Is there an inexpensive source for the heat-shrink window insulation film in rolls or larger quantities than the standard kit? [more inside]
posted by 6550 on Oct 15, 2009 - 10 answers

I'm renting a flat and it's cold, and it's going to get colder (I'm on a 1 year contract in the alps). Is there anything noninvasive (preferably cheap, but I'm ok to spend if it's really going to work) that I can do to warm the place up? What sort of portable space heaters give the best performance for electricity/gas? Are there any decent renter-based guides to improving insulation? [more inside]
posted by handee on Oct 14, 2009 - 26 answers

I have and Ikea Pax wardrobe along the wall of our bedroom and I'm going to frame in around it from the walls and ceiling to give it a "built in" look. The exterior wall behind it is poorly insulated (90 year-old house). It's got about 10" space all the way around and 4" behind. Should I be thinking about vapour barriers and such? [more inside]
posted by bonobothegreat on Oct 6, 2009 - 7 answers

Outside facing wall insulation? [more inside]
posted by SirStan on Sep 26, 2009 - 4 answers

Is leaving the windows in my attic cracked beneficial for keeping my air conditioning bill low? [more inside]
posted by JFitzpatrick on Jun 22, 2009 - 4 answers

How do I insulate my crawlspace? I'm thinking about next winter, now that I've barely survived this past one in the US Northeast. My house doesn't have a basement: it's built on concrete piers with a 1-2.5 foot crawlspace between the ground and the first floor. What would be the best way to insulate in this situation? [more inside]
posted by geos on Apr 14, 2009 - 9 answers

Why is a 2cm gap between window panes optimal? [more inside]
posted by unmake on Mar 6, 2009 - 7 answers

lI have a through-the-wal air conditioning unit. How do I stop the cold air outside from coming in through the cracks? [more inside]
posted by kmtiszen on Jan 27, 2009 - 8 answers

Window treatments that insulate. Really big windows in a really old building. How? [more inside]
posted by yoga on Dec 31, 2008 - 7 answers

I need to cheaply sound-insulate a door that has two issues: it's hollow, and it has half-inch gaps at its top and bottom. [more inside]
posted by sparrows on Dec 5, 2008 - 14 answers

does the double sided tape from shrink plastic window insulation kits come off a painted wood window frame all the way without peeling the paint?
posted by let444 on Nov 22, 2008 - 7 answers

Need opinions on insulating a basement... [more inside]
posted by docpops on Nov 12, 2008 - 15 answers

I need a vendor for a "blower door test" in the Portland, OR area. [more inside]
posted by msalt on Oct 13, 2008 - 6 answers

How do I keep warm this winter in an unheated apartment? [more inside]
posted by MaddyRex on Sep 23, 2008 - 42 answers

I want to seal off the staircase to the third floor of my home to save on heating bills this winter. The rooms are used for storage only now. Is bubble wrap a good insulator? I would like to let light thru but keep the heat in. My home is an old Victorian with a winding staircase.
posted by boby on Sep 1, 2008 - 8 answers

How can I dry out the insulation under my car's carpeting after a big leak? [more inside]
posted by Askr on Aug 19, 2008 - 10 answers

What is the best (most cost effective way) to insulate my apartment windows? [more inside]
posted by judge.mentok.the.mindtaker on Jul 7, 2008 - 9 answers

Should I rent an apartment with electric baseboard heat? [more inside]
posted by washburn on Jun 2, 2008 - 15 answers

How can I insulate a sash-weight window in a 1900 house? (I wish titles showed up on the main page so they didn't repeat the question....) Seems like you kind of have to leave a big hole there for the weight. But a lot of cold air is getting in there. I'd rather keep the weights if I could.
posted by msalt on Feb 16, 2008 - 11 answers

Please help me find the best music solution for my new but badly insulated (UK) flat. I like my music loud - but my downstairs neighbour doesn't. [more inside]
posted by ClarissaWAM on Feb 12, 2008 - 12 answers

RenovationFilter: I live in the top floor of a historic building. I have a small section on the sloped ceiling where the original planks are visible. One problem is that there are spaces between the planks, an inch or into the spaces is the actual roofing material. As you can imagine this is hardly energy efficient. I'd like to "plug" up the gaps but leaving the sections of planking exposed for aesthetics. Does anyone know how I could do this? I'm imagining there's some kind of black spray foam insulation I could spray in there that would expand to fill it, and not be too visible, but I'm not sure if there is, or if this works. Any recommendations for tips or specific products is highly appreciated.
posted by dearleader on Feb 12, 2008 - 17 answers

Insulating paint? Anyone have any personal experience with such products? [more inside]
posted by Carbolic on Jan 15, 2008 - 6 answers

Help an Australian survive the North American winter. [more inside]
posted by zamboni on Nov 28, 2007 - 62 answers

Is there a way of determining how much heat I am losing by opening versus closing the shutters of a drafty window? And also, determining how much heat I am gaining when the sunlight streams in through the open shutters? [more inside]
posted by jujube on Oct 23, 2007 - 4 answers

