ENERGY COSTS THROUGH THE ROOF

Literally.

Right through our inadequately insulated roof.

For the past couple of years, we have had both our gas company and our power company send us monthly “averaged” bills. Since our winter energy costs were always higher than our summer costs, we thought this averaging would help our monthly cash flow.

Still, our gas bill has been averaging $160 per month and our electric bill has been averaging $185 per month, for a total energy cost of $345 every single month all year long. And those averaged amounts seem to be increasing a couple of times each year.

So, last week we had an energy inspector come out to our house for an evaluation. He referred to our gas heater as a “beast”. It is so old that replacement filters aren’t even available at Lowe’s, Wal-Mart or Fred Meyer. When I occasionally find some in stock at Ace Hardware, I buy a whole case.

So, the heater must go. But not this year.

The insulation situation in the attic, however, can be improved right away. The energy inspector told us that when he and his wife bought their house, they needed to add extra insulation to their attic. He mentioned that Lowe’s has an insulation blowing machine that they loan free of charge if you purchase their insulation. He also mentioned that he and his wife noticed an immediate reduction in their monthly energy costs after adding more insulation to their attic.

Yesterday I drove to Lowe’s and returned home with an insulation blower and ten bags of insulation in the back of my pickup.

Today I spent some quality time with the rafters above our ceiling, laboring feverishly on Labor Day.

Next month I hope to achieve “below average” status when our energy bill arrives.

Our garage with the stairs to the attic retracted.

The stairs pulled down.

Up we go to scout the terrain.

Nearing the top of the stairs, the opening into the attic can be seen in the background, to the left of the storage container.

Approaching the opening into the dark, spider-infested, bat-infested, rodent-infested attic. Well, dark anyway.

The hands-and-knees adventure starts here.

Forty-year-old, inadequate, cardboard-shredded insulation has not been keeping the temperature in our home consistent. It does not even reach the top of the 2x6 rafters in most places.

Having assessed the attic and having determined that it definitely needs more insulation, I crawl back to the opening on my way to the garage.

Christmas items stored above the garage around the pull-down stairs.

The garage floor beneath the stairs.

Down the stairs and to the home improvement store.

Only people who are not normal actually carry their cameras to Lowe's and take pictures of insulation and insulation blowers.

Ten bags of insulation, one blower and two garbage cans with blower hoses are ready to leave the parking lot.

Insulation supplies backed into the driveway of the house on Hybiscus.

The supplies unloaded into the garage.

The top of the blower removed shows the blades that chop up the insulation and blow it through the hoses.

Up close and personal.

The insulation guy is ready to tackle the project.

The insulation assistant faithfully kept the blower filled with insulation while the insulation guy stayed in the attic with the hose. When not loading the blower, the insulation assistant sat beside the blower with a pencil and a Sudoku puzzle.

The entire project took three hours.

The rafters are now completely hidden under a sea of pink fluff, but I'm not going back up there with a camera for a long, long time.