I would like to expose the brick in my living room.It was built in 1901, with bricks and an air gap for insulation.If I expose the brick will I decrease the R value of the house, and if so is there any way to get it back.
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1) Yes
2) Yes, by covering the brick.
did that...
I beat the old plaster of from a ext. brick wall, brushed well and sealed with a lauquer , looked beautiful!!!!!!!
But......I could run my hand along the wall and feel air coming throught the mortor joints, didn't before.
If it wasn't an ext. wall, maybe not a problem.
Sure.
But, that airspace in double-wythe brick is not for insulation. It should be equiped with weep holes as it's there to drain away any moisture condensing on the brick surfaces.
Now, back to the meat of your question.
Your location, especially if in a "historical district" matters, too.
Might be better, to insulate a structural brick wall on the outside. But, the Hysterical District may not allow that.
Which leaves the inside face. Which then poses the question of just what is on the existing interior walls now. You may not be "losing" that much insulation in just pulling down a few feet of scabbed-on blueboard and plaster. Or, you could have an entire wall of "mechanicals" (plumbing, electrical, telco, hvac, etc.) stuff behind a thin partition wall. Either way, it probably is nowhere near the modern code requirements. You could be looking at some rather detailed work.
In that latter case, all is not lost; just needs a different direction. What might be the answer would be to veneer the inside wall with brick. Whether thin clay brick veneer or ins LWT concrete "cultured" product will matter more to availabilty.