Find Out Where the Cold Is Coming From Before You Turn Up the Thermostat

There’s a routine I hear about from a lot of Connecticut homeowners this time of year. You sit down in your favorite chair after dinner, feel a chill, and head for the thermostat. An hour later, the kitchen is toasty, the upstairs is stuffy, and your feet are still cold.

Before you bump the heat up another degree, take a walk around the house. More often than not, the culprit is something small that’s been there since last winter.

Start with where you feel it.

Is it the whole house, one room, or just the chair by the window? Does it get worse when the wind picks up? Is the room fine in the afternoon but cold after sundown? Those answers will point you toward the problem faster than the thermostat will.

Check the windows and doors.

Make sure your windows are fully closed and locked. I know that sounds too obvious, but a window that was open on one of those warm October afternoons doesn’t always get sealed properly when it’s shut again. The lock helps pull the sashes together snugly.

On a breezy day, run your hand around the window edges and trim, then do the same around your exterior doors. If you feel air moving, look at the weatherstripping. It flattens, cracks, and comes loose over time. Check the door sweep at the bottom, too. A worn one is often the reason for cold ankles.

Feeling a draft doesn’t automatically mean you need new windows or doors. Often a repair or fresh weatherstripping does the job. Find the problem first, then decide on the fix.

Look at your furniture.

A couch pushed against a baseboard heater or a rug over a floor register keeps heat from getting into the room, and long curtains can do the same thing. Keep heating equipment and return-air vents clear, and follow the manufacturer’s clearance requirements. The furniture layout that worked all summer may need a small adjustment now.

Make your window coverings work for you.

Open them when the sun is shining in, then close them at night to cut down on heat loss. Just keep curtains well away from any heaters. And if your favorite chair sits right next to a big window, sliding it a couple of feet into the room might be all it takes to make your evenings more comfortable.

Don’t forget the filter.

If you have forced-air heat, check the filter according to your system’s instructions, because a dirty one restricts airflow. If you’re not sure which filter to use or how often to change it, ask your heating technician. And if a room suddenly stops getting heat, have the system looked at instead of turning up the thermostat to compensate.

Think beyond windows and doors.

Windows and doors get most of the blame because we sit and walk next to them, but they’re not the only places air sneaks in. Check around the attic hatch, plumbing pipes, and anywhere wiring passes through the house.

That said, please don’t head into the attic with a can of spray foam and seal everything you see. Some openings need to stay clear, and areas around chimneys and heating equipment need special care. If the house is uncomfortable all the time, a professional home energy assessment can pinpoint air leaks, insulation needs, and other causes.

Keep a list.

As you walk around, jot down the room, what you feel, and when it happens. It’s useful whether you end up making a simple repair yourself or calling someone in, because it saves a lot of guesswork.

There’s nothing wrong with turning up the heat when you need it. But before you spend the winter fiddling with the thermostat, give the house a little attention. A few easy fixes might be all it takes to get that chair comfortable again.

Bob O’Donnell is the owner of O’Donnell Bros. Inc., a Bristol-based home improvement company established in 1975. Email your questions for Bob to info@odonnellbros.com with the subject line “Ask the Pro.” All questions may be considered for publication. To contact Bob for your remodeling needs, call O’Donnell Bros. Inc. at (860) 589-5155 or visit odonnellbros.com. Advice is for guidance only.

Attic Ventilation is Key for the Home

As summer gives way to cooler fall nights here in Connecticut, your attic becomes one of the hardest-working (and most overlooked) parts of the house. Trapped heat, lingering humidity, and poor airflow can quietly damage your roof from the inside out. The solution is simple but powerful: proper insulation and ventilation. When done right, this combination protects your roof, lowers energy costs, and delivers a return on investment that lasts for decades.

In our area, many attics are under-insulated and poorly ventilated. I still meet homeowners who want to save a few bucks by shingling over an old roof. The problem is, what you can’t see can hurt you - trapped moisture and heat can quietly rot plywood, cook shingles, and shorten a 30-year warranty roof to something far less.

Airflow is non-negotiable. A healthy attic “breathes”: fresh air in at the eaves and stale, warm, moisture-laden air out at the peak. Intake typically comes through continuous soffit vents or a product like SmartVent, which installs near the gutter line. For exhaust, modern ridge vents beat old louver (gable) vents. If you have both, keep the louvers closed - mixing systems turn those louvers into unintended intakes that only cool the top third of the attic and leave the rest to sweat it out.

