I'm afraid you are in for a long winter my friend. It is not unusual to see that kind of a spike once the heat kicks in. I own 17 apartment units in Maine, and a few have a bit of electric heat here and there. I've seen $450/month and i've heard of worse. Based on what you said about your low usage (not even being home) you could be in for some astronomical numbers. 1. Call the electric company and get Jan/Feb for '08 and '07. They keep these numbers for these occassions. 2. Is there another apartment below you? I'd be living off of their heat if at all possible. 3. You turn on the heat a few hours BEFORE going to bed? Not anymore, your gonna have to man up a bit. I sleep with my heat off and it's set to come on 1/2 hr before i get up. 4. Tell Santa to forget about the new laptop, you're going to want some serious pajamas, wool sox and one of those silly sleeping caps. 5. Those programable thermostats really are one of the few things that pay for themselves very quickly. Especially in situations like yours. 6. Have you tried to seal off doors and windows? I know you don't own the place, but believe it or not that plastic sheeting does work. I make interior double pane storm windows, and so could you. 7. Those tall ceilings don't have ceiling fans (where you can reverse the blades) do they? 8. What's above those ceilings? Living space? Attic? Roof? If it's an attic i'd be curious to know if there's much insulation up there. I just took care of my last all-electric attic apartment by installing a quality Renai (gas) heater. They work on the woodstove principle - all the heat comes from it and radiates (or convection heats) the rest of the apartment from that one spot. It was about $1,800 for the unit but i had to pay a bit more to run the gas up the side of the building to get there. I'm betting i pay maybe $500.00 for the whole winter with this set-up. Is the old gas line still connested to the building? I'm sure your landlord would just LOVE to hear this suggestion - but on the other hand he's got to deal with this at some point. Who on earth would live there for 2 winters with a situation like this? Here is a link that might be useful: Draftyoldwindow

We have had a murphy bed for 11 years. We have moved it 3 times. We are in the process of buying another one for our vacation home. You want to use a company that uses SICO Eurobed hardware. The bed mechanism pivots on a steel support plate attached to the inside of the cabinet, it is not floor mounted. The cabinetry is secured to the wall anchoring the wallbed system. Because the unit is not floor mounted, it allows the unit to be relocated much more easily. For safety and visual aesthetics, the SICO Eurobed features an exclusive hidden spring mechanism that makes raising and lowering the bed almost effortless. This is much easier than attempting to fold and unfold a sofa bed. The murphy bed doesn't need to be remade each time it is stowed away unlike a sofa bed. SICO's fold-over leg provides a solid support for the bed when in use, and secures the mattress in place when the bed is raised into the cabinet. Steam-bent laminated hardwood slats adjust to the body's contour for optimum comfort and support. The slats will not sag or wear out with either time or use. They are about $1,800 and up depending on the style and cabinetry you choose. Contact SICO Incorporated and they will put you in touch with a dealer near you. SICO Incorporated 7525 Cahill Road Minneapolis, MN 55439 (952)941-1700 I hope this helps. Here is a link that might be useful: SICO Wallbeds

Wow, I didn't expect a post of mine from three years ago to get brought back to life. We still have and still love the Murphy Bed (and I still show it off a lot). But $600? Ouch. I don't know. Certainly not with the materials I used ($1,250). The only way I could imagine it with the kit I used (which is $300 itself) is if you made it with particle board and already owned a standard queen mattress and all the bedding. But even then I'm not sure you could do it for under $600. My advice would be to call the company (I received very good customer service from them), tell them what your goal is, and ask for the supply list on the particle board version of the queen bed so you can price it out locally. Consider also that, while the version I built is easiest to install version I encountered, it does require that you screw four long screws into the studs to mount the puppy. Would your prospective landlord allow such a thing? Are the "charming, historic" walls built in such a way that this is an easy task? Finally, take a peek at the time lapse between my first post (12/07/04) and my "I did it" post (3/26/05). This project takes some time (an experienced person could have probably banged it out more quickly). It also takes some space (do you have access to a workshop?) and some tools (heck, a compound sliding miter saw alone would blow your budget). I've talked my husband into all sorts of craziness over the years, but if "winning" involved us sleeping on the floor in a very cramped apartment while I spent months building a bed in and amongst the boxes with the neighbors complaining about the noise of my power tools... well, it would probably be cited as an example of "why I should never get my way" for the rest of my life. It might possibly be done, just make sure you have your ducks in a row first, as ducks have a way of wreaking havoc when trapped in charming apartments with very small bedrooms. ;o) Good luck!

Hi @turtlexings24, Thanks for the compliment. I am very happy with my GC. Folks on here probably won't think it was wise but...It was me. I GC'd and designed our bath renovation after striking out with about a dozen others. It was stressful but nothing I couldn't handle. Gannt charts, spreadsheets, and research kept things organized. My job is flexible enough to allow me to wfh and adjust my schedule as needed so I was here for every subcontractor and inspector. We did hire an advisor/project manager who connected us with all the subcontractors we needed, Home Improvement Partners. Troy was great and saved us a ton of time hunting for all the individual professionals we needed.