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[Dragfluid]

Have been reading here for some time now, and I must say that there's a wealth of good info.  Am planning on building my own unit soon this year, and will be using ideas found here.

BUT,,,,,,,, one of the most confusing and frustrating things that I keep reading here over and over is things like: "it's heating upwards of 10,000 UN-insulated square feet"
"my windows are very leaky" 
"only have about 6" of insulation in the attic"
"haven't had time to go around with a can of foam and seal up the air leaks"
 etc, etc.

Come on, guys.  You need to fix the your building envelope!  Why spend all that money on such a large furnace when 1/4 to 1/2 of the heat is being wasted?  And burn all those cords?
It just doesn't make sense.

Discuss

[atvalaska]

leaky old builds are famer like stuff ...any cheap heat has got to be appreciated ..I was one ...hard as heck to go back a get it right..my chit is so tight I boil over..  my .02cents

[mlappin]

My fathers reasoning why he never tightened up the old farm house I live in now is then you might have radon problems.....

Um yah, windows, a few new doors and house wrap has made a world of difference. Some old house's (mine included) still have some knob and post electric in them, you do not cover that stuff up with insulation, hence the only six inches of insulation in the attics. When I get that stuff replaced I plan on blowing in another foot of fiberglass.

[AirForcePOL]

I'm sure you got some of those from me.  Here's my reasoning.... I'm 26 years old.  It doesn't kill me to go cut a few cords in a weekend.  The amount of wood usage doesn't make the initial cost of the stove any cheaper.  What I paid for the stove is what my heating bill will be for the next 15-20 years (hopefully?).  I live in an old farmhouse and I'm constantly working on it.  I really just don't have the time or the money to spend on windows.  Especially when they are still perfectly clear    I understand what you mean though.  But it's easier for me to just throw a couple extra logs in the stove than spending thousands on windows and insulation.

[LittleJohn]

Look at the issue a different way!  Pay once for a great insulation/sealing job on your home or pay a little bit extra every year to heat and cool you home FOREVER 

[CountryBoyJohn]

I am 100% on the same page as Mr. AirForcePOL. My finances we absolutely BLEEDING when the sellers lied to us on the heating bills. I had to stop the bleeding. I now heat my poorly insulated house for $150 a month instead of over $600. Most of those savings go to paying off the stove. Cutting wood is practically a hobby. I'm not going to spend another large sum of money for new windows just to save on "free" wood.

[hrc200x]

heated the house for two years with fuel oil $3000+ each year and not really keeping it the temp I wanted and that was hauling off road fuel from town which is .40 cents cheaper than delivery price. Figured I'd pay up for a outdoor boiler so I could start saving immediately on the cost of fuel oil, all the extra savings will go toward insulation in the future. A semi truck load of wood costs $1200, hoping to not use the whole load plus I come across free wood now and then and heating the domestic. Really like the feeling of giving money to the logger than the gas company, although they are still getting some money in the end from the logger.

[Dragfluid]

I am 100% on the same page as Mr. AirForcePOL. My finances we absolutely BLEEDING when the sellers lied to us on the heating bills. I had to stop the bleeding. I now heat my poorly insulated house for $150 a month instead of over $600. Most of those savings go to paying off the stove. Cutting wood is practically a hobby. I'm not going to spend another large sum of money for new windows just to save on "free" wood.

Nothing is "free". 

[fsuftball]

Putting plastic over windows helps a ton. I have new anderson windows on order to replace my 1975 windows and I bet I will throw plastic on the new ones too. Zero air leaks.

[CountryBoyJohn]

Mr. Dragfluid, that debate had been had on here before, so I won't dive into it again. But, yes, it is free in my mind.

[mlappin]

Mr. Dragfluid, that debate had been had on here before, so I won't dive into it again. But, yes, it is free in my mind.

Most of what I cut comes from along fencerows on the home farm or fencerows from over a thousand acres of rented land, if you don't cut the stuff up then you just have to take a loader to the field to shove em out of the field so might as well cut it up and burn it.

[Dragfluid]

<sigh> 

[WoodHeatIrritatesMyWife]

I live in a pre-1900 home, stone walls, lathe and plaster.

New windows
Insulation in the roof
Foam wherever I can stuff it in the crawlspace.
I caulk the hell out of anything.

But I'm not going to gut the walls and fill it full of insulation.  There is an air cavity there that has been there since the
house was built.  I want this house here when I'm gone.

Changing the warmth going from the inside of the house to the out, changes where the freeze thaw occurs.  This might
cause deterioration, then again, it might not.  As long as there are cheaper alternatives to fuel, I'm going to go that route.

http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/odpub/pdf/65033.pdf

[atvalaska]

http://www.cchrc.org/

[Dragfluid]

Here's some info for you that's a little more complete, and up to date. 
http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/bareports/ba-1105-internal-insulation-masonry-walls-final-measure-guideline/view?topic=resources/freeze-thaw-damage

http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/confpapers/cp-0910-measuring-impact-interior-insulation-masonry-walls-cold-climate/view?topic=resources/freeze-thaw-damage

http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/digests/bsd-114-interior-insulation-retrofits-of-load-bearing-masonry-walls-in-cold-climates?topic=resources/freeze-thaw-damage

This isn't my first rodeo.

Enjoy!