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Q: Freezing Hutong Winter coming up
I'm living in a Beijing Hutong and it's freeeeezing, even with the heating on. My landlord is super stingy and mysteriously disappears whenever I have a problem (never a problem on rent day though)...
Do you have any tips for making my house warmer? I have a space heater, but I'd actually rather be a bit more efficient...
Thanks 
Seal all of your windows...stuff cheap TP in the frames and then plastic sheeting (3M sells their window sealing kits in China) to cover the windows.
The cheap TP (the massive industrial rolls) can also be used to seal holes and gaps elsewhere (no pun intended).
One thing I did that helped in my flat : a door snake !
It blocks the air draft going under the door, which is quite strong. Some genius decided that the common areas of the building should be exposed to the exterior. No windows, it's just open...
I made the door snake by myself, using old clothes, old plastic bags, and a large piece of fabric scrapped out of a very large bag. One layer of clothes sandwiched between two layers of plastic bags, the whole thing rolled in the large fabric. A bit of tape, and *bam*, door snake. We gained a few degrees just doing this.
If you're in a hutong, there's nothing to do. Sealing won't cut it. Stones are likely to be your main vector of cold. Listen to rasklnik.
You could buy a cheap self supporting tent from taobao and sleep in that. Get a couple of camping maps too to lie on. You will be snug as a bug in a rug..... until you need go pee pee.
Air is a good insulator. Hang curtains wherever you can. As RiriRiri says, stone walls will be sucking the heat out of the air. The more pockets of air you can put between yourself and the walls the better.
Also, light a candle to help identify where any draughts are coming from.
But a word of warning.... do not use a hydrocarbon fuel heater without good ventilation. No gas rings or propane. CO and CO2 are deadly.
If you use any gas appliances, such as a water heater, check the flame when you use it. A yellow flame indicates an oxygen deprived atmosphere. That will kill you.
DrMonkey:
Nitpicking time : CO is a poison, it permanently locks to hemoglobin in place of O2. CO2 is not a poison, but of course, if it replaces O2, you will just suffocate.
.
Have the entire interior covered in spray foam and then cover that with plaster, foam being flamible. Then you can easily heat it.
Or get a good Canadian woodstove and about 20 cords of firewood.
I was in Guilin and I'll never spend another winter in China, it wasn't Canadian cold but there was no way or no where to keep warm except under covers.. and that was nice.
Honestly I have to ask why you are choosing to live in hutong?
Now you're dealing with a negative externality of living in a crappy cheaply made concrete house.
I mean theres a reason that Chinese people with options don't choose to live in those things...why are you?
expatlife26:
could be.
I get the appeal of wanting to experience something different...on vacation
but to want to live like that makes no sense. It's like hes shocked that when you have shitty things that they kinda suck.
humbug:
She is living there because the location is amazing, the house is gorgeous and it's super cheap.
I'm not complaining, what's wrong with trying to improve my situation by being warm?
Spiderboenz:
Ok, sorry. Poor Hipster, maybe? Improve your situation, move out of the hutong.
Buy a rug.... or several. It makes a world of difference. The cold hard floor is a killer.
