I live in an apartment that I rent in Baltimore, and it's getting cold now,
and it doesn't look like the walls are doing a very good job of insulating
because if I touch the walls, they're really cold. I was wondering if it was
possible to get a bunch of styrofoam sheets and plating them over the walls
to keep the heat in, and if that was a safe thing to do. How thick should it
be if I were to do this, .5", 1"? And where do you suggest I get this stuff?

Thanks.

"- Eli Luong -" wrote in message
...
I live in an apartment that I rent in Baltimore, and it's getting cold
now,
and it doesn't look like the walls are doing a very good job of insulating
because if I touch the walls, they're really cold. I was wondering if it
was
possible to get a bunch of styrofoam sheets and plating them over the
walls
to keep the heat in, and if that was a safe thing to do. How thick should
it
be if I were to do this, .5", 1"? And where do you suggest I get this
stuff?

Unsafe, and usually illegal, unless you panel over it. That stuff is nasty
to be around if it starts burning. A u-haul and a different apartment would
probably be cheaper.

How cold does it get in Baltimore most winters? High teens-20s? Plastic the
windows with some kits, get a little cube heater for the room you are in at
the time, and wear a sweater. Some floor-to-ceiling drapes on the outside
walls could help, too. If you have a sliding door, it definitely needs
drapes and/or a film kit, and probably tape the cracks till spring, too. Can
you see daylight under front door? If so, have landlord install a new sweep,
or push a rolled-up towel against it.

aem sends....

Unsafe, and usually illegal, unless you panel over it. That stuff is nasty
to be around if it starts burning. A u-haul and a different apartment
would
probably be cheaper.

How cold does it get in Baltimore most winters? High teens-20s? Plastic
the
windows with some kits, get a little cube heater for the room you are in
at
the time, and wear a sweater. Some floor-to-ceiling drapes on the outside
walls could help, too. If you have a sliding door, it definitely needs
drapes and/or a film kit, and probably tape the cracks till spring, too.
Can
you see daylight under front door? If so, have landlord install a new
sweep,
or push a rolled-up towel against it.

aem sends....


Well, I'm a student, so moving around isn't a real option right now. They
recently installed this lame window heat/AC unit which doesn't seem to work
very well. I leave it on 74 F but it seems to stay on all the time, which
seems to imply that it's not working so well or the room is losing heat
rapidly from somewhere. The floor is unusually cold for some reason, and I
haven't been able to figure out why. I guess I'll have to bother the
landlord, but I don't want them tearing up the room.

Git yourself a boy/girlfreind and a blanket. STD are far safer than
flourocarbons released by the styro.
"- Eli Luong -" wrote in message
...
Unsafe, and usually illegal, unless you panel over it. That stuff is
nasty
to be around if it starts burning. A u-haul and a different apartment
would
probably be cheaper.

How cold does it get in Baltimore most winters? High teens-20s? Plastic
the
windows with some kits, get a little cube heater for the room you are in
at
the time, and wear a sweater. Some floor-to-ceiling drapes on the
outside
walls could help, too. If you have a sliding door, it definitely needs
drapes and/or a film kit, and probably tape the cracks till spring, too.
Can
you see daylight under front door? If so, have landlord install a new
sweep,
or push a rolled-up towel against it.

aem sends....


Well, I'm a student, so moving around isn't a real option right now. They
recently installed this lame window heat/AC unit which doesn't seem to
work
very well. I leave it on 74 F but it seems to stay on all the time, which
seems to imply that it's not working so well or the room is losing heat
rapidly from somewhere. The floor is unusually cold for some reason, and I
haven't been able to figure out why. I guess I'll have to bother the
landlord, but I don't want them tearing up the room.

Is there anyone living under you? I lived in an apartment in Baltimore
that had an unheated basement and electric baseboard heat. My December
electric bill was $ 300.00 plus $ 40.00 per week for kerosene and the
temp never got above 60. I had to move.


--
hwm54112
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View this thread: http://www.homeplot.com/showthread.php?t=62975

baltimore as other cities require that landlord if including heat will
provide to ___degrees.
look it up on your city or state's website.
you will need to determine how to properly notify your landlord if your
heat is insufficient or needs repair. it is possible the heating
element in the air conditioner is only partly working or its thermostat
is in need of repair.
this may or not be specified in your lease, but probably specified in
law.
if you are the homeowner or tenant provider of your own heat, the
comfort level and your health in any apartment is dependent on
insulation, temperature control, fresh air changes, balanced humidity.
by reading the electrical plate on your window air conditioner you will
find out how many btu's of heat it is capable of providing. by
determining that you are cold, fix the problem of insufficient heat
with legal supplemental heaters usually electric.
the 1500 watt heaters are usually around 5200 btu only enough for a
small insulated bedroom.
using flammable kerosene heat indoors in a residence is very dangerous
and prohibited. fumes from a propane gas outdoor grill would be as
dangerous indoors as using any unvented gas burning appliance including
an unattended gas stove. if you need to move or terminate your lease
please give the landlord a chance to fix the problem first. many
tenants presume the landlord is aware of a problem, where the opposite
is true, please phone promptly. cold tenants who call can help prevent
frozen water pipes. perhaps there is a vacant apartment below you where
the heat has failed and the plumbing is in danger. all my comfortable
insulated tenants must be warm tonight. either that or they enjoy the
cold?
you need to consider adding thick carpet padding and nice thick warm
carpeting for the chilly floor problem.
our lease requires tenants notify us promptly for repairs.
-bill in buffalo. 35 degrees out on the porch.

Well, I'm a student, so moving around isn't a real option right now. They
recently installed this lame window heat/AC unit which doesn't seem to work
very well. I leave it on 74 F but it seems to stay on all the time, which
seems to imply that it's not working so well or the room is losing heat
rapidly from somewhere. The floor is unusually cold for some reason, and I
haven't been able to figure out why. I guess I'll have to bother the
landlord, but I don't want them tearing up the room.
I sympathize with you. Besides putting up a plastic barrier on the
windows you don't use, try getting area rugs and space heaters from a
thrift store or Freecycle (I'm assuming you have bare floors if
they're cold).

I highly recommend checking out Freecycle for Baltimore. The goal of
FreecycleBaltimore is to reduce waste by connecting people who are
discarding goods with others who are seeking the same goods.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FreecycleBaltimore/

I've used Freecycle here near Seattle for all kinds of things. It's
amazing the high quality stuff people want to give away to make room
for new purchases.

In article ,
mm wrote:

But get one that is less than 20 years old. Prior to that there was
maybe possibly a possibility that they caused cancer. If you want to
learn more about this seach on high tension wires and cancer. They
were the bigger fear for people who lived within 100 feet of them.
Now they say, iiuc, that even they never caused cancer. But electric
blanket wires were rearranged so that radiation from one wire cancels
out radiation from an other.

It turned out that folks living near hi tension wires were getting more
cancers than they should have, but further investigation found that the
cause of the cancers was not the high tension wires or any
electric/magnetic fields from them. It was the herbecides that the
power company sprayed on the vegetation under the wires that was causing
the cancers.

--
Rich Greenberg Marietta, GA, USA richgr atsign panix.com + 1 770 321 6507
Eastern time. N6LRT I speak for myself & my dogs only. VM'er since CP-67
Canines:Val, Red & Shasta (RIP),Red, husky Owner:Chinook-L
Atlanta Siberian Husky Rescue. www.panix.com/~richgr/ Asst Owner:Sibernet-L