Attics and Basements

This was one of the very first blog posts I started, it has evolved a good bit, but it's time to throw it out there in its half baked state.

Most houses have an attic or a basement, some (including mine) have both. I've been talking about finishing our basement since we moved into the house three years ago, to date it looks a lot like it did when we moved in with only minor improvements. Our attic is under insulated and next week I'm renting a blower and adding a few inches of Cellulose insulation to improve our energy efficiency. This time spent in examining and planning about the Attic and Basement got me thinking, (dangerous, I know)...

These places are often colder or hotter than the rest of the house, dark, damp, generally unpleasant places to hangout...so we don't. My wife and son are afraid of the basement, I have a bit of an attic phobia myself. Needless to say, they don't spend much time in the basement, and I've been in the attic all of once since we've been in this house.

These are not places we like to spend time, but they are places where problems appear before making it to the rest of the house where you live.

Had I not inspected the attic, I would have never found the source of a water leak that would have eventually made itself known in the way of a collapsed bedroom ceiling, the damage would have been far greater if left un-inspected and un-treated. I also wouldn't have noticed that there was obviously not enough insulation which is causing us to use more energy heating and cooling than necessary, our heat pump is working harder than it should because of my negligence and nervousness to go into the attic. Something that has cost us for three years could have been fixed much sooner with a simple trip to the attic.

Our basement is pretty nice, well lit, daylight, great space...but, I have constant issues with BUGS getting in, I don't even know where they come in, but they keep coming back if I let it go more than a month without spraying a barrier all the way around. I also watch it closely for water seepage in the block, due to my paranoia at a wet basement like I experienced in two prior homes...water in the basement= NOT FUN! If we were to let standing water stay in a basement, eventually it would weaken the foundation of the entire house, serious problem.
One of the double edged swords of having a large basement is that my wife thinks its a great excuse to keep EVERYTHING...seriously!

We have boxes, bins, shelves...full of stuff we haven't looked at in years and have obviously survived without for a long while, and yet we hold on to it.

So, this helped me realize that I have some attics and basements in my life...
Areas that I avoid...they aren't fun, it hurts to go there, its too hot or cold, uncomfortable, so I don't go there, and I try to not even think about them...they scare me and... there are some things I'm holding onto, way down in the basement, sealed up, "just in case"...I don't need it...I don't need to have it around, but I won't let it go...I could go on, but you get IT!

My new years resolutions are going to involve cleaning out the attic and basement in my house... and in my LIFE...