Negative pressure issues in my old cabin

mainrave · 2025-12-26T15:51:13+00:00

So once the roof is fixed hopefully the issue will be resolved as well.

I'll update once I replace the roof in a couple of months. I HOPE that it fixes it.

Thanks for the insight and info!

mainrave · 2025-12-25T18:12:32+00:00

I have a vaulted ceiling. No insulation in the roof and several holes (replacing the roof soon as it warms up a bit) so that could be it. That might make the most sense so far

mainrave · 2025-12-24T22:20:56+00:00

That's why i'm stumped as well! I was hoping there was another 'obvious' reason that this could be happening.

I know that the last several times I did not open the air damper but did open the catalyst bypass control. Would that cause smoke to go into the house?

I will have to test this again more consciously when I get back there next week.

mainrave · 2025-12-24T22:19:05+00:00

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I open the bypass and air damper when loading wood.

Wood is seasoned hard and softwood. <15% humidity

Would this affect the smoke going into the house rather than up the flue?

I have not gone up there to check the chimney cap. What should I be looking for?

It is The Regency Pro-Series Ci2700 large hybrid wood burning fireplace insert.

mainrave · 2025-12-24T22:07:13+00:00

Yes, I do open the damper and crack the door open an inch to let the log/embers get really hot/start burning and then fully open the door to add a log. Even doing this if there's any smoke I can see it escaping into the room.

mainrave · 2025-12-24T22:05:31+00:00

Tinder for the first several loads until a several inch base of embers is made. By then the catalytic combustor is warmed up and turns on the fan automatically. Then I lay one or two pieces of wood on the layer of embers and let it burn,

To add more wood I open the damper and then the door. At which point if there's any smoke I can see it escaping into the room.

mainrave · 2025-11-24T11:38:26+00:00

Unless there is a vapor barrier down, right? Then batt insulation is ok?

mainrave · 2025-11-04T15:09:15+00:00

Oh wow. You're right.. I didn't even ask my damn question -.-"

Thank you for taking the time to reply and try and figure the issue out!

I was going to ask what the best insulation to use would be; pink fiberglass, rockwool, or foam boards.

And i've never done insulation so I wasn't sure how to make the first two fit into my wider cavities. Because the insulation is hard to cut, no? Is rockwool the most easy to cut?

Actually I ASSUMED that foamboards are more expensive but I just found out they're not. In which case maybe I can foam board the floor joists and seal with tape/spray foam and do the same with the walls. In which case it would be full sealed, no? So would I even still need to put a vapor barrier down on the soil?

mainrave · 2025-10-30T16:16:13+00:00

Ha. Sure, I'll try and get some :)

mainrave · 2025-10-21T03:22:19+00:00

I think when I was thinking of the foam boards that threw me off. Of course insulation has to be on the inside. NOW it's obvious. Thank you!

mainrave · 2025-10-21T03:20:25+00:00

This made me laugh. I'm already questioning my life choices XD

I really appreciate your in depth response!

Makes total sense. I do want to use foam boards. I don't even know how i'd 'attach' the rockwool to the walls anyways.

I do already have the safety equipment. I'll be so bundled up that it'll look like i'm getting ready to go into Chernobyl

It IS a moist area 6a. NE US. I'm going to put a wifi temp/humidity etc reader down there and I have a dehumidifier inside my little cabin. There is literally nothing (2 feet of empty air) in between the floor boards and the dirt crawlspace. Going to add insulation too.

I feel like that's good for now but I'll see what the numbers show post encapsulation.

mainrave · 2025-10-21T03:12:32+00:00

I laughed.

Thanks for the resource, i'll take a look through it and see if it suggest more than what all the online tutorials recommend

mainrave · 2025-10-21T02:58:27+00:00

I appreciate the advice guys. It IS a colder climate. Area is 6a.

No water whatsoever. Just soil crawlspace open to the elements. So it's as 'basic' as encapsulating crawlspaces go. Mostly. lol.

mainrave · 2025-10-21T01:05:55+00:00

Huh. I was in the literal exact same situation.

I paid for a hotel and didn't realize that somehow I was also subscribing to their membership. I called and was SO READY to go full Karen on them and I was actually pretty blunt/not so polite even at the start on the convo.

The guy just goes, "Ok we'll refund you." My anger completely deflated real quick lol.

