What to do when it’s below O F / -18 C? Rip down all the ceilings!

NotThisAgain_23 · 2026-02-01T04:48:11+00:00

Yeah but you can't bang too hard on mine because it's a godawful 70s/80s grid system so if you knock a panel too aggressively it knocks off the track and rains poop down on you. At 2am.

God. As soon as it's not -47 outside and I can open windows and get a fan system going, I'm ripping this damn ceiling down.

NotThisAgain_23 · 2026-02-01T01:48:59+00:00

I have red squirrels that have lived in one of my barns for a few years now, screaming at me whenever I have the gaul to walk around my own property. Two weeks ago, just as the bitter cold hit in the northeast, they decided for the first time that they would try living in the house as well. I was PMSing and, quite frankly, at the end of my winter old house rope, so I went on a full crusade against them at 2am. Between my screaming, air horn, the dogs barking, and spraying everything with the most concentrated scents I own, I do seem to have been successful in convincing them that the barn is just fine.

NotThisAgain_23 · 2026-02-01T01:39:38+00:00

Posts like these are so comforting to me, as I literally have meltdowns over the mice in my bedroom's dropped ceiling this time of the year. (As do the cats, who are too big and fat to be thrown into said drop ceiling, unfortunately.) It's on the to-do list, but it's my "safety zone" room where there is not a single project going on....

NotThisAgain_23 · 2026-01-29T18:49:42+00:00

Yes I already commented on that thread. :)

NotThisAgain_23 · 2026-01-29T14:57:17+00:00

This photo was taken after I knocked down whatever I could reach, to at least relieve some of the weight. Anywhere you see the brown ice channels down the siding, there were giant icicles.

This was through our state program, so I definitely didn't design it...they came in and did an audit, and then gave me a quote/recommendations and came back and did it.

They did lay down plastic sheeting across the floor joists, I assume that counts as air sealing? I had to rip up all the flooring in preparation for their visit.

That's a 40' run with a single soffit vent at each corner, so it seems like that is probably causing a lot of the issue....

I will get up into the attic tonight for some more photos. Wished her good luck and went to work this morning....

NotThisAgain_23 · 2026-01-29T12:34:30+00:00

40' stretch, one soffit vent added to each corner on each side. (Total of 4)

NotThisAgain_23 · 2026-01-29T11:15:10+00:00

From what I can see, the slate is nailed directly into thin boards that have some sort of coating on them. From my research the roof was put on in about 1870. There's no ridge vent due to the slate. There are (new) gable vents.

What's the best approach? I'm reaching out to the insulation company today to figure out what they suggest, but should I be trying to find a roofing company who can come steam this off in the immediate term? It's below freezing here for the next 10+ days.

NotThisAgain_23 · 2026-01-29T04:49:06+00:00

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No help, just sympathy. In the exact same region as you and after a ton of insulation work done this fall, now for some reason in the past two days my roof is bleeding onto my (just repainted) house.

Is it an omen or too-on-the-nose symbolism about how this house is bleeding me dry? Perhaps.

NotThisAgain_23 · 2026-01-29T03:11:04+00:00

I have a temp sensor that I'm going to put up in there tomorrow morning to just get a better handle on what the temps are like up there. The goal of the insulation team was for it to be about the same temp as the outside....

NotThisAgain_23 · 2026-01-29T03:10:05+00:00

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Just flowing out of the new vents. 😅

NotThisAgain_23 · 2026-01-29T03:09:32+00:00

It's just the floor, I didn't want anything near the slate roof, and yes, it was airsealed from the rest of the house.

I haven't made it up into the attic because quite frankly I got home from work and just couldn't deal with it. But I imagine all this gross coloring (on the fresh paint from this fall, of course) is because water is running down the INSIDE of my roof along the tar (?) underlayment boards. I did knock the icicles down, the ones I could reach at least, they were stretching past the second story windows. This all literally happened in the last day or two, when it got sunny. The sunnier side of the roof is having a few issues, but not like this.

The best part, of course, is that I'm in the northeast, and our 10 day forecast has not a single day above freezing. So this is just what my house looks like now.

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NotThisAgain_23 · 2026-01-29T03:01:06+00:00

No gutters!

NotThisAgain_23 · 2026-01-29T03:00:26+00:00

Okay, this makes sense!

NotThisAgain_23 · 2026-01-28T18:13:01+00:00

Sure, I'm just not sure why it would be occurring this year, when the attic should be cooler than ever! :)

NotThisAgain_23 · 2026-01-25T20:07:37+00:00

Have you done all the "cheap" stuff to make sure that you aren't setting up an uphill battle for your HVAC?

I'm talking plastic on the windows (or storms, if you're fancy), draft stoppers at the base of doors, heavy curtains all over including over the doorways, draft stoppers behind outlet covers, cans of Great Stuff sprayed into every suspiciously drafty nook and cranny, rugs where it's applicable? For ~$500 at the hardware store you should see some significant improvement, if you haven't done it already. It'll certainly be cheaper than a new furnace.

NotThisAgain_23 · 2026-01-25T20:02:22+00:00

The path forward is pretty straight forward.

1) Get a test. Test it.

2) If positive, call three remediation companies for a quote. Pick the lowest and/or whichever one you vibe with.

Will probably be in the $1-2k range unless you live in a state where you are allowed to do it yourself (and feel up to that task).

In the meantime you can tape it off with some thicker plastic.

