Ahhh,insulation

[midnight armadillo]

I spent an hour or so insulating my mother-in-law's hot water pipes in her basement, and replacing the 25-year old crumbling stuff on the run of pipes in the garage. An addition was done 25 years ago and there's about 12 feet each of hot and cold piping to the master bathroom that goes through the garage.

She used to have the hot water at scalding levels in the kitchen etc in order to get lukewarm water in the master bath (this solution was recommended by her furnace installers a few years ago...dumbasses).

For a total cost of $15 worth of polyethylene foam pipe insulation I covered up all the pipes. Water is now scalding hot in the master bath. I will also added an extra fiberglass pipe wrap on the garage pipes for freezing-pipes-peace-of-mind, and tidy up the slightly shoddy drywall/spackle job around those pipes with spray foam as well. Turning down the temp will save big bucks and prevent burns.

Ah, the power of insulation. We haven't tackled her attic yet, maybe in February or so. She saw a TV show on using fiberglass and is leaning towards that, but I still prefer a cellulose solution, dammit!

[LynzM]

1. My husband did this recently

For my grandparents! They've had to turn their heat down, it worked like a charm! Amazing such a cheap solution makes such a huge difference!!

[phantom power]

2. upgrading insulation yields the best return-on-investment, by far.

Very inexpensive, especially compared to upgrading appliances.

It's a crime, how badly some buildings are insulated, considering the minimal cost.