Insulating a hole in the wall

[wyatt]

Originally Posted by The Atomic Ass

I would like to have them do something about it, but probably not this time of year, and I can tell from looking at, it's going to be a MAJOR, (read, whole new door assembly), project. I'll probably talk to them in the spring about it.

Light isn't really an issue. I have an open dining room, with a chandelier, with 5 100we CFL's, and 4 lamps around the living room, also with 100we CFL's. I can get it brighter in here than the sun can.

About how big do those sheets of foam come? I measured, and my opening is 80"H x 70-9/16"W. I'm actually trying to do this on a budget, as my recent power bill has wiped out most of my spending cash this month.

First, you should talk to them now, since there will probably be a long line... AND the one day without a door will not cost as much as a month with a bad one. Also, if what you say is true and the temps get below 60 degF, even with heat at full blast, that is a major health concern that HAS to be addressed right away. When I was in college, an appartment would be deemed uninhabitable if it couldn't maintain at least 62 degF. The way I see it, if you don't take care of this somehow right now, you are just giving up you're spending money until spring.
My guess the foam would have a payback period of < 1 month and the talk about the door < 1 week.

[The Atomic Ass]

Originally Posted by wyatt

First, you should talk to them now, since there will probably be a long line... AND the one day without a door will not cost as much as a month with a bad one. Also, if what you say is true and the temps get below 60 degF, even with heat at full blast, that is a major health concern that HAS to be addressed right away. When I was in college, an appartment would be deemed uninhabitable if it couldn't maintain at least 62 degF. The way I see it, if you don't take care of this somehow right now, you are just giving up you're spending money until spring.
My guess the foam would have a payback period of < 1 month and the talk about the door < 1 week.

Consider that it's <50F on that side of the room, when the thermostat is set on 60F. If I were to set the heat on "full blast", I could easily make it ~80F on the door side of the room if I wished. By insane power usage, I meant tripling my non-heating bill, which is already low comparatively. I'm treading dangerously close to that megawatt-hour number each month.