First of all, you may wish to take the second link down as it shows not only pictures of the house but others you may consider more personal. The fastest fix is to make your whole album private, and deal with getting the pics separated into a public album later if you can't do it right away. Now as to the utility bills: I believe you are in upstate NY right? Last winter (2011-2012) was extremely, freakishly mild. I am somewhat north of Albany and last winter we used only about 55-60% of the fuel we normally use. Also for the fuels that most people use (except for home heating oil) prices were affected by the mild winter as well, with both electricity and gas (natural and propane) being unusually low, so the dollar amounts on the bills may be lower than normal for the same amount of power in other years. (Residential electricity is returning to norms -i.e. rising - now.) So those factors may be the reason that the previous years' bills were not forthcoming, as the sellers may be reluctant to let you see the normal costs. Or not; they simply may have already discarded their bills in prepartion for moving- though they can probably request duplicates if pressed hard enough. And even if you can't get the bills you may be able to get info about comparative heating degree days between last winter's mildness and normal, and more typical rates and work the numbers out for yourselves. Anyway I would assume that last January's $320 cost would normally be in the mid/high $400's to low $500-ish range in years when temperatures and prices are closer to norms. Amendments or improvements to storm windows will improve your comfort but probably not make the house temps warmer, unless you are talking about solid (opaque)covers like blinds or well-fitted insulating curtains. Certain types of insulation projects may help depending on what you find there. But it may already be maxed out for space possible. The bills don't seem excessive to me if they include all of the lighting, water heating, heat, and in summer, A/C. (I have no A/C so I may be wrong about that.) We heat entirely with solid fuel (wood), but our power bills for hot water, lights and small amount of electric space heatng in Jan-March are about $250-350/mo during the coldest months. We use lectricty to heat H/W for the washing machines, but rarely use any for drying as I hang out 12 months of the year. Mostly I cook with propane, with a small amoaunt of electricity for MW and induction. I don't use a DW. HTH L.

Oh wow ! These are some great pictures and I really appreciate y'all posting them and taking the time to do so. I really love the door , but respect others opinions. :) I know the lighting needs changed too . I can't wait to get there again and really see it as our own ! I love iron so I'll probably find lighting that is black and iron. I love it in the garden too . It's my fav thing to shop for at antique stores! Gr8day , thank you for your encouragement ! We must have similar tastes. I love the 2nd and third fireplaces . I did look at tile at hd and lowes today and found a tile that mimics stacked stone that I may consider. Also the stair pics make my heart smile ! I just love them. Raven Cajun , that pic is exactly how I thougt it would turn out !' I know my inspiration pic was much bigger fireplace. This pic you posted is just perfect. Melsouth , thank you for your ideas! I am in tennesee , so yes these things are popular here. But beside being popular , they are things I really love. I believe there is a lot of psychology behind ones home choices too. I grew up in a trailer , for 19 years.. Didn't know any better of course , and my parents did the best they could ! Love them for it ! Now I am 30, buying my dream home and feel very blessed. I think I am attracted to these different things because of years of admiring other peoples homes. So even if other people have similar things , I am so proud to have them !! I don't feel the need to be keeping up with others . I hope it dosnt come across like that . I love beautiful staircases , and I think it's because when I went to friends homes as a child , I thought they were great ! We didn't have stairs . I'm sure there's a lot buried in our minds relating to our styles ! It would make for an interesting discussion , for sure! :)

if the 3/4" foam board is in good shape just leave it there. if I'm understanding your description correctly the foam board is on the exterior of the wall under the brick. with the foam board in this location of the wall it is stopping thermal bridging from ambient into conditioned space. this foam board has an insulation value depending upon type. that adds to the value inside the cavity. you don't need the vapor barrier to the interior. http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/insights/bsi-001-the-perfect-wall/?searchterm=perfect%20wall upgrading the insulation in the walls, would be easy enough to do with it all open. you can special order R-15 batts. while things are open, air seal. invest in a case of caulk & seal things up as the project progresses. best of luck.

I respectfully disagree. When I am hiring a professional, I expect that professional to have all of their ducks in a row. If the state that I am doing business in requires a license for a particular trade, I expect the professional I am hiring to have that license. I do agree that having a license is not an indicator of skill or knowledge, but is is an indicator of professionalism and willingness to abide by the rules and laws governing the trade. If a contractor in California is going to have worker's comp insurance, the insurer will want to know the contractor license number as well as the license classification.