Keep an old house warm for less.
Three plain books from a man who has heated the same timber house for fifty-one winters. One stops the heat leaving, one makes the wood worth burning, one keeps the water out of the walls you just sealed. Every method says what it costs, how long it takes, and that you will not need a ladder.
Best value
The Complete Library
All three books + the sheets
$37 $37
$51 if you buy the three volumes one by one. Every update included.
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Before the First Frost
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One page, seventeen checks before the first cold night.
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- Phone, tablet, or computer
- 7-day money back
- 3plain books
- 54methods
- 237pages
- 14sheets to print
A note from Lars
Your house is not beating you. It is leaking. There is a difference.
I have burned wood in the same house in Gudbrandsdalen for fifty-one winters. My father, Anders, burned wood in it before me.
We did not do anything clever. We did a few plain things every year, in the same order, and we did not skip them. Nobody wrote them down.
These books write them down, with the reasons, and with the source behind every number. Where a thing is dangerous, I say it plainly.
— Lars Halvorsen
Lars Halvorsen is a character created by David. More about that below.
Volume I
Find where the heat goes. Stop it for the price of a few tubes and rolls.
The Warm House · sealing, windows, rooms and people
For the house where:
- the cold comes in at your ankles under the outside door
- you can feel a draft but cannot find it
- windows rattle, leak, or fog every morning
- the fireplace you never use pulls heat up the chimney
- you heat back rooms nobody sits in
- a window salesman's quote has you wondering
- the pipes are at risk in a hard freeze
20 methods88 pages5 sheets to print
$17
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Volume II
How much wood, how to buy it, how to know it is dry.
The Woodpile and the Stove · buying, drying, burning, the chimney
For the winter where:
- the wood runs out in February, or a cord rots in July
- a “face cord” turns out not to be a cord
- a load comes up short and you cannot prove it
- “seasoned” wood hisses and smokes in the stove
- the stack stays wet under its tarp
- the chimney top smokes twenty minutes after lighting
- you do not know what to do if the chimney catches
19 methods83 pages5 sheets to print
$17
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Volume III
Where the water in a tight house goes, and how to keep it out of the walls.
The Cold Side · humidity, fans, the basement, the air
For the house where:
- water runs down the windows every cold morning
- the bathroom stays damp long after the shower
- black spots show behind the dresser
- cold pipes and the toilet tank sweat
- the basement smells of damp
- you are not sure when mold needs a professional
- carbon monoxide and radon have never been checked
15 methods66 pages4 sheets to print
$17
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In every book
The Kitchen Table Sheets
Fourteen sheets to print on plain letter paper. Pencil, kitchen drawer.
The Complete Library
Fix the cold this winter. Keep it fixed every winter after.
Volume I stops the heat leaving. Volume II makes the wood worth burning. Volume III keeps the water out of the walls you just sealed. Together they are the whole of what we do in this house.
- 54 methods
- 237 pages
- 14 sheets to print
- every update
$37 $37 $51 if bought one by one
7-day money-back guarantee
Before you order
Which book should I start with?
Volume I if your house loses heat, Volume II if you burn wood, Volume III if you see damp or water on the windows. Most houses have all three problems, which is why the library costs less than the three volumes bought one by one.
Is this a printed book?
No. These are PDF books you download right after you pay. You can read them on a phone, tablet, or computer, and print the sheets on plain letter paper at home. Nothing comes in the mail.
How will I receive them?
Gumroad shows the download on the next screen and sends the same link to your email. You can download the books again whenever you need them. No subscription, no app.
Who are these books for?
People who heat an older house and want to spend less without getting cold or hurt. They are written for cold winters, the northern half of the country most of all. Volume III, Method 15 says where the rules change in hot, humid, mixed, and very dry climates.
Do I need tools or a ladder?
No ladder, ever. Anything that needs one is a job for a professional, and the book tells you which one to call. For the rest, a caulk gun, a tape measure, a stick of incense, and a pencil carry you a long way.
Will this lower my heating bill?
I do not promise you a number. Houses differ, winters differ, and prices change. Volume I starts by showing you how to read your own bills, so you can see which methods paid.
Is Lars a real person?
No. Lars Halvorsen is a character created by David. The voice, the stories, and Anders's rules belong to the character. The facts do not: every number and every safety rule comes from a public source, and the sources are listed at the back of every book.
What if the books are not right for me?
Write within 7 days and you get your money back in full.