Remembering how we used to think a home energy audit was a weekend project

Back in 2019, my wife and I in Boise decided to finally get serious about our drafty 1950s house. We figured sealing it up would be a quick fix, maybe a month of weekends. It actually took us over two years of working evenings to properly air seal, add insulation, and upgrade our old furnace. The biggest surprise was finding and fixing the thermal bypasses in the attic, which alone took three full weekends. Has anyone else had a simple efficiency upgrade turn into a major, long-term retrofit?

4 comments

4 Comments

aaron_mitchell2mo ago

Sounds like you made it way harder than it needed to be. I did my whole house in a month of Saturdays, just focused on the big stuff like attic insulation and new weatherstripping. You don't need to chase every tiny draft to see a real difference on your bill.

mary_nelson712mo ago

Right? Some projects just snowball on you.

emery2902mo ago

Oh man, that reminds me of the time I tried to fix a leaky faucet and ended up redoing the whole bathroom.

christopherw341mo ago

My buddy Mike tried swapping out a busted light switch in his basement and two months later he had drywall dust everywhere, new recessed lighting, and a wet bar he never wanted.