I was reading Thomas Woods' Meltdown when I came across this quote. Pretty interesting, IMO.
"Rising prices affected both banks and their customers with an optimism which swept aside the conservative standards of experience and promoted extravagance and speculation. Whatever the customers purchased, whether merchandise or land, they were able to sell at an extraordinary profit; whatever was produced on their farms brought unusual returns. Some few persons, uncertain of what disposition should be made of the unexpected harvest, began reducing their fixed indebtedness. It was not long, however, until the continuously rising prices, the encouragement of the bankers, and the methods used by the government in selling war securities, had convinced the majority that debt was a blessing in disguise, as it became progressively easier to liquidate and offered a means of extending profit-making activities. Under the urge of these influences, industry expanded and thrived, promoters of all types came into their own, and thrift gave way to extravagance. Bankers found their accustomed standards of credit analysis growing obsolete, for values increased automatically with the passing of time. Hence it was that, as the speculative fever gained a foothold and grew and the demands for bank funds enlarged, credit was extended to all manner of persons on β or without β all kinds of security, excess lines became commonplace, customers' notes given to promoters of questionable and fraudulent enterprises were discounted for rich rewards, and large sums were advanced to land speculators. Borrowing for the purpose of relending became an established practice. Time and time again the banks were saved from the effects of their ill-advised acts by the continuous growth of deposits."
My house was built in 1924 in Jacksonville, Florida. I've owned it for about 10 years, slowly insulating it as I go. However, there is only so much you can do to this kind of house. Local ordinances prohibit me from swapping out single pane windows.... so my house is doomed to be drafty in the winter and a swamp in the summer...
However, I recently purchased two kits of Tigerfoam's Open Cell TF-1350 Kit.
My goal was to spray foam the underside of my roof in my attic.
My reasoning:
- The Florida Sun BAKES my roof and therefore leaves my attic HOTTER than ambient air, for most of the year. This has the effect of keeping my upstairs VERY warm and uncomfortable throughout the warm months (April-October). My HVAC air handler for the upstairs unit is sitting in the very hot attic... meaning... that the air handler itself is cooking as are the ducts carrying that air to the rooms in my upstairs. Meaning, what air does arrive in my already warm upstairs... is tepid and "cool" not cold. Priority 1 = Make my upstairs comfortable
- As a result of reason #1, my Air conditioner runs nonstop.... sometimes for days at a time with hardly a break. with it running all day, the upstairs would cool to about 80 degrees at night so you could sleep. Increased wear and tear on my A/C and a major driver of my power bills. I shit you not: my summertime power bills will easily reach $350. Not fun Priority #2 = reduce Electricity Bills
Execution:
This is absolutely a winter-time project. even in early April, I nearly heat-stroked myself spraying foam. Please be careful and have someone with you. Prep wasn't bad as I had already thinned out my attic. You need to remove anything you don't want covered in foam... because everything is going to get it. the kits were delivered, as promised, and set up was easy. Two tanks to a kit with different compounds and a hose assemble that a spray gun. The compounds don't actually come into contact until they meet in the disposable nozzle of the gun, so clogging is rare and cleanup is easy. They give you a bag of 10 nozzles. I used 8 for two full kits-worth of spraying. ***If you stop spraying for 30 seconds, you have to swap the nozzle. **I would def have a plan worked out, to minimize the number o
... keep reading on reddit β‘
Tell me about the taters!
