Re: Home and garden projects
 

If you think you are losing heat then it could easily save $50 in heating costs or comfort (eliminate drafts or cold areas), but if your bills aren't too bad it would probably be a waste of time as well as money.

Re: Home and garden projects
 

Just had our A/C evaporator replaced today under warranty.

Cost to us for a couple of hours labor and recharge was $250.

The system was installed in 2012. We bought the house in 2015.

We had a couple of problems previously. First time it quit cooling (fan in outside unit not running). Cost us $95 for a new start capacitor and coolant top-up.

Second incident (last year), it stopped cooling again. They diagnosed a leaking coil and ordered a replacement under warranty. Topped up the coolant to keep us going but never came back with the replacement. No charge.

Yesterday morning, found the outside unit frozen.

On the plus side, was informed the unit has a 10-year warranty.

Re: Home and garden projects
 

That may not be a problem, could just be so cold. It certainly happens around here to heat pumps in winter. ..... Just tip a bucket or two of water into the top to thaw the ice, that is what our HVAC service tech recommended. :nod:

Re: Home and garden projects
 

It's what prompted me to call them out. Refrigerant leaked down again.

I was expecting it to fail at some point. Just never got around to calling them before it quit.

Re: Home and garden projects
 

Our system has an intermittent or self-fixing leak. Some years it needs a load of refrigerant, other years, nothing. :confused: I have been psyched-up for a major repair for the past two years, but after a major top up in 2014 it hasn't needed much if any refrigerant. I now lean towards junking it the next time it needs a major repair as it is about 14 years old and neither the heating or cooling is efficient.

Re: Home and garden projects
 

When I installed my unit in the new house I went with a basic 14 seer heat pump and basic digital thermostat. The guy I dealt with at the Thrane dealer agreed that the high seer units are more prone to problems and the much higher initial costs take a long time to recoup thru lower energy costs. My over the top insulation and smaller house makes energy cost a non issue anyway. My Dec bill as previously mentioned was $43 dollars for heating plus running a table saw and other power tools I am using in the final stages of construction.

Re: Home and garden projects
 

$43!!

My December bill was $200 with my new units that's about half the cost of our first winter here 2 years ago but even so...About $30 of that was due to Nest thermostat taking far too long to learn. I've mostly over-ridden it now.

I agree with you on the heat pumps and higher seer units. The AHRI directory is a good tool to use when assessing whether the extra $$ are worth it.
I'm still working on the insulation here. I've been avoiding some nasty jobs in the attic by caulking/sealing. The attic insulation is in an appalling state. Badly spread out, gaps for whole house attic fan (useless) and light cans, attic hatch ladder poorly insulated (did weather stripping this afternoon).

Re: Home and garden projects
 

I just came down from the attic and mine is a disaster.

I've got two electrical cables actually impeding access to the attic (they are run across the entrance and have little slack). There's also alarm system wires all over the place in addition to camera wiring.

Then the insulation is the blown in type and it's an inch in some places and 6 in others.

At least there is insulation I guess.

Eta and of course there is a load of electrical wiring run across the joists with no protection.

Re: Home and garden projects
 

you live at my house :ohmy:

I've got to get the air con guys back to move a drainpipe that they placed across the attic hatch. Same with the insulation. I'm desperately trying to avoid putting baffles in all the trusses but I think I'm going to end up doing it. Not looking forward to that one.

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I'll stop complaining - there are issues in my attic, but nowhere near that bad. :blink:

I have been working on trying to add more insulation, but most of the year it is too hot or too cold. When I add insulation it will be batts, not that friçkin' blow-in §hite! :frown: When it warms up a bit I will make a determined effort to go and dig through the insulation to find where the TV coax emerges into the attic. I know it is in the void that carries the heating/AC trunks, but I haven't yet found it in the attic. Once I find it I can reconnect it to make a live connection near our TV.

This is going to be the year when I add raised walkways to allow additional thick roll insulation. I will also screw closed one of the two attic hatches and cover over it with roll insulation.

Re: Home and garden projects
 

looking on the bright side - when I've raked the insulation to an even coverage, I'm guessing it will just about cover the joists so I can roll out the batts then. Hmm or maybe not? I've still got a/c ductwork going around the place so maybe more of the blown in will be easier. I've attached some pics...

Re: Home and garden projects
 

Blow in certainly can be easier, but it moves around and makes a mess. Maybe a half way house would work for you - roll insulation where you need access and blow-in would escape, so for example roll insulation around the hatch and then blow insulation in to the far corners and the messy bits around the ductwork.

I have a stack of 2×12s which I will be screwing to the top of the existing joists, to make room for 12" of insulation while allowing a walkway and some area for storage. The 2x12s are already drilled for oblique screws near the lower edge.

I also had to extend a wire to move a ceiling fan below. Some numskull had positioned the ceiling light/fan so close to the attic hatch that the 20'x25' bonus room only had room for a 24" ceiling fan. :rofl:

While I'm mucking about up there I think I will add three cheap fluorescent strip lights to light the attic properly.

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I'll take a picture of mine tomorrow, it's like a spaghetti junction of wires over the hatch.

I'm thinking of getting a contractor for the insulation now because the blow in stuff is such a pain to remove.

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Getting a couple of bids from insulation contractors is a good idea. You may be surprised by the low cost compared to buying the material and doing it yourself. They can buy the insulation wholesale so much cheaper that it makes up for much of the labor cost. Price the material and estimate cost before arranging for the bids and you will have the info needed to judge the prices they quote.
When I wired my house I ran two plywood tracks with a two by four on the bottom down both sides of attic on the truss members above the truss bottoms about three feet. All my wiring is neatly nailed to these tracks as it runs from main box to areas of house the wires supply. Every junction box and wire is attached in perfect straight lines down attic well above the insulation.
Another problem I avoided is my heating and cooling ductwork is commercial spiral exposed ducts like you see in some restaurants. By being inside the heated space there is no duct heat loss. The worst possible place to put ductwork is in attic, hot in summer and cold in winter, with major energy losses. The flexible ducts commonly used are either R-5 or R-8 which doesn't help much in summer with the attic 120-130 degrees, as you try to cool the house. Every "pro" I talked to said I should put ductwork in the attic.

Re: Home and garden projects
 

Apparently my inch of insulation was already paid for via FPL rebate in 2000, so they will not give me a new rebate until 2020.

I called a few contractors and for blow in insulation it would be under $600, but rolls would be $3000!