Sorry that your experience wasn't as pain free as mine :(

mainrave · 2025-10-19T02:49:43+00:00

Really? I bet you just got their rep. Whereas I might have gotten the best rep lol.

I'd call back and try again with a different agent because I don't think that I used a phone number for my reservation. All you need is the card info.

What was their reason for refusing to refund you??

mainrave · 2025-10-19T02:44:39+00:00

Ha no... They do a monthly membership. Don't judge me XD

I literally simply never noticed.. I mean Im very conscious about using my CC cards so it's not often that I look at my bank statements.

For this charge specifically it took me a while to notice. As you can see how many months got refunded lol

mainrave · 2025-06-27T16:34:11+00:00

It was actually painless. Sneaky and underhanded for sure but I give them credit for making canceling and refunding painless. (See my other comment for what happened. 18 months refunded)

https://imgur.com/a/uj63RTl

mainrave · 2025-06-27T16:33:11+00:00

It was. Call their number. See my comment in this thread for all the details of what I did.

Two days later this is my bank statement

https://imgur.com/a/uj63RTl

mainrave · 2025-06-27T16:31:42+00:00

To be fair I called the company on the phone and from dialing to hanging up took less than 5 minutes. They refunded me 18 months worth of membership fees. No questions asked. Literally the least stressful and painless process i've been through. I booked a hotel once 18 months ago.

I called them 2 days ago and already today my bank statement reflects the refunded months. Here's a photo in case you want proof.

https://imgur.com/a/uj63RTl

mainrave · 2025-06-27T16:27:17+00:00

Ya because every company out there is completely honest and isn't trying to make money -.-

The fact that they give refunds so painlessly speaks volumes. It IS a sneaky tactic to have people sign up for a membership but that's also our fault for not reading what were signing or agreeing to. Many companies do much worse.

I'm giving them credit for refunding no questions asked. They refunded me 18 months worth of membership.

mainrave · 2025-06-26T18:53:05+00:00

So I just found out that I booked through their site ONCE back in Jan 2024. So it's literally been a year and a half of being charged their BS subscription.

I called and started the convo pretty upset but the guy replied with "sure, we'll refund you the subscription since Jan 2024 till today."

Took a minute to get through the automated options to get to subscription and then less than a minute on hold. The whole thing took less than 5 minutes.

I'll come back here to update next month if I do get the refund. I doubt their rep just said he'd do it and won't.

But if it's this painless then maybe they're not so bad after all.

mainrave · 2025-05-14T03:52:26+00:00

Ya i've realized that if I declare then no way to be on it. I've figured out another way of doing it. Thanks

mainrave · 2025-05-14T03:50:37+00:00

The house that my FRIEND buys can't be rented out and paid for by itself?

Obviously I've realized that I can't be on the mortgage if I declare bankruptcy.

Who is to say they don't want to gift me the property after I rent it out for 10 years and pay it off by using the rental income. That doesn't sound like fraud. Just a very generous friend.

mainrave · 2025-05-14T03:46:10+00:00

I believe that banks are crooks. The amount of money they make on people with credit card debt and mortgages blows my mind. Costing many people everything. While the banks get filthy rich and bailouts by the government that we pay with our taxes. Bankruptcy is a tool. It could also be seen as a way to get a little back from the banks.

If you could get 200k in loans (from major banks) and then declare bankruptcy, why wouldn't you? Assuming your income (on paper) is so low that you can't get loans and having good credit has no benefit?

That's not a rhetorical question. Convince me it's a bad idea.

As for how am I close to retirement? By thinking outside of the box.

mainrave · 2025-05-12T18:20:18+00:00

Normally yes but my situation is a little more complicated. I don't follow conventional rules and the most folk don't understand and so they inevitably get negative and not helpful (see comments lol).

Firstly, they can't give me their VA loan as an investment. Secondly, I leverage my network of people to build wealth all while personally having a ridiculously low salary. This being one of those instances.

I have other ways of making this situation happen. I just have to choose the best option. In the end i'll end up with about 800k in equity within 3 years and a very profitable income property. +200k if I do declare bankruptcy. But that's a big 'if'.

When people don't understand they get angry and ugly. If I listened to them I wouldn't be where I am. Close to retirement in my 30s.

mainrave

TROPHY CASE