One Good Thing…

…about the 1/2 of snow crippling the greater Baltimore area this morning is that it has confirmed a suspicion of mine about the lack of insulation in our porch ceiling. I originally put R-19 up there, thinking it would be plenty for the application, but as my lovely bride will tell you, it’s fucking freezing out there. The radiators do in fact heat the space up, but all warmth dissipates within about 20 minutes or so, making it useless for an all-season office (we’re currently using the dining room table).

This morning I peeked out the front bedroom windows and noticed the snow melting on the porch roof directly over the office area, which tells me I need at least another layer of R-19 over top of the existing insulation to keep that warmth in. Which means I’ve got to find a way to get up in there that doesn’t involve carving a hole in the drywall or using a shrink ray. Fortunately, I’ve got fresh freelance checks in my back pocket and there’s a sale on insulation at the H-D this week.

Ah – OK. I never realized the second story didn’t reach out over the office, so I was totally confused by how it could still be so cold in there, even with fancy new windows.

I think there’s also a sale on employees at the H-D this week.

Yeah, the second story doesn’t cover the porch, so it’s likely they never insulated the bottom half of the second-story front wall when they blew in insulation, too. Aren’t old houses fun?

As for that joke, it was bitterly funny in a bone-chilling, insulation isn’t the only thing that’s pink at H-D sort of way.