Our Laundry Room IS a Cold Cellar

One of the biggest problem we have is inadequate insulation on all three levels of our house. The facts, according to our home audit report:

Basement Insulation: Increase the insulation value of the basement walls by a minimum of RSI 4.2 (R-24)
Federal incentive: $850
EnerGuide Rating Improvement: 6.9 points

Wall Insulation: Increase exterior wall insulation by an amount greater than RSI 1.59 (R-9)
Federal incentive: $1,074
EnerGuide Rating Improvement: 3 points

While we are going to hire contractors for some of the insulation work, we are going to try to do as much of it ourselves as we can. [Heather writes: ha! Doug says that now...]

This photo shows our laundry room in our basement, which – like a full half of our basement – is not insulated at all.

We are going to frame and insulate the laundry room, recycle the old freezer  down there, and turn it into a workshop so we can do the work we need.

Because our kitchen is directly above the laundry room, that will also help to warm the floor in the most used room in the house. (And the kitchen floor is like a hockey rink in the winter!)

The door on the far wall of the laundry room is to our cold cellar. We never use it, but apparently it’s letting a lot of heat out right now because it is not properly sealed or insulated.

So, insulation contractors here we come; Doug is armed with names he got WOM from coworkers and a few from Google searches.

Recapping: Why are we starting our eco renovations with the decided unsexy task of insulation – when there are obviously more visibly gratifying renos we’d like to do?

Because it will garner us a total of $ 1,924 in federal rebates (and matching amount from Ontario government), as well as 9.9 EnerGuide points (towards our goal of reaching 82, from our current 61). Good to keep our eye on the prize!