Cold [S. Worthen

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Some of the coldest moments of my life have been in England. In the places I grew up and in Canada, I expect it to be cold outside in the winter, and so I bundle up appropriately. Indoors tends to be well-heated, at least eventually. In England, underheated and underinsulated libraries, in winter, are icy cold. Not moving because reading, I'm far colder than when I'm moving.

Working in my office lately, with a sharp chill in the air outside, has been a lot like that. I'm wearing the fingerless gloves that

saffronjan knit for me and huddling up with the warm computer. Fortunately, it should all start to improve tomorrow. I've picked out curtain fabric, a major prerequisite towards achiveing office curtains. And, best and most immediately of all, the electric heater should arrive in the morning.

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There are 9 comments on this entry. (Reply.)

I just sent you a reply to your email; I hope I sent it to the right place!

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Yes, and hopefully you've received my reply by now! (I had to look up a more current address for you as auto-complete in Mail only had your Toronto one.

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Some of the coldest moments of my life have been in England.

Oh for sure! I remember staying in one place in Cornwall - and not even in the dead of winter, it was late March, I think - and the beds were like blocks of ice. Gradually the section of mattress you were on would warm to human temperature, and then you would shift slightly and come into contact with Antarctic chill again.

Still and all, in the morning you were in Port Isaac, so no actual complaints.

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There is a British institutional presumption that it starts being warm on April 1st (ha!) and remains warm till the end of September. No actual data can change this. Also, libraries are warm because books insulate a room. (Ha! I say once more.)

Make sure your office is properly insulated - curtains help, but are not sufficient of themselves. Enjoy the heater!

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It's not properly insulated, but, shy of sticking insulation directly on the inside of the walls, or rebuilding it, I don't see how I can. (At least there are books and bookshelves covering most of the walls - speaking of books as insulation!) Eventually, if we're here long enough to bother, we can replace the doors and windows with double-glazing at least.

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What's the ceiling like? Could you do anything with those thin insulating mats that are shiny on one side? (I don't know what they're called - they're an alternative to glass-fibre for loft insulation).

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It's a fairly high ceiling, sloping upwards as it goes. I didn't know about thin insulating mats (there's so much I don't know about houses!), so thank you.

The office is a standalone building, and reasonably built, give or take lack of insulation and double-glazing. It retains morning cool until noon on a hot day, and afternoon warmth through half the evening.

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Well, I only know they exist because I was looking for loft boards in B&Q and noticed that there were a lot more options for insulation than I'd previously imagined.

If it's retaining afternoon heat, it sounds like it isn't losing heat at super-fast speeds anyway. Maybe dealing with draughts would be the easiest thing for now.

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It's well-enough sealed that the only anti-draught measure we took was to stuff styrofoam under the door which won't be used much. (Not a long term solution, but not a frequently-used door.) The main door and windows are well put-in-place.

Good to know there are more options out there than I'd realized. I'll see how it does over the winter and if it needs more insulation.

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S. Worthen | Weblog

Cold

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October