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Fine Tuning
Okay. Having tried the quilt to shut off the massive flow of warm air to the upstairs, I have to say that, in the main, it works pretty well. But, not well enough. The six inch gap between the ceiling and the quilt still allows too much warm air to escape upstairs. It’s not as if the upstairs is all toasty warm, but it’s warmer than the 63° (or even less) that I’d like to keep it. Over time, the temps more or less even out between the two stories. That’s much better than how it used to be, but I’d prefer the upstairs to be significantly cooler than the downstairs. I want most of the heat to stay downstairs.
So, now I have to figure out how to fix this in the most attractive way possible. I could raise the rod from which the quilt hangs, but that would only close off an additional two inches. I don’t think that’s enough. Perhaps a ceiling-hugging valance behind the quilt would work. I haven’t come up with any other ideas, though.
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With regard to gas pilot lights, the current bane of my existence, I am curious if anyone knows whether it is possible to shut off a stove’s pilot lights. Is there a valve someplace on a stove to cut the pilot light gas feed off without cutting the gas delivery to the stove burners? I am perfectly capable of using a match to start a stove burner. I’ve done it many times before and that doesn’t strike me as being an inconvenience. But the stove’s twin pilot lights, constantly burning, are going to drive me around the bend this winter. Not to mention that they’re sitting there silently burning up dollar bills for no good or logical reason. Once upon a time when gas was dirt cheap and an abundant resource, I’m sure pilot lights were a tremendous advance in household convenience. Now? Not so much.
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I’ve been fiddling around in the basement, for the last couple of days, with bits and pieces of insulation. This year I’m trying the bubble wrap method of basement window insulation. It’s not exactly pretty, but duct taping bubble wrap around the window frames should provide some insulation and it still allows natural light to come through. I’ve also used fiberglass insulation around the basement door (by the bulkhead), with bubble wrap on top. When the wind blows (most of the time), a lot of air comes through the cracks around the door. When it’s 20° outside, that turns the basement cold in a hurry and then it never seems to quite recover until spring. There is a lot of heat stored up in the basement walls right now. I’d like to keep it. Hopefully, the added insulation will make a large difference this year.
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Unrelated to energy matters...the resident gray squirrel who eats her weight in sunflower seeds every day, has been, up until today, a little nervous about seeing a cat on the other side of the sliding glass door watching her every move. Today she worked up her courage and curiosity. I think she’d reached the conclusion that the cat wasn’t that much of a threat—after all, the cat has been watching the squirrel for over a week now and nothing untoward has happened.
This morning, the squirrel tentatively approached the door while Abbie watched with absolute rapture. The squirrel stood before the door watching the cat, then placed her front paws on the screen with her little nose pressed against the screen. She and the cat were eye to eye and....nothing happened. Well, except for Abbie nearly expiring from the sheer excitement.
The squirrel now knows, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that this cat is no threat whatsoever. She has been as bold as brass this afternoon, parading back and forth across the deck floor in search of seed with not a concern at all for the cat on the other side of the door. I hope that the squirrel doesn’t assume from this that all cats are safe. The one she’s tormenting right now, however, certainly seems to be.
Re wildlife: The other day I was watching the baseball (mid-afternoon here, remember) and I noticed a movement outside the kitchen door. I moved my eyes about 40 degrees and there was a mongoose, looking in at me. I tried to get up slowly and go over to get the camera, but he/she/it got spooked and moved under the house or somewhere.
Kate,
Would it be possible for you to install a door in the space where you are now hanging your quilt? You might be able to find a used door, install a frame and - voila! If that is not an option perhaps you could install a header between the space (from the ceiling down) that would ‘meet-up’ with the quilt.
As far as the pilot lights. There should be a on-off valve installed in the gas line that runs from the gas meter to your stove. It usually is behind the stove, but it could be any where between the meter and the stove. If you can locate this valve - then your problem is solved. If it is a direct feed, without a valve, then you need to have a valve installed at a place of your choosing.
Regarding the basement. You might want to purchase some thick plastic (at least 4-5 mil) and attach this to the window casings on the outside of the house. You can use a staple gun to affix the plastic sheeting - it’s not pretty, but it will do the trick. As far as the door you speak of - I’m not sure where this door is - or if you need to use it - but a good insulation method (if you don’t need to use this door) is to stuff rags into the gaps - or if you do need to use it, you can purchase insulation material that comes in a tube or can and will expand as you dispense into the cracks. It works very well for those places that are hard to reach as well as those that are easy.
Hope that helps.
Linkmeister, sometimes I forget that you’re halfway around the planet. Afternoon baseball...what a concept!! Actually, didn’t baseball used to be played mostly in the afternoons? Before the advent of huge lights and television advertising? For you, of course, that would mean baseball with your morning coffee.... And I wish you could have gotten a picture of your mongoose, too. I’d love to see what he looks like! Are they as prolific as the gray squirrels are here?
Morgan, thank you. Yes, I’ve often thought about installing a door to the upstairs. Open staircases are among the worst ideas implemented in modern housing. To build a door in, though, would require tearing out a wall and reframing the whole area. I’m a little reluctant to do that right now. I know that every project like that somehow mushrooms into at least a half dozen other necessary projects that weren’t anticipated. I can’t remember the term for that inevitable process at the moment, but it never fails. It’s on my list of things I’d like to do, but it’s not as high a priority as several of the other projects on the list. My quilt solution is what I’d call a stop-gap measure for the time being.
My handyman is here now doing some other work. I asked him to take a look at the gas stove to see if there was a shut off valve and....
OH TOO COOL. The pilots are off. There is a little screw on each pilot light that when tightened down, shuts the gas to the pilot off. He’s done that before and knew what he was looking for. I’ve tested the whole stove area with a match and there is no gas coming out anywhere. The pilots are totally shut down. When I want to start a burner up, all I need to do is strike a match. Works like an absolute charm. I am SO THRILLED!
The thick plastic over the outside of the basement window frames is a great idea. My basement windows are on the back and side of the house, well hidden from public view, so I don’t much care if it’s pretty or not. 
Presumably this guy is not the samemongoose as the one who watched me the other day, but I could be wrong.
We have lots of them here; it was a biological predation experiment gone horribly wrong. They were imported to kill rats. Nobody noticed that mongoose are diurnal and rats are (usually) nocturnal.
Never the twain do meet.