Thanks for all the replies everybody (my original post is at the bottom of
this post). I guess the main thing I'm concerned about is possible mold in
unseen areas behind the walls. Also it's not cold year round. It
eventually does heat up to typically 60 - 70 degree (F) during the day and
sometimes in the 80s and 90s during the hottest parts of the year. Here's a
few questions that I'd appreciate any info on:

* Would the heating that occurs when the weather warms up during non-Winter
times of the year take care of any mold that appears due to any condensation
behind the walls due to cold weather?

* Aren't there areas in a heated home behind the walls that would still be
as cold as a nonheated home such as near the exterior walls?

* Is sheetrock inside walls vulnerable to cold wet weather?

* What organization would have rules or other info on this that I could find
online or in a library?

Thanks again for the answers given to my previous post and thanks in advance
to those who provide info related to any of my questions above.

Chris




"Chris" wrote

Hello. I live in the bottom unit of a flat (two unit building) in San
Francisco, about a mile from the ocean. The top flat is kept unoccupied
most of the time so the owner, who lives in another nearby city, can make
use of it when he or one of his grown kids needs / wants to stay in SF.
The
weather in the coldest parts of winter is typically in the upper 40's /
lower 50's during the day and in the upper 30's / lower 40's at night.
This
winter has not been typical as it's been warmer this winter than I can
ever
remember it being (except for the last couple days).

To save money, I don't turn on the heat in the flat, and will instead put
on
additional clothing to stay warm which is fine with me. Thus the house
for
the most part is never heated.

Somebody mentioned to me that perhaps this is not good for the house to
never be heated during the winter. There's no mold anywhere in the house
except for a little scattering of it on the two most bottom 1" aluminum
slats of the blinds at the three west-facing windows in the front of the
house (which I intend to clean off real soon) and a bit on the window
sills
that those aluminum slats rest on. There's no mold on the walls or
anywhere
else.

Am I damaging the house to not turn on the heat in the winter weather
conditions of San Francisco that I described? Is there any code or
standards or discussion that I could read online that covers the necessity
(or non-necessity) of heating a house in various climates to prevent
damage
from mold? I do not want to do any damage to the house and will heat the
house if I am damaging it.

Thanks for any help.

Chris.