In the 1920s, there was a sign along Highway 70 in White County that read: Property Line Tennessee Products Corporation…
Month: August 2013
How to insulate an attic access cover
Dear Jim: I just had a house built and discovered no insulation on the attic opening cover. Shouldn’t the cover be insulated and sealed? If I add folding stairs, how can I insulate them? — Mike M.
Dear Mike: Builders don’t always insulate and seal the attic access opening cover, but it certainly should be added for energy savings. Most often, just a scrap piece of plywood or drywall is cut somewhat close to the correct size and placed in the opening, resting on a strip of molding. That type of cover’s insulation value is less than R-1 and leaks air like a sieve.
Because the attic access is often in the ceiling of a bedroom closet or hallway, the air leakage and heat loss/gain are seldom noticeable.
During summer, attic temperatures can get extremely high, and the air is humid, so you don’t want it in your living space. During winter, the heated air in the house, because it is less dense, tends to leak up and out.
The simplest fix is to attach insulation to the top of the cover and weather stripping underneath where it rests on the lip of the opening. Measure the cover to make sure it fits the opening, with the cover overlapping the molding lip so the weather stripping seals well. If you have to make a new one, a piece of ½-inch drywall works well and is fire-resistant.
The insulation on the top of the cover should be up to the recommended ceiling R-value for your area — visit www.ornl.gov/~roofs/Zip/ZipHome.html to learn the appropriate level for your home. (Adding more insulation above this level will not help appreciably.) In a well-insulated house, even just several square feet of uninsulated floor can lose a considerable amount of heat.
Before you add weather stripping to the molding lip, place the cover over it and check whether it’s even. The lip often consists of pieces nailed to the sides of the opening and isn’t level. You may have to pry a side or two loose and reattach it. If it’s very uneven, it will be difficult to get a good seal under the cover no matter how compliant the weather stripping is.
The next step is to attach adhesive-backed foam weather stripping to the top edge of the lip around the opening. Use as thick a foam as you can find to accommodate any out-of-level edges. The weight of the plywood and drywall should be adequate to compress the foam weather stripping.
If you plan to go up into your attic often and want to install pull-down stairs or a ladder or if your attic currently has one, buy a special insulated cover for the attic access opening. You could attempt to make one yourself, but its weight may be hazardous to open and manage when you are on the stairs.
One of the least-expensive options is basically a three-sided, heavy-duty cardboard box. It’s easy to open and assemble, and then you can attach your own insulation to the top and sides. It’s very lightweight and easy to lift and handle when you enter the attic on the stairs.
An efficient option is a lightweight, rigid-foam-domed device that covers the folded stairs or ladder from above. It’s strong, and the foam provides adequate insulation. Another design uses a flexible, zippered insulated cover that is permanently attached to the attic floor for a good, airtight seal. The zipper provides a large opening for easy access to the attic.
TogetherWeSave.com, an energy-efficiency website from the nation’s electric cooperatives, has two videos on this subject as part of its “Watch & Learn” series; visit energysavings.togetherwesave.com/watch-and-learn and click on the “Sealing & Insulation” tab. Then scroll down to find how-to videos on insulating attic hatches and pull-down stairs.
These companies offer attic entrance products: Atticap, 781-259-9099, www.draftcap.com; Attic Tent, 877-660-5640, www.attictent.com; Battic Door, 508-320-9082, www.batticdoor.com; Calvert Stairs, 410-286-1430, www.calvertusa.com; and Rainbow Attic Stairs, 877-369-6996, www.rainbowatticstair.com.
Have a question for Jim?
Send inquiries to James Dulley, The Tennessee Magazine, 6906 Royalgreen Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45244, or visit www.dulley.com.
IT’S JUST STUFF
Dear Connie Sue,
I have had this trinket bowl for at least 50 years. I believe my dad must have bought it for my mom some years before. I have always cherished it, but I don’t know a thing about it. Can you shed some light on it?
Thank you,
Linda, Fayetteville
Dear Linda,
Jeannette Glass Company made this Carnival glass, poodle-top powder jar around 1940. They sell for $12 to $20 on eBay. Once upon a time, someone needed one badly and paid closer to $50 for it. Sellers remember these obscure occurrences and try, unsuccessfully, to sell them for as much.
Powder jars were made in pink, too, with an elephant, Scottie dog, or fawn in place of the poodle.
Hi, Connie Sue,
I purchased this blue bowl with a pewter lid from an estate sale and was hoping you could give me some information on it and its value.
