Q. With fuel prices through the roof, how can I save on my fuel bills?
A. This question has been asked many many times, and there have been many stories in newspapers on how to save heating fuel. They say, glibly, what you can do, but not how to do it. Insulation applies in most parts of the country, for heating or air conditioning or both.
So this is the Handyman's treatise on how: 1. Insulate. 2. Add insulation. 3. Tighten up windows, 4. Turn down the thermostat. 5. Caulk. 6. Check heating system. 7. This and that.
Let's begin: 1. Insulate. Insulating a house that has no insulation is a huge job, but remember, insulation is the least expensive building material that does the biggest job of saving heating fuel. For walls, it is best to have insulation blown in by a professional. If your house has the old knob and tube wiring, insulation should not be blown in until the system is disarmed or replaced by modern electrical cable.
There are two parts to insulation: One is the insulation itself: fiberglass, cellulose, and nonformaldehyde foam. Insulation slows down the loss of heat from the house to the cold outdoors. The second part is a vapor barrier, usually polyethylene plastic or Kraft paper. A vapor barrier is just as important as insulation. Putting in a vapor barrier is like putting your house in a balloon, so no air can escape.
A new house can be made fairly airtight, an existing house will never be as airtight as a new one. But you can help. If there is no vapor barrier in the walls, you can add one by painting walls with a vapor barrier paint. Check with your paint store for a vapor barrier paint. Vinyl-coated wallpapers are vapor barriers.
The rest you can do yourself. Start with the attic. If you have a full attic, place paper-backed fiberglass insulation between the joists, with the paper down; that is, if you have no floor boards. If you have floor boards, take them off and add the insulation, or have it blown in. If possible, add unbacked insulation to the insulation already there; 18 inches is not too much on the attic floor in the North.
Sometimes in Cape-style houses and others where the second story is only a half-story, attic floors are small and other areas where insulation is needed may be not easily reached. So the help of a pro is necessary. When putting insulation on an attic floor, avoid putting it in the eaves, where the roof overhangs the wall.
One more place you can do it yourself is the basement ceiling. Don't think that such insulation is not necessary; it is. Install 6-inch backed fiberglass batts between the joists, with the paper backing (the vapor barrier) up, touching the ceiling above. Hold the insulation in place with pointed wires, stuffed between joists every 24 inches.
2. Add insulation. Insulation can be added to attic floors, but adding it to walls or to basement ceilings is usually not necessary.
3. Tighten windows and doors. You may not need new ones; Some may need new windows, but not all. You can tighten windows by weatherstripping them. You can also caulk them but this will require removing the caulk if you want to open them in summer. If your storms are old and leaky, new ones will help a lot.
If you opt for new windows, consider replacing only the movable sash. It is almost never necessary to replace the entire window - sash, jamb, sill, and all. Windows are so expensive that you are unlikely ever to make up in fuel savings the cost of the windows.
4. Turn down the thermostat at night or whenever no one's home. You will definitely save heating fuel because more fuel is saved during the down time than is required to bring the temp back up to normal. There are automatic set-back thermostats available but this Handyman figures the human hand is just as good in setting back the stat.
5. Caulk where needed: Caulk on the inside, especially in old houses, around window casings, baseboards, wherever two different materials meet, even where ceiling and wall met. Don't worry about the caulking showing around window casings. Draperies and curtains will cover the caulking. Caulking outdoors is difficult, especially in cold weather, and is often ineffective and not needed.
6. Check heating system. Make sure burners are well adjusted for efficiency. If a hot water boiler is more than 40 years old (some say 20 years), consider replacing it. New boilers are more efficient than old ones, and use a lot less water. A forced hot air system can stay as long as it is working, because a new hot air system is less likely to be more efficient than old ones. A hot air gravity system is probably best replaced.
7. Some miscellany. Install foam outlet and switch box covers under the regular plates. Remove the standard plate, insert the foam plate and return the standard plate. Also, buy plastic plugs for outlets. They will stop air flow and protect little prying hands. Do this all on inside walls as well as outside ones. One caveat: Do not stuff insulation in electrical boxes; this can cause a short or fire.
With all these chores done, first thing you will notice is that it is May.
Midwinter dream
Here is a midwinter dream, not really a dream but a good time had by all, that ended with a Handyman's triumph. Not yours truly, but a triumph by Susan Bonaiuto, our hostess at a very nice party, a combo Bon Natale and Bon Cappo D'anno affair in Needham.
Susan is the wife of Seb Bonaiuto, the estimable director of bands at Boston College. It wasn't music that Seb made, but good things to eat, including manicotti, a crepe (not pasta) with a great touch with cheese and Sicilian sauce.
The conversation waxed long, lively, and loud until dessert and fruit, when dead silence descended on the multitude. It was when the Handyman (me, this time) spied some weird-looking pantaloons, all white and rather tattered looking, on every chair leg in sight on the hardwood floors in the kitchen and dining room. Both those rooms are elegant, except for those sorry-looking pantaloons.
What in the name of Tophet are those things on your chairs, thundered the Handyman, resulting in a hoot of laughter from Lucia Carrol, Susan's sister-in-law. Ah, said Lucia, the Handyman has discovered your secret. Susan took it with utter aplomb. Those are my bootees, she smiled, sweetly, to keep the chair legs from scratching the floors. They are just two layers of felt folded into a sort of bag and secured on the legs with elastic bands. I'm thinking of patenting them.
Hmph, said the Handyman, why couldn't you use the felt glue-on buttons? They keep wearing off, Susan countered, ever cheerful. How about those nylon buttons that are nailed onto the legs, the handyman persisted. Susan replied, a bit testily, if one bit of grit gets under those buttons, you get a scratch.
OK, one more time, said the Handyman, rather desperate by now: How about a rubber cup, designed to slip over crutch ends to keep them from slipping all over the place. Susan remained cheerful: Couldn't find one that would fit the legs. Besides, they do not glide as nicely as my bootees, said she to the now-deflated Handyman.
OK, OK, he said. A patent would be a good idea, and here's an idea to improve the bootees. Make the double felt into a drawstring bag, slip it over the leg and tie securely.
It was a lovely end to a lively party. The Handyman survived his deflation as the multitude gave a standing O to the intrepid Susan. And with all those characters present, the party had to be lively.
Globe Handyman on Call Peter Hotton is also in the Styles Section on Thursdays. He is available 1-6 p.m. Tuesdays to answer questions on house repair. Call 617-929-2930. Hotton also chats online about house matters 2-3 p.m. Thursdays. To participate, go to boston.com. Hotton's e-mail is photton@globe.com