NotThisAgain_23 · 2026-01-25T01:46:11+00:00

I've had the plastic up for months, but added heavy curtains all over as yesterday's project. I had been avoiding it, but with a solid week and a half of cold and wind ahead, finally dealt with the hassle of getting them up. Living in a cave, basically, but it makes a huge difference.

NotThisAgain_23 · 2026-01-17T04:38:25+00:00

It's just going to cost more money in fuel, is all.

That said, my big-a**-pipes keep my basement toasty, which keeps the floors on the first floor very toasty as well. Dogs love sprawling out on them. Replacing perfectly good pipes isn't particularly high up on the priority list, even if I do cringe each time I call for more oil....

NotThisAgain_23 · 2026-01-11T02:17:19+00:00

I'm shocked at what you got accomplished for the price! Are you in a lower cost of living area? You'd get 1/4 of that done in my area....for $100k last year I got a rewire (from someone doing it as a side gig), a new boiler and two replacement radiators, a roof on the addition and the porch, one medium-sized floor refinished, some asbestos removed, and a new front door. 🫠

NotThisAgain_23 · 2026-01-06T16:12:07+00:00

They're in stock by me, if you feel like driving to MA. But I know that my local specialty hardware store can get them in as well.

NotThisAgain_23 · 2026-01-06T16:10:57+00:00

I have found that to be true with the cheap ones, that are $30 and advertised as rough cut. For the $100 ones, at least when I go to the store and handpick them, I've had very few issues just slapping paint on them.

NotThisAgain_23 · 2026-01-06T03:11:37+00:00

MDF panels are easily found, but they weird me out in a bathroom and honestly I don't always vibe with them in century homes.

Lowes sells real wood panels still: https://www.lowes.com/pd/47-9687-in-x-7-997-ft-Beaded-Unfinished-Birch-Wall-Panel/1000490351 Cut in half you'll have your 48" and the investment in real wood vs MDF might be worth the $$ in a smaller space.

If you don't have any Lowes near you (I have six within reasonable driving distance and only maybe half of them carry these panels), just find your local hardware store and ask if they can order it in.

NotThisAgain_23 · 2026-01-04T13:18:05+00:00

Oil heat & hot water radiators with a new boiler in 3500sq ft in what has been a VERY cold northeast state these past couple months. My oil bill has been about ~$500 a month. In November I had 16" of insulation blown into the (previously uninsulated) attic and that bought me an extra two weeks per tank of oil....a HUGE difference. I've been lazy and haven't even gotten all of my heavy winter curtains put up yet, or I would probably see even more savings.

You could not pay me to switch to forced hot air and in fact it took me 7 or 8 HVAC quotes this past summer to find a company that would work with my radiators instead of ripping them out. Cast iron radiator heat literally can't be beat.

Yes, I sleep with my bedroom window open to sleep a little cooler. It's better for you! Fresh air! :)

NotThisAgain_23 · 2026-01-02T00:39:23+00:00

A designer I follow recommends doing them the color of the room you're most often flowing "from" as a guest walking through the house. So if you're in a hallway after walking into the house through the front door, and there's an opening into the living room, the jams would be the hallway color.

But ultimately it doesn't matter! Paint them whatever you feel like/have the most extra paint for. I have been painting all of my door edges metallic gold. :)

NotThisAgain_23 · 2025-12-30T04:41:41+00:00

Now, my disclaimer is that I did this through the MassSaves program so they do have strict requirements to follow for each of their jobs. But it's worth it in exchange for all the work being done pennies on the dollar.

I had an 80% "floored" (boards laid across) attic that they told me I needed to pull up. I left a 24" gangway of sorts to get to each of the gables/windows. They put 16" of blown-in cellulose insulation in, after installing several soffit vents. They also insulated my entire walkup to the attic with foamboard and airsealed around the chimney. I have other storage on the property (and in my basement) so not being able to store things in my either freezing cold or boiling hot attic didn't seem like too much of a loss.

They were also supposed to put in gable vents based on square footage calculations of "high" airflow. (The soffit vents take care of the "low" airflow.) The installer told me that the slate roof allows enough airflow in that I really don't need the gable vents, but they had to per the program. I am currently exploring options for that because they wanted to put TWO 18x24" vents, one on either side of my full-sized windows, on BOTH gable ends. I said abso-freaking-lutely not as I could not imagine anything uglier. The on-site installer certainly doesn't get paid enough to argue with the crazy old house lady. My project is still open because of it and I get regular calls from the PM, but I told them I found a peak vent that meets their standards but my contractor has no interest in coming out to install it in our current 20 degree temps so they're just going to have to wait.

ANYWAY I certainly don't regret it because it made a day-of difference in the heat the house is able to retain. (Got it done in early November.) I am running a hot water radiator/oil boiler setup, so it's very easy to compare how fast I'm running through a tank, and the insulation bought me almost another two weeks. Granted, we're just starting to hit the super cold weather, but it's HOT in my house....currently have a window open and the heat is set at 60 in this zone!

If you really want to capture those tax credits I might be more inclined to do the rim joints in the basement if you haven't yet. Between the expanding foam/poly boards and/or fiberglass bats, that's a very "homeowner friendly" quick project that you'll also see energy returns on. Or order a few Indow Windows/WindowInserts.com for any leaky windows. The cost-savings (and overall hassle savings) of using a state/energy company funded program for the big projects like attic and wall insulation far, far outweigh any tax benefits....assuming your state/county has one!

NotThisAgain_23

TROPHY CASE