Are there more affordable, non-permanent things we can do to winterize our apartment? [more inside]
posted by tempest in a teapot on Oct 9, 2007 - 26 answers

Our house needs new siding, and we've had several siding contractors out to give us quotes. There's not a lot of talk about materials though - is this normal? [more inside]
posted by Nodecam on Jun 8, 2007 - 10 answers

How can I sound-insulate my rental apartment's hollow metal door and bare entrance hallway? They're amplifying the already loud noises in the common hallway outside. [more inside]
posted by lorimer on Mar 31, 2007 - 10 answers

I've always been annoyed by people who make a racket in the neighborhood. I'm likely to be one of those people next year. How can I soundproof a room, pacify neighbors, and avoid police? [more inside]
posted by tmcw on Mar 20, 2007 - 25 answers

I sleep on a futon mattress directly on the (carpeted) floor, in the basement. I think the coldness of winter seeps through the basement floor and into my mattress. How can I keep from freezing when I want to get to sleep? [more inside]
posted by DrSkrud on Dec 30, 2006 - 27 answers

An exposed pipe runs from floor to ceiling in my bathroom. What can I wrap around this extremely hot pipe so that it remains a source of heat but isn't a threat to bare skin? [more inside]
posted by hsoltz on Nov 27, 2006 - 27 answers

[Klutz Construction Filter] Insulating a daylight basement with the wrong size of insulation, can I safely make it work? [more inside]
posted by KneeDeep on Nov 25, 2006 - 6 answers

Brrr. Our rented Victorian flat is getting a bit nippy. Help us insulate it. [more inside]
posted by randomination on Oct 5, 2006 - 12 answers

I'm looking to put together sleeping gear for mild-weather camping, where low weight and low cost are equally important. So I'm seeking advice on the best way to balance these factors (since the lightest products seem to be the most expensive). [more inside]
posted by allterrainbrain on Jun 21, 2006 - 17 answers

I'm trying to insulate my window/frame... can anyone help me devise a solution? [more inside]
posted by mhuckaba on May 31, 2006 - 13 answers

Crawlspace questions: 1) should I permanently block the vents that are open to our crawlspace? I have heard conflicting answers. 2) when insulating the crawlspace should I be concerned about mold growing on the insulation during the humid summer? [more inside]
posted by GrumpyMonkey on Nov 18, 2005 - 12 answers

I'm trying to find a service that will come to our house and help us evaluate where we are leaking heat, so we can wrap the house up as tightly as possible against our pending $500+ per month winter heating bills. However, I can't figure out who to call to do this -- even the yellow pages are no help. Everywhere I turn directs me to people who will insulate our house, but we just want help in evaluating how to insulate it ourselves. Is there a service that does this? What might it be called? [more inside]
posted by anastasiav on Sep 14, 2005 - 12 answers

I found a bag of Zonolite insulation in my garage attic today, and I remember that the one time I was in my house attic, the floorboards were covered with loose fill insulation. Has anyone had to deal with this before? [more inside]
posted by sleslie on Apr 17, 2005 - 5 answers

Cooling my apartment: advice needed from experts in the fields of air conditioning and building codes, and, as a last resort, lawyers. [more inside]
posted by Deepspace on Mar 3, 2005 - 9 answers

The windows in my flat do a lousy job of keeping heat in and cold out. Is there a way to improve the insulating properties of window glass without installing double glazing? Ideally it would be something I could install myself (and if necessary remove when I move out of my rented flat.) Googling turned up various window films, both do-it-yourself and have-somebody-do-it-for-you. Any experience with these or similar products? Any other suggestions?
posted by yankeefog on Feb 21, 2005 - 12 answers

Our 1200 sq. ft. partially finished basement is cold. There is insulation in the ceiling, and the windows are pretty new. Our thermostat is upstairs, so when the upstairs is comfortable, the basement is about 5-10 degrees cooler (a guess), even though there are heating vents in each room.

Can I just hook up a squirrel fan and pump warm air from the ground floor downstairs? Cut more vents in the ducts? Any other possible cheap/simple solutions?

I get the gnawing feeling that I'm stepping into a complex feedback loop problem--if I install a second thermostat, then the two thermostats duke it out until one of them wins or becomes skynet. Bonus points if you can point me to a place online where I can ask these questions and not get my head ripped off by HVAC professionals.
posted by mecran01 on Jan 22, 2005 - 15 answers

What problems can be caused by over-insulating an attic? [+] [more inside]
posted by grateful on Dec 28, 2004 - 14 answers

Last year we had all the asbestos removed from the basement of our house. Most of it was on the pipes that lead from our boiler to the steam radiators upstairs. I'm thinking I should replace the old insulation. [more downstairs] [more inside]
posted by ssmith on Sep 14, 2004 - 4 answers

Anyone know how to insulate a hot water heater?
posted by adampsyche on Dec 13, 2003 - 3 answers