The Mother of all gas heating bills

[sighyoung]

Now, Hungary, be honest--you didn't do something really rotten in a past life, did you? Like sell hamster porn?

[docellis]

arrived today.

$661.



Don't worry about the economy people. HJ's fiscal stimulus is about to kick in.

How exactly did you do this?

Did you clear everything out of the house and put ice sculptures in it? Did you stage some bizarre competition between your AC units versus your heaters?

HOW DID YOU DO THIS?

we have to know.

[Radbird]

Makes me glad that we got replacement windows.

[docellis]

Makes me glad that we got replacement windows.

Does it make that big of a difference?

[Hungary Jack]

We own an 1886-built brick home in Chicago--about 2,000 sq ft. We replaced the windows 6 years ago, but the wall stud cavities are not insulated, and there is only about 8 inches of fibre in the attic (flat roof, and the crawl space is too tiny for me to get in there to add more). The other issue is the dilapidated sun room addition with its leak windows and doors.

The sun room will be torn down and replaced this spring. That should help considerably. We will also fill the stud cavities with icynene, a water-based foam, before we paint sometime this summer. That will help too. I am not sure what we will do about the roof. I'd like to put rooftop garden of native grasses in, but I haven't consulted an engineer yet.

It has been a cold winter so far, and I think that and increased energy prices account for most of the increase in the bill.

[Radbird]

Makes me glad that we got replacement windows.

Does it make that big of a difference?

About 20-25% decrease in our utility bill (we get a combined electric/gas bill).

[wart57]

When I lived in Maryland, I was broke, so that winter I se the heat at about 50 and just wore swetshirts and sat under blankets. I was fine, but I lived alone, so I ddin't mind roughing it. I grew up in a log house, and when the wind blew in the winter, my room would get down in the 40's somtimes. I could see my breath in the mornings sometimes. I got used to cold. Now my wife is always cold, and we have the heat set at 74 and she still complains about how cold she is.

[JL21]

I feel like every time I go out socially it ends up being near grand or off 40/hampton.

Are you hanging out a lot at Talayna's or Smokin' Al's?

[planet planet]

We got a $440 gas bill, but that was because Laclede visited our house 6 times and still can't manage to get the reader to accurately report back to them. $200 is making up for them undercharging us the last three months. I still think it stinks that they can't get their ducks in a row so they slap you with the bill in the coldest month of the year.

[JL21]

We got a $440 gas bill, but that was because Laclede visited our house 6 times and still can't manage to get the reader to accurately report back to them. $200 is making up for them undercharging us the last three months. I still think it stinks that they can't get their ducks in a row so they slap you with the bill in the coldest month of the year.

Laclede Gas is far and away the worst utility I've ever dealt with. I hate them so much.