Could this be why?

[SS MAYFLOAT]

I'm talking about the price of natural gas. I recall back in the 70's anything that had to do with natural resources was to be conserved.<br /><br />Houses were built moderatly sized. Speed limits lowered, cars made smaller, and many other things to cut down on consumption.<br /><br />It just makes me wonder why it does not apply to the size of new houses. Around here and other places it seems that the houses are over 2,000 square feet if not way more. My house is about 1200 square feet and it seems about the right size. <br /><br />I've been in some that were being built, some belonging to co-workers, and many seen on TV home improvement shows. The new houses seem to be based on bigger is better. <br /><br />I look at the bigger the house the more energy it will take to heat it. They price of nat. gas has done nothing but go up due to the larger demand each year. DUH Bigger houses need more gas which equals bigger demand. This keeps pushing up the price of gas.<br /><br />New types of insulation and heating equipment make heating the house easier, but it is still going to use more gas than a smaller house.<br /><br />I don't use natural gas, but a lot of my friends do. I hear them complain each year on their heating bills. What it cost 20 years ago to heat the same house is now 3 to 4 times that amount. IMHO it is because of the size of the new houses. With them being double in size equals a double in size gas bill and consumption.<br /><br />Just seems like a big waste of money for the satisfaction of living in a big house.

 

[Tinkerer]

Re: Could this be why?

Originally posted by SS Mayfloat:<br /> <br /> Around here and other places it seems that the houses are over 2,000 square feet if not way more. My house is about 1200 square feet and it seems about the right size. <br /><br />

3,000 square feet upwards in two stories is common here in a lot of new houses.<br /><br />With lots of voids and no doors between rooms so you have to cool or heat the whole house rather than just selected living areas.<br /><br />Heating isn't the same problem you have in the north with snow, but cooling is in our summer. We probably have more blackouts in summer from airconditioning overload on really hot days than we do in winter.<br /><br />Can't fathom all these people with their huge and expensive A/C units sticking out of their roofs. I put a fan on on a timer switch when I go to bed if it's real hot. Before that I just sweat. And drink beer. More expensive than natural gas but ends up producing it.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Could this be why?

I have a big post and beam construction farm house about 2400 sq feet of living area and a full attic (additional 1100 sq ft with a 12' cieling) along with an unfinished basement. Mine was built circa 1850 when conservation was not an issue. <br /><br />Original heat source was wood, then coal, back to wood and now oil. <br /><br />Well I am proud to say that I consider my house pretty darn efficient for it's size. It is sided and sealed with vinyl siding and has had tons of insulation installed. I installed all thermal windows and a newer hot air furnace. Temperature is controlled by a set-back thermostat and I have 3 rooms basically shut off from direct heat.<br /><br />Gas heat would break my budget. I only use about 700 gallons of fuel yearly and my heating season is from October thru May so I am averaging less than 100 gallons of oil monthly.<br /><br />If people want to build big it should cost more and they better be prepared to pay or make improvements to makes things cheaper.<br /><br />Bob

 

[JB]

Re: Could this be why?

Hmmmm. A couple of points.<br /><br />My fairly new, 1350ft. manufactured house was built for me with the latest (circa 1999) in sealing and insulation. They called it the "Rocky Mountain" package.<br /><br />I heat with propane. Even with the increase in price my propane bills are lower than in my previous, 900ft (circa 1980) house. My electric bills for AC in hot weather are also lower.<br /><br />I am considering an offer of $275/acre to lease mineral rights to seek natural gas on The Hideout for 3 years. That is nearly half of what we paid for it in 1990. New exploration is going on all over TX and other places where NG is present.<br /><br />NG is the most economical raw material for extracting hydrogen, which many consider the fuel of the future.

 

[kenimpzoom]

Re: Could this be why?

Man I wish I could afford a bigger house, just no room at 1400 sq ft. About 2000 woudl be just right.<br /><br />But at the same time I love my cooling/heating bills.<br /><br />They total less than 200 every month, summer or winter.<br /><br />Ken

 

[Twidget]

Re: Could this be why?

Man I wish I could afford a bigger house, just no room at 1400 sq ft. About 2000 woudl be just right.

Watch what you wish for Ken, you might just get it. 3 years ago, we moved from an early 70s 1400 sq ft house to a new 2000 sq ft. There are just 3 of us and we are busting at the seams again. <br /><br />On the good side, with the newer insulation, my electric bill(all electric house) are still in the $180 range. I use energy averaging, so I never see a spike.

 

[SS MAYFLOAT]

Re: Could this be why?

I just wonder how the families that had 10 to 16 in the house lived in the old farm houses? Yep, we are spoiled nowdays.

 

[dolluper]

Re: Could this be why?

We run a nautral gas furance and it's 20 years old thus costing big bills I'm changing it this summer [even still good]because it isn't half efficent as the new ones going to a mid efficenticy since they are much easier to service because of less electronic components as the high eff models Having the right BTU output can also save you money some of the older ones had less than needed to heat the house [bad install] which made them run more often It is a cleaner fuel than oil but oil furances have greatly improved also So do the math figure out what you spend now against the cost of a new one and what you save each year it ends up not a big dicussion pays off quickly you save every year up to 50% Check it out it will shock you did with me

 

[Boomyal]

Re: Could this be why?

