 

Are the windows double pane?

No, they aren't. 

And better windows would cut down on the sound. We are on a corner lot with a lot of traffic, we can see the elementary school from our front porch. And the shape of the house, directs the sound into our living area.

z31maniac said:

mtn said:

Do you feel a draft from the windows? Thick curtains can help with that problem. 

Also, for attic access... you want it anyways. Put in a permanent access point. If there is a convenient closet that would work, you won’t have to worry about matching the texture. 

I want to use my probably 2020 bonus to do windows, I just know it's going to be crazy pricey. The pic I shared isn't even all the windows on the front. 

Earlier in the thread you mentioned your plan was to live in this house until you can break even when you sell. Installing a bunch of expensive Windows seems counter productive to the stated goal of moving on in relatively short order. 

In reply to STM317 :

New windows are a selling point actually. Windows that would likely need replaced to better ones are not.

So it's not a terrible idea in general.

Have you considered mini split heat pump(s) for that end of the house? Or an attic installation of a conventional furnace and ac unit just for those few rooms?

In reply to oldopelguy :

I think he said there's no permanent access to the attic. A multi head mini split would probably be a better bet for those two rooms than tossing a small furnace in the attic but the smartest solution would really be to put a unit for the entire house up there, close to the wall, and box around the parts that go through the cathedral ceiling rooms. Insulate the hell out of the duct and drywall over it and most people wouldn't even notice it.

In reply to Grizz :

New windows are a selling point. But they do not generally recoup any value at the time of sale. 

They are something nice to talk about, but do not increase the appraisal or sales price. 

I gave away $5000 worth of windows that were less than 6 months old when I sold my last house. 

If I ever do windows on a house again, I want to own it long enough to enjoy them. 

Check everywhere in those rooms for leaks. My townhouse basement would get pretty damn cold. Cold air was blowing in at all the outlets, corners of the exterior door.

Spray in fireproof foam to close up air gaps at the elec outlets, plus a foam insulation backing piece for outlet covers worked wonders there. Adding appropriate seals to the door corners stopped any airflow into the house there completely at the basement and split level front door. 

The basement is noticeably a few degrees warmer now on a day to day basis. I am certain I can pick up a few more degrees sealing up the wall edges real nice along the garage wall. Although i kind of like that that "leak" as the garage temperature stays comfortable year round. 

Grizz said:

In reply to STM317 :

New windows are a selling point actually. Windows that would likely need replaced to better ones are not.

So it's not a terrible idea in general.

Yeah, that's true. Upgrades like that do add appeal to many buyers. But in reality they don't make the home worth more than they cost. It might make the home easier to sell when the time comes, but expecting to recoup very much of the cost in the form of an increased selling price isn't realistic. Home prices are primarily dependent on location, lot size, square footage, and number of beds/baths. Everything else is limited in the amount of monetary value that it adds.

So if the amount of time spent living in this house is predicated on a financial factor, then it probably doesn't make sense to invest $15k on all new windows that aren't going to increase the sale price of the home by that amount. If this were going to be a long term house, then it's more justifiable to spend the money.

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone. I didn't get a chance to yesterday, but I will call to get some preferred contractor info from the utility company. 

At this point, I really think it's a lack of insulation on this side of the house. There is an attic above the garage/laundry room/master bathroom area, and there is a drop-down ladder in the garage to access those. And I know they blew insulation there. But with the big ceilings in the middle "wing" of the house, I suspect their is little to no insulation on the opposite end of the house. 

I don't think it's the windows since the living/dining area has a ton more windows with the tall ceilings. Or maybe they are but we don't notice since the HVAC doesn't have a problem keeping the rest of the house comfortable. 

STM317 said:

Grizz said:

In reply to STM317 :

New windows are a selling point actually. Windows that would likely need replaced to better ones are not.

So it's not a terrible idea in general.

Yeah, that's true. Upgrades like that do add appeal to many buyers. But in reality they don't make the home worth more than they cost. It might make the home easier to sell when the time comes, but expecting to recoup very much of the cost in the form of an increased selling price isn't realistic. Home prices are primarily dependent on location, lot size, square footage, and number of beds/baths. Everything else is limited in the amount of monetary value that it adds.

So if the amount of time spent living in this house is predicated on a financial factor, then it probably doesn't make sense to invest $15k on all new windows that aren't going to increase the sale price of the home by that amount. If this were going to be a long term house, then it's more justifiable to spend the money.

Excellent point. Windows will be put down at the very bottom of the list. 

z31maniac said:

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone. I didn't get a chance to yesterday, but I will call to get some preferred contractor info from the utility company. 

At this point, I really think it's a lack of insulation on this side of the house. There is an attic above the garage/laundry room/master bathroom area, and there is a drop-down ladder in the garage to access those. And I know they blew insulation there. But with the big ceilings in the middle "wing" of the house, I suspect their is little to no insulation on the opposite end of the house. 

I don't think it's the windows since the living/dining area has a ton more windows with the tall ceilings. Or maybe they are but we don't notice since the HVAC doesn't have a problem keeping the rest of the house comfortable. 

You don't need fancy FLIR cameras or other gadgets to determine your insulation level. On the next frosty morning, go outside and compare the different sections of your roof. Is one end more frosty than the other? Can you see the framing "ghosting" through the roof deck in one area but not the others? 

Your cathedral ceilings in the middle might make it a challenge, but if there are equal amounts of insulation, you should have similar levels of frost on each section of your roof.

Explanation: https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/a-tale-of-two-roofs-frost-snow-and-attic-heat-loss

This is another of those situation that could be solved so easily with the invention of a time machine, so you could go back in time and smack the heating contractor in the back of the head with a lengthy chunk of lumber.

STM317 said:

z31maniac said:

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone. I didn't get a chance to yesterday, but I will call to get some preferred contractor info from the utility company. 

At this point, I really think it's a lack of insulation on this side of the house. There is an attic above the garage/laundry room/master bathroom area, and there is a drop-down ladder in the garage to access those. And I know they blew insulation there. But with the big ceilings in the middle "wing" of the house, I suspect their is little to no insulation on the opposite end of the house. 

I don't think it's the windows since the living/dining area has a ton more windows with the tall ceilings. Or maybe they are but we don't notice since the HVAC doesn't have a problem keeping the rest of the house comfortable. 

You don't need fancy FLIR cameras or other gadgets to determine your insulation level. On the next frosty morning, go outside and compare the different sections of your roof. Is one end more frosty than the other? Can you see the framing "ghosting" through the roof deck in one area but not the others? 

Your cathedral ceilings in the middle might make it a challenge, but if there are equal amounts of insulation, you should have similar levels of frost on each section of your roof.

Explanation: https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/a-tale-of-two-roofs-frost-snow-and-attic-heat-loss

 

Given his situation your idea is excellent advice.  

With the single pane windows, I'd highly recommend installing window film for the winter months. It can make an incredible difference in room comfort, even in your comfortable rooms, as well as a large impact on your heating bills.  The 3m stuff is by far the best, imo.  While this isn't a solution to your overall problem, it will certainly make a positive impact.

In reply to z31maniac :

Ever get it fixed?

SV reX said:

In reply to z31maniac :

Ever get it fixed?

Magnetic covers on the floor vents to force more air to the other side of the house. 

Still not perfect, but notably better. 

That's a good simple solution