Totally get where you’re coming from—those drafts are sneaky. I used to think more insulation was the answer too, but sealing up air leaks made a bigger difference than I expected. And yeah, I’m the same with heat tape... I check it way more than the instructions say. Better to be a little paranoid than deal with a fire, right?
I hear you on the heat tape. I’ve seen too many melted wires from folks not checking them often enough. I’m with you—better safe than sorry, even if it feels a bit neurotic. Sealing drafts is underrated, honestly. Insulation’s great, but if cold air’s still sneaking in, it’s just fighting a losing battle. I always tell people to grab a cheap infrared thermometer and check around windows and crawlspaces... you’d be surprised where the cold’s coming in.
I’ve seen folks spend a ton on insulation and still end up with frozen pipes just because of a sneaky little draft under the sill plate. I’m with you—infrared thermometers are underrated for finding those cold spots. Curious, do you check pipe runs inside interior walls too, or just focus on exterior? Sometimes people forget about those oddball spots where plumbing runs through unheated spaces.
I always check both, honestly. Learned the hard way when a bathroom pipe inside an “interior” wall froze up one winter—turns out it backed up to the garage and there was zero insulation. Those weird spots really sneak up on you. Now I just run the infrared along every accessible line when it gets cold, just in case. Can’t trust assumptions with old houses...
Honestly, I see this kind of thing all the time—people trust what they *think* is an interior wall, then bam, you’ve got a burst pipe and a nasty mess. Old houses are notorious for these hidden trouble spots. I’m not totally sold on just using infrared, though. It’s helpful, sure, but sometimes it misses stuff if you don’t catch the temp drop in time. I always recommend physically checking insulation coverage where possible, especially behind garages or crawl spaces. Never hurts to poke around and be a little paranoid with these old builds... they love to surprise you.