I moved out of a three bedroom, one and a half bath 1200 sq ft'r when my kids were newborn and 3 y/o. We moved into a 3200 sq ft, 4 bdrm, 2 1/2 bath, where my kid have grown to near adult hood.<br /><br />When we moved into this house, years ago, it looked empty. Now there is not a speck of extra space. I grew up in a 1400 sq ft house with a family of four. I just don't know how we did it.<br /><br />Our current utility bills, on 'level pay', are approx $225.00 mo. That includes all water and electric. We have no gas. I did convert the rangetop to propane (25 gal tank) that lasts almost a year. We have a heatpump for heat/cooling and we burn about 3 cords of wood per winter, in a free standing Vermont Castings wood stove.

 

[gonfishn]

Re: Could this be why?

I heat a 3000 Sg.Ft.Store which is high in its own right..Add 18 overheads with four tubes each and a neon sign out front..I'll take your bills anyday Store is open ten hours a day seven days a week..

 

[WillyBWright]

Re: Could this be why?

They're building a Habitat for Humanity house a few blocks away. The walls are sandwiched with a good 10" of styrofoam. I'll bet you could heat that thing with a Bic lighter and a fart. My old Victorian has little insulation and drafty windows. I'm keeping somebody awfully rich with the bills I get.

 

[SS MAYFLOAT]

Re: Could this be why?

GF, a business gets screwed on their rates. During my last marriage we opened a Deli. Our gas bill was 25 during the summer and 80 during the winter. However our electric was 500 a month no matter how much we used. That was the thing that caused us to close it up. Just took too many sandwichs to pay all the bills. <br /><br />Hope your shop is doing great. I'm still planning on making it down. The locals are breathing down my neck to get all the logs from the storm out of my yard. So I've been splitting and stacking every weekend. I got about 6 cords done and I'm only about 1/3 done. Today is nice and sunny, but windy and 25 out.

 

[kd6nem]

Re: Could this be why?

Don't we in this country have a history of always wanting a little more? Nothing wrong with this necessarily, so long as we don't get confused between materialism and contentment.<br /><br />Maybe size goes in cycles? Cars got bigger & bigger, then suddenly smaller when fuel went up. Now we have smaller cars still, but bigger and bigger again at the same time. I sure hope those driving bigger don't clobber anyone I know who drive anything much smaller. Can't say that I'm all that in love with the little ones either. Frankly I think it is dumb when I see someone alone driving a big monster vehicle when they never ever need the towing or hauling capacity. Status symbol alone is a lousy reason to do anything. But we do want what we want. I kind of figure that as a culture that we tend to be very gullible to the wiles of advertizing. We see, we want, we buy. We're told bigger is better so we believe that. Just go to the store and see all those "Now larger" and "New and improved" labels. Is everything REALLY always so much better? Not very often. We usually wind up with far more than we need. Sometimes there is more than a little sefishness involved. No, it is not wrong to reward yourself for working hard. It is not wrong to have much if you come by it honestly. But the attitude behind it is what reveals how worthy we are of having. I am perfectly content with the five of us living in 1300 sq feet. I have an old boat, but I have a boat, and I'm content. It is good to be content with what we have, and only reasonable to live within our means.<br /><br />Out here in the west home prices are climbing out of sight. Few can the afford big homes of years past anymore. But lot sizes are decreasing to compensate and home are staying a bit larger. I get claustropobia even driving through those neighborhoods. You could ask your wife to pass the biscuits and your next door neighbor might hand them to you through the window. I wouldn't trade for a house double the size of mine.<br /><br />All I want now is a few hundred acres with a nice bass pond, some woods & pasture, and an airstrip & hangar with an airplane in it!

 

[gonfishn]

Re: Could this be why?

They sure do SS..My gas and heating in Jan. Was almost 800 Bucks.. Add $17 a square foot..well you do the numbers..<br /><br />If ya got some good oak or cherry let me know..The Amish are always lookn for quality wood. j/k here<br />Lookn forward to ya coming down.Let me know when and the feedbag is on me..Should have my web site up in a couple of weeks.. Spinner Bait will be handling the reins..

 

[Boomyal]

Re: Could this be why?

Originally posted by gonfishn:<br /> I heat a 3000 Sg.Ft.Store which is high in its own right..Add 18 overheads with four tubes each and a neon sign out front..I'll take your bills anyday Store is open ten hours a day seven days a week..

I'm not sure I would have a smiley face after your disclosure, gonfishn. It's got to be kinda painfull. I think that businesses pay a higher rate than residential customers do.<br /><br />You're not meaning that you pay $17.00 sq/ft for rent, are you?

 

[gonfishn]

Re: Could this be why?

Thats on the low side Boomyal..I am in a small City(100,000) Malls and such get anywhere from 18 to 25 per..Then there is what they call a cap..<br /><br />My cap is 1 mill..Anything above that then they get a 6% override on the gross side..You also pay for the upkeep,improvements,and anything else that enhances the mall are added in on top of that $17 per square.<br /><br />I would almost bet that malls in your area are as much if not more than what I am paying..Gone are the days when retail was paying eight to ten a square..I kinda laugh when I hear about folks c/o about the gas prices..Retail lease has doubled in the last ten years.

 

[SS MAYFLOAT]

Re: Could this be why?

Wow GF, I didn't know Chill town got that big. Of course I haven't been through there since the early 80's. Guess I'm going to have to re-learn how to get around there again.

 

[kenimpzoom]

Re: Could this be why?

When I look at the house my mother grew up in with six other siblings, I wonder how they did it. Probably less than 1000 sqft.<br /><br />Ken