Rich,
Believe me, we know how lucky we are! I’ve lived in over 23 places since I moved out on my own in 1970 when I was 19, and we’ve lived here for 25 years now. I’ve never been happier in any other home I’ve lived in. The grounds are beautiful, and every window in the house has a view of trees. And these trees provide that cooling shade for the downstairs. It stays so cool that on days where its still 80 outside, in the afternoon when the sun is no longer shining on the front of the house I often will put on a sweat shirt in the late afternoon because it’s so cool downstairs.
Now the upstairs is quite a different story, on hot days by the late afternoon its pretty hot upstairs. But the lovely ocean breeze that we get at least 350 evenings a year comes up when the sun starts to set and if we open up all the windows upstairs it cools right down. We do have 3 Dyson fans and those fans move the air around enough to keep us cool and comfortable on all but the hottest days of a heat wave.
The complex was built in 1980, and the insulation is minimal, but there is some. I’m not certain of the R rating, but probably only what code required in 80’. We did have a pipe leak in the wall of the living room where the main water line enters the home in 1998. The plumber needed to remove a 12”X12” section of sheetrock to make the repair. I did the patch repair myself, so I know that there is insulation because I had to replace a section of it. I just purchased a scrap piece at Home Depot along with a scrape piece of sheetrock, 3 ft. of 2”X3/3” scrape lumber, some sheetrock screws, tape, plaster and a can of spray texture, because we have orange peel texture on the wall. I spent $13.66 for the materials and it took me about 2 hrs total over 2-3 days to finish, and I’d never done it before, just learned how by watching a DIY TV program. And no one can even tell that it was patched. The HOA reimbursed me for my cost. My next door neighbor had the same repair done the next year, and the HOA paid $175.00 for the patch, I know because I’ve been on the HOA board for 24 years.
Anyway, sorry to digress, but having lived in N. Calif my whole life I know what you are experiencing in your home as far as comfort level during hot and cold weather. I think to a certain extent we notice it more now because the extremes of heat and cold are more dramatic than they were when our homes were built. Back in the old days, Bay Area weather was more temperate, therefore homes weren’t built for climate extremes. Also, at least for myself I’m 68 now, and 28 tolerates extreme cold and heat a whole lot better than 68, especially the cold if you have arthritis, and most of us in our 60’s have at least a little of the “room-a-tiz” as Granny Clampett used to say.
Eddie[this post was last edited: 11/17/2019-19:19]
Believe me, we know how lucky we are! I’ve lived in over 23 places since I moved out on my own in 1970 when I was 19, and we’ve lived here for 25 years now. I’ve never been happier in any other home I’ve lived in. The grounds are beautiful, and every window in the house has a view of trees. And these trees provide that cooling shade for the downstairs. It stays so cool that on days where its still 80 outside, in the afternoon when the sun is no longer shining on the front of the house I often will put on a sweat shirt in the late afternoon because it’s so cool downstairs.
Now the upstairs is quite a different story, on hot days by the late afternoon its pretty hot upstairs. But the lovely ocean breeze that we get at least 350 evenings a year comes up when the sun starts to set and if we open up all the windows upstairs it cools right down. We do have 3 Dyson fans and those fans move the air around enough to keep us cool and comfortable on all but the hottest days of a heat wave.
The complex was built in 1980, and the insulation is minimal, but there is some. I’m not certain of the R rating, but probably only what code required in 80’. We did have a pipe leak in the wall of the living room where the main water line enters the home in 1998. The plumber needed to remove a 12”X12” section of sheetrock to make the repair. I did the patch repair myself, so I know that there is insulation because I had to replace a section of it. I just purchased a scrap piece at Home Depot along with a scrape piece of sheetrock, 3 ft. of 2”X3/3” scrape lumber, some sheetrock screws, tape, plaster and a can of spray texture, because we have orange peel texture on the wall. I spent $13.66 for the materials and it took me about 2 hrs total over 2-3 days to finish, and I’d never done it before, just learned how by watching a DIY TV program. And no one can even tell that it was patched. The HOA reimbursed me for my cost. My next door neighbor had the same repair done the next year, and the HOA paid $175.00 for the patch, I know because I’ve been on the HOA board for 24 years.
Anyway, sorry to digress, but having lived in N. Calif my whole life I know what you are experiencing in your home as far as comfort level during hot and cold weather. I think to a certain extent we notice it more now because the extremes of heat and cold are more dramatic than they were when our homes were built. Back in the old days, Bay Area weather was more temperate, therefore homes weren’t built for climate extremes. Also, at least for myself I’m 68 now, and 28 tolerates extreme cold and heat a whole lot better than 68, especially the cold if you have arthritis, and most of us in our 60’s have at least a little of the “room-a-tiz” as Granny Clampett used to say.
Eddie[this post was last edited: 11/17/2019-19:19]
