12 responses so far ↓

• 1 Tom McCaughey // Jan 7, 2009 at 2:40 pm

  Where can I find out information on retro soundproofing between the main floor and basement of a 2 apt bungalow. I know that full soundproofing is out of the question but minor alterations may be possible.
  Thanks,

• 2 Dan // Jan 7, 2009 at 2:59 pm

  Hi Tom,

  That is something that my wife wants me to do ourselves. I just haven’t gotten around to it yet (and won’t for a while…..limited funds).

  However, there are specific types of insullation that some in the same type of package as pink fibreglass bats which you can get at any building supply company and install between the trusses / joints of the bottom of the basement ceiling. These are not fibregalss materials.

  You would then need to cover them up as well.

  Dan

• 3 John Judge // Jan 31, 2009 at 6:08 pm

  After posting on your Notre Dame page, I took a general look around your site - congratulations on a very meaningful coverage of ideas of interest.
  One area which I did not see covered (although it was impossible to all the ideas that you addressed) was remodeling for senior citizen assisted living. We have done a bit of that in the last year, not that we need assisted living right now, but we know that we will since the years are passing by so rapidly.
  Best wishes

• 4 Dan // Jan 31, 2009 at 6:22 pm

  Hi John,

  First, thank you.

  Second, you raise a good and an aspect of home renovation that will only but continue to increase in general need due to the baby boomer bulge.

  We have some articles on how we have tried to make our home more universally accessible as we have a special needs / physically challenged family member.

  If you look within the Accessiblity category (http://dailyhomerenotips.com/category/accessibility/) we have so far 11 articles on home renovations we have done related to improving accessibility in the home.

  They wireless wall switches, for example, allow the light switch to be placed any hieght or placement on the wall as it does not need any wires.

  The article on toilet heights would be another one applicable for senior citizen remodeling. Those extra 2 inches in height can signficantly help a physically challenged person.

  We do have strategically placed hand rails by the toilet and bath tub in the bathroom used by our special needs family member, but no article yet.

  Thank you for the idea and in March onwards I’ll do my best to include a few more articles in that regard.

  Dan

• 5 Dan // Feb 1, 2009 at 3:54 pm

  Hi, Again, John,

  PS. Regarding assisted living, many of the home energy conservation suggestions within our Energy Conservation page (http://dailyhomerenotips.com/energy-conservation/) would be within the sphere of assisted living home adjustments.

  Cost wise, 100+ cost absolutely nothing to do and a further 75+ cost next to nothing. Retirees needs to watch their spending as much or more than the employed part of the population.

  As well, most of the suggestions we received on that list are very simple to do. Again, as we age our bodies are not as ‘nimble’ as they used to be in our younger years. However the vast majority of the home energy conservation tips on that list are very, very easy to do.

  I hope this helps.

  Dan

• 6 jackson // Apr 20, 2009 at 2:22 am

  thank you so much for you hard work on energy saving.

• 7 Aimee // May 26, 2009 at 11:20 pm

  I love your front door replacement project tips. I also really like that particular front door you featured. Would you mind telling where you found that door?

• 8 Dan // May 27, 2009 at 12:50 am

  Hi Aimee,

  You know what? I can’t? Why? it’s because since we had sooo many gosh darn issues with the 1st replacement front door the retailer and manufacturer gave us an upgraded front door which was slightly different from the first. So, I can’t tell you where you would find it.

  Dan

• 9 Ray Foulkes // Aug 2, 2009 at 3:29 pm

  Hi Tom, we do cellar conversions over here in the UK and we use a material called Astrosafe, it is available in the US too so you shouldn’t have any problem finding it, it is easy to use, lightweight and a good thermal and sound insulator. it does not cause any irritatioon like fiberglass does. We use it on alll of our basement and cellar conversion projects.

• 10 Russ // Oct 20, 2009 at 8:36 am

  Great website! I arrived because I was searching for ideas on energy conservation, but ended up browsing for well over an hour. Really good range of subjects covered. I’m impressed!

• 11 Laverne // Jul 18, 2010 at 1:31 am

  I have several air condition, heating
  vents in the walls of my home. The vents are located in the walls between the studs. One vent is located in the wall near the top of the ceiling and the other vent directly below the other,(between the same studs) at the bottom of the wall near the floor. What is the purpose of these two vents? should they both be open at the same time?

  Thank you,
  Laverne

• 12 Dan // Jul 18, 2010 at 10:36 am

  Hi Laverne,

  That does sound strange.

  My initial guess would be that the top one is the cold air return and the lower one is the actual heat / conditioned air to enter the room. However, most often they are placed not within the same stud space to prevent the heated / conditioned air being sucked right back into the furnace / central air conditioner.

  I wonder if the prior owner of your home found that particular room cold and installed a second vent (likely the top one) themselves, rather tackling the cause of the problem through increased insulation, sealing the air leaks, etc.

  My other ‘guess’ is that perhaps the person who installed the vents was thinking to open the bottom one in the winter (as warm / heated air rises to the top) while open only the top one in the summer (thinking that the cooler conditioned air would filter downwards).

  I hope that helps.
  Dan

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