The bowl is about 6 inches in diameter, with no chips. The lid is pewter with a stamp on the underside that says “Potter Studio Pewter 145.” The knob on the lid is made from the same clay material as the bowl.
Brenda, Nashville
Brenda,
Made in Cleveland by Horace Potter’s community of artists during the arts and crafts movement, this pewter covered jar could sell into the hundreds — if it were marketed among like items in a well promoted auction. The mark on this piece indicates it was made between 1915 and 1924. It’s the sort of thing we all hope to sneak up on at estate sales.
Horace Potter of Cleveland was a wealthy, well schooled and well traveled artist-craftsman. He was a key figure in the Cleveland School of Arts & Crafts in metalwork. In support of multi-disciplined artists, he provided housing, materials and encouragement to foster creativity and production.
Dear Connie Sue,
I picked up this chair for $50 at a local junk store. The guy there told me it was a theater chair from the 18th century. I just liked the unique shape of it and use it in my bedroom as a changing chair. I would love to have it recovered.
David
David,
Although I can picture theater types lounging languidly in this Victorian chair, I’ve only seen such a seat in Victorian portrait photographers’ studios. If possible, I would consider restoration of the original leather as opposed to recovering. From the workmanship, front-feet casters and style, I’d date it in the late 1800s, not 18th century.
If it was featured in an auction of a sultry star’s possessions or of fine Aesthetic Victorian furniture, the chair should top $500. You got quite a deal at $50. It isn’t smelly, is it?
Hi,
I have a number of these dishes and was hoping you could help me out with a value.
Thanks, Jackie
Jackie,
Your black transferware plates might sell for anywhere from $12 to $22 each. They were made in the 1890s. Serving pieces sell faster and for more than $40. The mark states where the plate was made and the pattern, Oxford.
Want to learn more about your antiques?
Send your inquiry with photos to the mailing address or email below. Only published appraisals are free. Private appraisals are available for a fee. Call 615-672-1992 for an appointment. No appraisals are given over the phone.
Connie Sue Davenport, P.O. Box 343
White House, TN 37188
615-672-1992 • email: [email protected]
Connie Sue Davenport, ISA AM, offers antique appraisal events, private appraisals and estate sale consulting services to individuals, businesses and organizations. Sign up for “IT’S JUST S?? her FREE quarterly newsletter, at www.ConnieSue.com.
CO-OP CONCERNS
When change is good
What is one of the hardest things that any human being has to do? Change. To be more specific, do something different than they are used to doing or think differently about a topic that is important to them. It is just human nature that we become comfortable and “set in our ways,” so it is difficult to embrace something new. In fact, most of us avoid it at all costs.
What is so unfortunate about this quirk of human nature is that change is inevitable. If you are honest with yourself, the answer to the following question is clear: What is the one thing in life that remains constant? The answer? Change. Your favorite ballplayer gets traded, children grow up and move away, the factory closes, Mom or Dad gets a new job or loses an old one, corn prices increase while tobacco prices drop, one year there’s a drought while the next year the rain never seems to stop — I could go on and on with examples, but I hope you see the point. Change is constant. Having the ability to adapt to alterations in your life is a very valuable skill.
So why is change so hard? I believe there are three reasons. First, change oftentimes comes along with significant pain. Quitting your job might mean less income, or giving up the softball team might mean the loss of entertainment and competition that are important to you. Second, change can also create uncertainty for the future. Ending a relationship, for instance, could be the right thing to do but leave you wondering if you will ever find someone new. In my opinion, though, the biggest detractors to change are the potential consequences that result from taking the action. We have to weigh the benefits of making a change against the very real costs and make a determination as to what is in the best interest of everyone it affects.
Sometimes, we seek change for the wrong reasons. That’s all too common in my daily work (see the “Manager’s Viewpoint” on page 4 for an example). But more often than not, people tend to resist change even when it is good for them. Here’s an example from my own life:
As some of you have read about for many years, your local cooperative sponsors an annual essay contest that culminates in an expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., for rising high school seniors. The Washington Youth Tour is a nationwide program sponsored by electric cooperatives in almost every state, and Tennessee is proud to consistently bring the largest delegation of young people to this once-in-a-lifetime experience.
I participate in the Youth Tour by coordinating visits between our members of Congress and the students. Each participant gets the opportunity to meet and hear from both of Tennessee’s senators as well as the representative specific to his or her hometown. It is gratifying to me to help make that opportunity possible, and I am especially thankful to our elected representatives who take time out of their busy schedules to meet with people who, by and large, aren’t yet old enough to vote.