Insulation and ventilation are a package deal. Ventilation manages airflow; insulation manages temperature. Fiberglass batts (yep, the pink or yellow stuff) and blown-in insulation reduce heat loss in winter and heat gain in summer. But without balanced ventilation, even the best insulation can absorb moisture, slump, and underperform - especially as temperatures swing this time of year. That’s when we see telltale signs like musty smells, rusty nails, and in cold snaps, even frost on the underside of roof decking.

A quick seasonal checklist can save you from expensive surprises:

• Make sure bath fans and dryer vents exhaust outside, not into the attic.

• Confirm continuous intake at soffits (baffles help keep insulation from blocking airflow).

• Use a continuous ridge vent for exhaust; don’t mix with open gable louvers.

• Air-seal attic penetrations (wires, pipes, light boxes) before adding insulation.

• Aim for appropriate insulation depth and even coverage, especially over the living areas.

Thinking about re-roofing? Ask your contractor for a ventilation and insulation plan - not just a shingle quote. Upgrading airflow and R-value when you replace a roof is the definition of smart timing. It protects the new shingles, preserves the roof deck, keeps comfort consistent, and trims energy costs season after season. In other words, it’s one of those un-flashy upgrades that pays you back quietly, year after year, while your neighbors wonder why their AC and furnace never seem to get a break.

As summer winds down and the furnace season creeps in, set your attic up to win. Proper insulation and ventilation will regulate temperatures, manage moisture, extend roof life, and safeguard warranties. It’s a modest upgrade with long-term dividends and comfort you can feel with savings you can count on.

Bob O’Donnell is the owner of O’Donnell Bros, Inc., a Bristol-based home improvement company established in 1975. Email your questions for Bob to info@odonnellbros.com with the subject line “Ask the Pro”. All questions may be considered for publication. To contact Bob for your remodeling needs, call O’Donnell Bros, Inc. at (860) 589-5155 or visit www.odonnellbros.com. Advice is for guidance only.

Ventilation is Key To Your Home's Health

I’m not shy about educating my readers on the importance of proper insulation in a house. But even if you’re one of only 20 percent of homeowners I meet with the right amount of insulation, chances are you’re still missing a key piece of the puzzle. The critical component is ventilation and not enough of it can be harming both your home and your personal health in more ways than you think. 

In the winter, we crank up the thermostat, sending more heat into our homes than any other time of year. We all know that heat rises, which means a lot of what we’re pumping into the house will quickly find its way through the ceiling and into the attic. Think about when you’re in a car and the windows fog up. What do you do? Usually, you’ll increase the airflow either by using the vents or just cracking a window. A house works much the same way, except that if you don’t have air flowing inside the attic, the heat and moisture just gets stuck there. If the attic is very warm, that moisture will develop into mold and mildew which can feed on your insulation and rot the wood. If the attic is cold enough, the moisture will freeze into little domes or even icicles until the temperature rises enough for the water to thaw and then be absorbed into all the places that it shouldn’t. Neither is a good scenario.

So what’s the best way to protect your home? Start by investing in a humidity gauge that measures water vapor in the air. A comfortable humidity reading is 30%-60%, but 45%-55% is an ideal level to maintain. If you’re seeing higher than 60% humidity in any area of your home, it’s going to be susceptible to mold, mildew, and bacteria growth.

Remember, attic ventilation allows your house to “breathe” so you want to balance your intake and exhaust to ensure that what is coming in is going out equally. The best ventilation system will include soffit vents that are installed underneath the overhang of the roof and take in the air and ridge vents that are installed at the top of the roof for the hot air to escape. For this method to work efficiently, all louvered vents must be sealed off and you have to ensure that your insulation isn’t blocking the airflow. Believe it or not, most roof manufacturers will void the warranty if a proper ventilation system is not installed. Luckily, new roofing technology enables contractors to add intake ventilation directly into the roof as opposed to using soffit vents, so if you’re in the market for a new roof, be sure to ask for that option. 

It’s important to note that homes have different characteristics and what works well for one may not work well for another. With the right balance of air, homeowners can optimize their roof and maintain the overall health of their home and their families. Remember, it’s always a good idea to get advice from a professional before taking on a big remodeling project.

Bob O'Donnell is the owner of O'Donnell Bros, Inc., a Bristol-based home improvement company established in 1975. Email your questions for Bob to info@odonnellbros.com with the subject line “Ask the Pro”. All questions may be considered for publication. To contact Bob for your remodeling needs, call O'Donnell Bros, Inc. at (860) 589-5155 or visit www.odonnellbros.com. Advice is for guidance only.