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Now that he’s got the wall unit bookshelf/desk/cd shelf and the nice little window seat, he’s happy with his interior space and I’ve finally convinced him to take action on the exterior to save his beautiful little house. Actually, the house has convinced him, and he simply has implicit faith in me to steer him to the proper course of action.
When he bought the house (three years ago)it was freshly painted. Much of the siding was replaced. They had gutted the plaster, replaced the wiring, installed fg batts and sheetrock. I’m not sure wether they put up poly on the interior side of the studs.
The siding wasn’t back primed and I suspect that it wasn’t front primed either because as the paint peels away, there’s no evidence of a primer coat, just wood. After climbing around in the attic and looking at the back side of the siding I don’t see any primer anywhere. If it was primed before installation, there’d be some primer along the tops where siding overlaps, and probably be some drips on the edges too. Nothing. It was also re-roofed with asphalt shingles. The roof sheathing is original — 1x various width strips perpendicular to the rafters.
Here are the symptoms:
The siding is cracking and warping like crazy.
The eight foot tall frame and panel doors are moving as well. The panels have all shrunk considerably as evidenced by paint lines. A few panels here and there have cracked.
The crown molding inside has come away from the ceiling in spots.
Nail pops under some of the roof shingles.
There’s a crack in the sheetrock by a window implying settling.
Cold as heck inside during winter.
Thankfully his guitars, mandolin and fiddle haven’t cracked yet.
Here’s a description of the construction details:
Balloon framing, twelve foot ceiling height.
No wall sheathing — siding applied directly to studs.
No building paper as far as I can tell.
Fiberglass batts in most stud bays, but after ripping off a front portion of the siding to get at some termite damage, I noticed that there is no insulation in corner cavities (approx six inches wide by twelve feet high).
The house is built on brick piers with plywood and lattice skirting (vented) around the perimeter. I crawled through the crawl space with a flashlight and found the floor joists to be in excellent condition — no water damage.
No moisture retarder in crawl space.
Floor is not insulated.
Attic floor is insulated with blown in cellulose approximately six inches thick.
HVAC system is in the attic, duct runs are of insulated flex tube.
Dry as a bone in the attic and the crawlspace.
Two chimneys.
Natural gas stove, “fireplaces” and water heater.
What I think is going on is that there’s a large pressure differential resulting in buckets and buckets of air moving through this house. Getting sucked through the floor and walls and anywhere else it can squeek it’s little way in. Perhaps during the humid summer months the wood absorbs all the excess moisture then during the dry winter, it gives it off. In the spring when the air temps warm up (80 degrees the other day) before the humidity hits, the wood cracks, swells and buckles.
Course of action:
Obviously some of the siding needs to be replaced, and all of it needs to be properly prepped, primed and painted.
Stop air movement through the house — seal the floor, seal the ceiling weatherstrip the doors.
Get insulation into those stud cavities where there is none.
Maybe blow in some more cellulose into the ceiling.
Questions:
Since the batts are probably very loose fitting in the other stud cavities, can I dense pack them with cellulose without removing the batts?
With no building paper, I’m concerned as to the effectiveness of almost any course of action.
He’s not rich, but he has come to terms with the fact that it’s going to cost him a bit. I’m looking for the most cost eddective solutions — short of tearing off all the siding and starting over.
What’s the feedback from you experts out there?
Waiting anxiously,
Dan
Replies
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Now that he's got the wall unit bookshelf/desk/cd shelf and the nice little window seat, he's happy with his interior space and I've finally convinced him to take action on the exterior to save his beautiful little house. Actually, the house has convinced him, and he simply has implicit faith in me to steer him to the proper course of action.
When he bought the house (three years ago)it was freshly painted. Much of the siding was replaced. They had gutted the plaster, replaced the wiring, installed fg batts and sheetrock. I'm not sure wether they put up poly on the interior side of the studs.
The siding wasn't back primed and I suspect that it wasn't front primed either because as the paint peels away, there's no evidence of a primer coat, just wood. After climbing around in the attic and looking at the back side of the siding I don't see any primer anywhere. If it was primed before installation, there'd be some primer along the tops where siding overlaps, and probably be some drips on the edges too. Nothing. It was also re-roofed with asphalt shingles. The roof sheathing is original — 1x various width strips perpendicular to the rafters.
Here are the symptoms:
The siding is cracking and warping like crazy.
The eight foot tall frame and panel doors are moving as well. The panels have all shrunk considerably as evidenced by paint lines. A few panels here and there have cracked.
The crown molding inside has come away from the ceiling in spots.
Nail pops under some of the roof shingles.
There's a crack in the sheetrock by a window implying settling.
Cold as heck inside during winter.
Thankfully his guitars, mandolin and fiddle haven't cracked yet.
Here's a description of the construction details:
Balloon framing, twelve foot ceiling height.
No wall sheathing — siding applied directly to studs.
No building paper as far as I can tell.
Fiberglass batts in most stud bays, but after ripping off a front portion of the siding to get at some termite damage, I noticed that there is no insulation in corner cavities (approx six inches wide by twelve feet high).
The house is built on brick piers with plywood and lattice skirting (vented) around the perimeter. I crawled through the crawl space with a flashlight and found the floor joists to be in excellent condition — no water damage.
No moisture retarder in crawl space.
Floor is not insulated.
Attic floor is insulated with blown in cellulose approximately six inches thick.
HVAC system is in the attic, duct runs are of insulated flex tube.
Dry as a bone in the attic and the crawlspace.
Two chimneys.
Natural gas stove, "fireplaces" and water heater.
What I think is going on is that there's a large pressure differential resulting in buckets and buckets of air moving through this house. Getting sucked through the floor and walls and anywhere else it can squeek it's little way in. Perhaps during the humid summer months the wood absorbs all the excess moisture then during the dry winter, it gives it off. In the spring when the air temps warm up (80 degrees the other day) before the humidity hits, the wood cracks, swells and buckles.
Course of action:
Obviously some of the siding needs to be replaced, and all of it needs to be properly prepped, primed and painted.
Stop air movement through the house — seal the floor, seal the ceiling weatherstrip the doors.
Get insulation into those stud cavities where there is none.
Maybe blow in some more cellulose into the ceiling.
Questions:
Since the batts are probably very loose fitting in the other stud cavities, can I dense pack them with cellulose without removing the batts?
With no building paper, I'm concerned as to the effectiveness of almost any course of action.
He's not rich, but he has come to terms with the fact that it's going to cost him a bit. I'm looking for the most cost eddective solutions -- short of tearing off all the siding and starting over.
What's the feedback from you experts out there?
Waiting anxiously,
Dan