CntryBoy777 - The Lazy A** Acres Adventures

[greybeard]

. Our outside faucet froze, in spite a foam faucet cover.

I use 'em certain places but the insulation value on those things is about the same as an old sock would be. I think our official low this morning was 14°F.
I think it was Feb '07 that my digital thermometer said 8°F and the only heat we had in that little shotgun house we were living in was a wood burning box heater.
fun times..not.

 

[Devonviolet]

We are bone dry overall.....many are already concerned about the pastures this spring since we went into the fall so dry.

Yeah, I really feel your pain, Jan! A dry Winter & Spring can make for some really expensive hay!

We had a really dry Summer, Fall & early Winter. So, we had big cracks, in the ground and lots of dust blowing around when the wind kicked up. Back in Dec. we got some rain, that helped us a bunch. So we were just shy of our average annual rainfall amounts.

 

[Mike CHS]

We have owned our place for going on 5 years now and this is the coldest it has been.

 

[CntryBoy777]

They said on the local news it is the coldest temps we've had since '96 here....guess we were due...

 

[Bruce]

Coldest temps, for this day, in 9 years.

That kinda suggests the temps you are having are not all that unusual in the "climatic timespan" reference. Given that, I'm surprised that more people down there in the "warmer" areas don't have their water lines lower in the ground and better protection where they come up into the house.

And @Latestarter's house having NO insulation under the floor?? Even if it never got below freezing it would be a lot more comfortable and cheaper to heat without that cold space. Insulation isn't that expensive!!

 

[Latestarter]

Guess the thought was that you live on 20 acres with lots of free trees... go cut yourself some firewood and keep the stove going. Problem "solved". I wear slippers now, which is something I've previously never been able to do because my feet sweat so bad.

 

[Bruce]

I guess it makes sense if you are young, hale, hearty, love to cut down, split and stack trees, move it a few more times before it gets into the stove and have nothing better to do with your time. Me? I'd insulate the heck out of that floor unless you decide to put in a full foundation. Then I'd insulate THAT.

 

[Latestarter]

It's been a "passing thought" since I bought the place that it is set up almost ideally for a walk out basement. Only problem is the cost to jack the house and install a basement With a basement and the heat/wood stove down there, I could do floor vents and let the heat find its way to the first floor for heat and also not have to worry about frozen pipes or cold floors. It would also be cooler down there in the summer.

 

[Mike CHS]

Our house had skirting when we bought but the crawlspace was just a playground for rodents and air (both hot and cold) but the first thing we did was have it bricked in with vents. It made a world of difference and the cost wasn't outrageous here. We considered a basement since it sits on a steep hill but excavation costs would have been serious because of the solid rock under the house.

 

[CntryBoy777]

Heat and humidity equals mold and mildew in basements, so check it out well before ya go thru the trouble.