I live in a big old building. very nice place. but why is it....?

Question

so darn cold. I can turn the heat on and leave it on until the place is nice and toasty and then all of a sudden when i turn it off, the place is frozen again. I understand this is an old building but my goodness the place shouldn't get so freezing cold like this. What can I do I am sick of this and trying to save on heating costs. sighh.. sad and confused

Thanks guys, i have double pane. the living room window is tapered off with two heavy curtains. Just so dang cold. sighhh i think i might have to move.

freakin' brick

Answer 1

Old homes do not have inslations in the walls , I live in one , you can hire some on to do foam inslation , but it will coast you or you can find a handy man that will do it for cheeper , if you like to save , just keep your heat on 65 and buy 2 samller portabel electric heaters that you keep in the rooms you in , make sure you follow directions and safty instructions if you buy them before you use them

Answer 2

There is probably no insulation. Usually, houses are stocked up with fiberglass insulation. If your house isn't brick, and you have bright colors outside, it reflects more light and absorbs less heat. If you live in an apartment there is not too much you can do. But if it is a house, look into it, see if when the house was made they put insulation between the walls and the outside of the house because it is critical.
The shape of the house also matters - if you had an extremely large room - all the hot air will rise to the top and it will get cold much faster.

Answer 3

Start by getting some weather stripping to seal some of the leaks you have around the doors and windows. Get some curtains or shades to help insulate the windows. Insulate the attic if you have one. You must have massive leaks around the doors and windows so plug them up. Even laying a blanket down along the bottom of the door will help to stop drafts. Also a ceiling fan to push the warm air down to you would help. Depends on your budget... can you afford to replace your windows with modern double paned ones? You didn't say if you are the owner or renter. If you're on a tight budget consider dressing warmer with long undiewares from head to toe, and don't forget a warm hat!

Answer 4

If you own this place I'd get a consultant in, someone from the building trades like Home Depot, Lowes Or some local lumber yard that handles this type of building. Then get some idea what's wrong from them, it could be anything. All we're doing here is a lot of guessing, we could be way off track. It's impossible from here to see the real problem and you seem to have one so, either let your fingers do the walking on the yellow pages.
Another way is to see the County building codes and see if one of the guys work part time on the side. This works in a lot of places.

Answer 5

sounds like there is no insulation.

#1)Try wearing long underwear
#2)Put some plastic on the windows
#3)Can you hang things on the walls, Quilts etc. They can add a bit of insulation.
#4)Talk with your landlord about these concerns.

Good Luck!

Answer 6

It must be brick? try getting a small electric heaters.The insulation is bad!!Try covering the windows and any drafty place with plastic or foil and use heavy drapes.