Getting my first oil delivery of the season tomorrow

[lizziegrace]

150 gallons @ 2.77/gallon. Friday, it was $2.67.

I used just under 550 gallons last winter. We'll see how bad this one's going to be.

[Paper Roses]

1. I am scared to death about the fuel deliveries starting soon.

This old house is hard to heat. I close off everything I can but it still costs thousands of dollars a year. Old houses tend not to have insulation and I have no $$$$ to take care of that. I hunker down in two rooms downstairs, bedroom upstairs and basically, I freeze. I find it necessary to use an old filled heater. My electricity bill will go through the roof. I hate winter, it breaks my wallet every year.

I tanked up at the end of spring so no delivery yet. I cringe at the thought.

[lizziegrace]

2. I can relate

I used oil-filled electric radiator heaters last winter. One electric bill hit over $200. The heat doesn't make it to the second floor as this old, old house wasn't made for forced-air heating and cooling.

I put the 3M tape and plastic over the windows since there's a breeze even when the storm windows are down. It helped a lot but covering 21 windows was time consuming and expensive. :(

[Paper Roses]

3. I am about ready to start my annual chore. I use the strips

of caulking type material and run it all around all windows and also across the spot where the top and bottom meet. It helps with the breezes that flow through, I am not up to covering all the windows with plastic sheeting, the cold permeates the walls. I would have to take down all the curtains to do that too. Not something I would like to do.

What do you use the 3M tape for, to hold the plastic? Is this something that does not have to be heat sealed? Does it peel the paint off?

I'd like to find a different way of doing this job. Tape would seal off the gaps at the edges and would probably be easier to remove.

Would love to hear more about this from anyone.

[lizziegrace]

4. 3M brand is the only one that consistently holds

the plastic in place for the season. It can (and has) taken the paint off but it's easier to touch it up than to pay huge heating bills. Frost King and other brands you can find at Lowes and Home Depot have plastic that's much thinner and the tape doesn't hold.

I left the plastic up on several windows from last winter since I don't open them. (I have 21 windows) A few have had the tape pull away, but I'll replace it and press it back to the frame.

Other than heavy, insulated drapes, I don't know of any other way to keep the cold air from coming in through the windows.

I also have the problem with it coming through the walls. My house has brick walls (3 layers thick) with 1/2" plaster on the inside. It's a pizza oven in the summer when the brick heats up and a freezer in the winter when the brick gets cold. You can feel the cold air on your back if you sit near an exterior wall.

I love this old house, but it makes for a long, cold winter.

[Warpy]

5. I find a cold place isn't bad to deal with if I'm up doing things

but it gets miserable quick when I sit down. To that end, I have an electric blanket to roll up in when I'm at the computer or reading or just vegging out in front of the tube. It helps, along with ugly quilted boots over wool socks on my feet.

It takes a lot less cash to heat up a blanket than it does to heat a room.

[lizziegrace]

6. You're right

I always have an afghan or throw with me so when I stop moving to work on something, I can keep warm. I wear long underwear and usually have a scarf around my neck.

It also helps to have two cats who like to be close when it's cold. :)

[elocs]

7. My 9/11 experience: watch my full oil tank tip over with 140 gallons of fuel oil

glub-glubbing into the ground. After a major cleanup my fuel oil company promised to bring me another tank, then didn't. So I used space heaters in my small mobile home and got along quite nicely.

This winter will be my 10th using space heaters and they heat the house well. There have been years where electric has been cheaper than fuel oil because electricity is regulated while fuel oil depends on the market price. Even when electric is more expensive I realize that 100% of the energy I'm using is going to actually heating my home while my old fuel oil furnace was maybe 75% efficient.