Staying Warm and Cozy in Your Old House

Old houses sometimes have a bad reputation for being cold and drafty.

The reputation is undeserved.

Regardless of age, any house can be chilly if it has not been built well or maintained. 

Make sure your furnace is clean and working properly.  I have found it well worth the expense to have a gas contractor check mine each year.

Close the drapes and pull shades down before the sun sets.  Make sure they completely cover the windows. Before going to bed, turn down the thermometer and push a rug or a draft stopper over the entrance to all outside doors.   

Make sure your attic has enough insulation and adequate ventilation.  Many old houses have no or little insulation.  Before insulation is added, make sure all holes are sealed.  Add ventilators on the roof near the ridge line or roof peak and in the eaves or soffits.  This protects the insulation from built up moisture which can cause cement to crack and wood beams to rot. 

Many old houses have little or no foundation insulation. It can be added either inside or outside of the house.  If it is added to the outside, make sure the foundation is dry and any drainage problems are corrected. Lovely old sun rooms often were built without a foundation or were built over a crawl space.   It is possible to insulate them by putting insulation below the floor.  It is important that the sun room be vented so that moisture does not collect and cause harm.

I feel so sorry for old windows.  They get such a bum rap these days.  Before investing thousands of dollars into new windows, spend time on routine maintenance.  This includes caulking, adding weather stripping, and painting.   If the wood is in bad shape, consider contacting a window contractor that specializes in RESTORATION of old windows.  This will be less costly than most new windows, will last longer, and your old house will look better.

If you are lucky to still have your old house’s storm windows, don’t forget to hang them and to maintain them. If you don’t, consider inside storm windows.  They are easy to hang and don’t impact the beauty of your home from the outside.

 Close registers in rooms that you are not in.  If you are not using the fireplace, close the damper.  If your fireplace does not have a damper, consider covering the firebox with a rug after you are sure all of the embers are out.

A warm cup of tea does wonders and so does the admonishment of my mother, Rosie, “put a sweater on.”

Christmastime in Denver – Back Then

A Denver Square all decked out for the holidays

Christmastime!  It never ceases to amaze me how exciting and special this time of year is for me.  And always I think about my childhood in Denver over 60 years ago.

It’s Saturday morning in 1950.  I’m getting all dressed up because I’m going downtown with my Aunt Jean and Mom to do some Christmas shopping, see the wonderful automated holiday window displays and to visit Santa Claus.  Of course, I know exactly what I’m going to ask that right jolly old elf to bring me. 

We leave our home on

East Ellsworth Avenue and walk several blocks to Broadway to catch the streetcar.  I love the streetcars.  They remind me of puppets with their guide wires extended into the sky.  We hop on the streetcar and away we go.  We’re downtown in minutes.

 Oh, how fun.  My mom and Aunt Jean aren’t too busy today and there is time to enjoy the wonders of downtown at the holiday season.  I relish watching the automated displays in the windows of The May Company, Denver Dry Goods Store, Neusteters and Daniels and Fisher Department Store. I remember the elves making toys, boys and girls assembling snowmen, (There’s Frosty!)  and Mrs. Santa Claus, herself, baking gingerbread boys

Only two of these turn-of-the-century buildings, the Denver Dry Goods Building and the Neusteters Building, are still with us today. Of course, there is still the Daniels and Fishers Tower, the lonely looking sentinel, once the tallest building west of the Mississippi at 330 feet and the replica of the campanile of St. Mark’s in Venice. Once connected to it, the massive Daniels and Fisher mercantile edifice was demolished as part of the redevelopment fury several decades ago.  Now, the Tabor Center is on this piece of land.

After a visit with Santa, candy from Woolworth’s and real hot chocolate with a candy cane growing out of whipping cream from Baur’s restaurant, the streetcar begins to zip us home as the holiday lights go on at Civic Center.  Mom says we are lucky to live in Denver because we get to see the Christmas lights almost to the end of January because the National Western Stock Show is held here. Our city officials, downtown merchants and residents want farm and ranch families to see the splendor of this season when they come to Denver.

I know the next day, Sunday, we are going to visit my Aunt Rosie in North Denver, eat homemade spaghetti with mushrooms, and enjoy wonderful Christmas cookies, including dates stuffed with almonds and dusted with powder sugar. We will drive down

Speer Boulevard because the “Valley Highway,I25, did not exist then.

Today, I am so glad my old house on Ellsworth Avenue

and my Aunt Rosie’s house on West 33^rd Avenue are still hosting Christmas joy.  I sure wish I could bring my grandchildren to see the window displays downtown and have a real cup of hot chocolate and some candy from Woolworth’s incredible candy counter.  http://www.denversoldhousesociety.org/

Welcome all Old-House Lovers

Denver's Old House Society was started out of the need for information specifically for old houses and for ways to protect Denver's beloved old neighborhoods from unwanted development. 

We have cool activities, including our upcoming Saturday Morning Workshops, Nov. 13, in the Platt Park neighborhood from 8:30 to noon.  Workshop topics include leaded and stained glass, period kitchens and appropriate colors for Arts & Crafts homes, such as bungalows, Denver Squares, and cottages.

http://www.denversoldhousesociety.org/

Hope to see you soon.

The Historic Genie