How to Winterize a 1920s Chicago Bungalow

My wife and I just moved from a newer townhouse in Schaumburg to a 1920s brick bungalow in Portage Park, just south of Six Corners. We love the neighborhood, but I am starting to panic about our first real Chicago winter in an old house. The home inspector said the windows were 'original and in good condition,' which sounded charming in July but now sounds like a financial death sentence. My first Peoples Gas bill was already higher than I expected. What are the absolute must-dos before the first big freeze? Do I caulk all the windows? Does that plastic film stuff actually work? I'm mostly worried about the astronomical heating bills and the possibility of pipes freezing in the unfinished basement. Is it worth getting an insulation company to blow more into the attic?

Welcome to the neighborhood! First thing, if you don't have a programmable thermostat, get one this weekend. It's the easiest win. For drafts, just wait for a windy day and run your hand along the window frames and electrical outlets on outside walls. You'll feel it. That plastic window film is ugly as sin but it makes a huge difference, especially on the north side of the house. And for the love of god, go outside right now and detach your garden hose from the spigot. Everyone forgets that their first year and ends up with a burst pipe in the wall.

The plastic film is a stopgap. If you have the original wood windows and plan on staying, look into getting proper wood storm windows. They're not cheap, but they are a one-time cost, they'll pay for themselves in a few years, and you won't have to sacrifice the look of the bungalow. Also check what kind of heat you have. If it's hot water radiators, you might need to bleed them to get the air out. You turn a little valve with a key until it stops hissing and starts dripping water. Makes them heat up much more efficiently.

I'm going to push back on spending thousands on storm windows right away. Before you do anything, schedule a free energy audit with the gas company. They'll come out with an infrared camera and show you exactly where your heat is escaping. For us, the biggest problem wasn't the windows in our two-flat, it was the completely uninsulated attic hatch. We spent $50 on foam board insulation at the hardware store on Elston and it made more of a difference than anything else.

Rob is right, get the audit first so you know where to focus your money. And PortageParkMom is 100% correct about the hose bib. While you're at it, go into the basement and find the interior shutoff valve for that pipe, turn it off, and then open the outside spigot to let it drain completely. Regarding the attic, before you even think about blowing insulation, you need to air seal it. That means getting up there with a few cans of spray foam and sealing every single gap where a wire, pipe, or vent goes through your ceiling into the attic. It's a dusty, miserable job but it stops the warm air from getting into the attic and causing frost on your roof deck. Also, check the weatherstripping on your doors. If you can see daylight under the back door, you're heating the alley.

Wow, this is all incredible. Thank you. I honestly had no idea about air sealing an attic or bleeding radiators. I just went outside and detached the hose... feeling like a real rookie. The energy audit from Peoples Gas sounds like the smartest first move before I start spending money. I just scheduled one online. In the meantime, I'm going to grab some weatherstripping for the back door this weekend and look into a programmable thermostat. This is a huge help, I feel like I have a real plan now instead of just waiting for a terrifying gas bill in January.