rommalb replied to your post “regonym replied to your post “Soooo, my home inspection meant to be...”
RE the crawl space sounds like a great supernatural / horror prompt.
Yeah, as soon as I said it I was like “This fucker better not give me nightmares.”
wholetthedogdrive replied to your post “regonym replied to your post “Soooo, my home inspection meant to be...”
If it's a condo with central air, the system is probably on the roof of the building. Have your guy look at that and tell you how old it is. They are a bear to replace (we had to hire some guys with a crane). If not, carry on, nothing to see here.
I’m not entirely sure we’ll have access to the roof, most buildings in downtown Chicago don’t give access unless there’s like, a party deck up there. Fortunately I have some very meticulous friends who also live in the building and they did their due diligence, so I feel relatively confident in the actual building’s integrity and finances.
seekanewerworld replied to your post “regonym replied to your post “Soooo, my home inspection meant to be...”
UGH, the radiator under window thing. Currently battling that in my new apartment. It's 80 degrees in my room, and MUCH colder in all the common areas.
Yeah, I don’t know if radiators are more fuel efficient than central but they certainly aren’t as good at actually heating a room.
FWIW, I found that a very low-powered fan, situated in front of the radiator and blowing outward (ie, with its back to the radiator), helped a bit -- the fan sucks in the heat and blows it out into the room. It’s not pleasant to be in front of, but it helps at least circulate it a bit when you’re not in the room.
petercapaldish replied to your post “regonym replied to your post “Soooo, my home inspection meant to be...”
Wait what else do people use to heat their homes if not radiators??
It’s called “central” or “forced” heating -- there’s ductwork throughout the home which blows hot (or cold) air into the room through vents in the walls, ceilings, or floors. I grew up with central heating so I had never encountered a radiator until I lived in Boston one summer in college, and since it was summer I didn’t encounter a functioning radiator until I moved to Chicago after grad school (I attended grad school in a Hot Place). Central/forced HVAC tends to be more effective at heating or cooling the entire room, and much easier to control (you use a thermostat as opposed to turning the valve on a radiator to release more/less heat).
Older buildings, especially in the big midwestern and east coast cities, tend to rely on radiator heating and window-unit (or unit-in-wall) air conditioning because installing ductwork would be either too expensive or impossible given the configuration of the existing building. I knew I had clawed my way firmly into the middle class when I could afford to rent an apartment in Chicago that had central heat and air. :D