A committee of employees from electric cooperatives across the state work all year long with a member of our staff, Todd Blocker, to plan this weeklong trip. My efforts account for only about four hours of the trip. The logistics are complicated and require a huge amount of work to accomplish. When done right, no one really even notices the many steps involved in moving, feeding, teaching and entertaining a group of more than 180 people. Again this year, Todd and the committee put together an excellent plan, and all was “good to go” until about a week before.
That’s when I got introduced to change. Todd experienced an unfortunate health problem that kept him from being able to go on the trip. Someone had to fill in and assume his duties. As you can probably guess, I was the “volunteer” who was tasked with stepping in. To be honest, I was not excited. Leaving home for eight days and seven nights at the last minute was inconvenient, and I go to D.C. a lot in the course of my work. But did I really want to take responsibility for this large an undertaking on such short notice? This change came with a lot of uncertainty, and I was hesitant.
In the end, I’m really glad I had the opportunity. Not only was the trip a lot of fun, but it was delightful to participate in a meaningful way in the lives of the 132 high school students who were forever changed by this trip. I was able to strengthen relationships with my co-workers and colleagues, meet new friends I hope will remain a part of my life for many years to come and even learn a thing or two about Washington, D.C., that I didn’t know before.
I was resistant to change, even though good sense said it would be really good for me. And I was wrong for worrying about it. I learned a valuable lesson from the whole experience, summarized by an ancient Eastern quote given to me by a thoughtful person who was on the Youth Tour with me: “Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them — that only creates sorrow.”
Manager’s Viewpoint
Real math from Down Under
There is an old joke about a crafty accountant at a job interview. The interviewer asks him a tough question: “What is two plus two?” The accountant gets up, closes the door, draws the curtains closed, leans forward and asks, in a whisper, “What do you want it to be?”
The Obama administration recently released a plan to further regulate carbon emissions. In a twisted version of new math, the administration included in the cost calculations a new justification for a move to more stringent guidelines: the “social cost” of carbon.
Traditional economic analysis does not take into account this type of calculation, which, by another name, is no more than speculation. The social cost used by the administration is $36 per metric ton.
How does one arrive at the “social cost” of carbon? According to a recent Wall Street Journal editorial, “This figure was derived by guesses about how much carbon in the atmosphere may harm everything from agricultural productivity to human health to flood risks.”
The chief economist of the National Resources Defense Council says it should be as high as $266 a metric ton.
The effect of adding another cost component to carbon emissions is an effort to justify higher-cost alternatives. Congress rejected carbon cap-and-trade legislation in 2010. Furthermore, the move to include social costs for carbon emissions originated with the administration, not Congress. The use of a social cost helped justify changes to miles-per-gallon standards for the automotive industry.
Though the newest proposals at regulation are targeted mainly toward electric generation, they could just as easily be applied toward any process that creates carbon emissions. Your lawnmower most likely has an internal combustion engine. How much would that mower cost if the “social cost of carbon” were included in the purchase price?
Recently, I was discussing some of our energy and regulatory challenges with friends from South Africa and Australia. The gentleman from Australia said, “We just booted our prime minister out of office because of our carbon tax.”
Australia’s prime minister, Julia Gillard, was ousted by her predecessor in June. Voters are angry, in part, that her party introduced a controversial carbon tax in mid-2012, despite an election promise not to introduce one. The tax equates to about $24 per metric ton of carbon.
It’s true that Australia’s carbon emissions declined in the first full year of their carbon tax. However, it has declined for each of the past four years with lower electricity use and other factors — such as changes in the types of coal used for generating electricity — driving the decline. Interestingly enough, wind output also declined in Australia last year.
My Australian friend went on to explain how his electric bill had doubled over the past year due to the imposition of the carbon tax. That’s not speculation, estimation or sophisticated economic modeling. That’s real-world dollars and cents.
Consider the changes required to your household budget if your electric bill — not your energy use — doubled. And if your residential bill doubled, so would the bill for the factories and stores where you shop.
The “social cost” of carbon isn’t readily tangible. It’s an easily adjustable number — a guess — that could lead to a slippery slope of regulation that impacts virtually everything in your life.
What is tangible — and painful — is a higher electric bill. Our industry and our nation have been on track for reducing our carbon emissions. Reducing use and increasing alternative energy sources have been effective.
Next time you read about the social cost of carbon, think about the real-world, true cost to your family and our country. Encourage Congress to do the same.