My house is a one and half Cape Cod style home built in 1950. Construction is cinder block with brick veneer and plaster walls. There is no insulation on the exterior walls. How can I stop the heat loss. I remodeled the kitchen and added an inch of Dow board but I still have the fron and half the back to protect. I have added additions on the sides of the house so they are protected. Help–I am cold and don’t like my heating bills.(heat is a two year old seer 15 heat pump with electric back up)
Mike
Replies
Mike,
Welcome to Breaktime!!
If you click on your name above (where it says "To: Mike"), you will open your profile.
We would appreciate it if you could fill some of that in, especially where you are located!!
Thanks!
Have you made any effort to stop air from escaping the living area at the top of the house??
This works best on a cold clear day. Go to the highest window that is in the living area. Open it. Does air blow in??
A house is like a chimney. All the air is moving up through the house (or trying to). On most homes, when you open the front (on a cold still day) air moves into the house while an equivalent amount of air is leaving the house at the top.
As you go higher in the house, at some point the air will no longer come in and will instead go out. This point is the neutral pressure plane. The higher in the house the neutral pressure plane occurs, the more holes there are at the top of the house.
Back to that second story window. If air blows in when you open it, then you probably have some work to do sealing the floor of the attic. This means hunting down every spot that air flows through and foaming it closed.
Finally, you haven't given us any info about the basement/crawl/slab which may or may not be relevent here.
Rich Beckman
Another day, another tool.
Rich
Thanks for your reply, I will try to address all the outgoing air issues thru the attic, eaves etc. The winters in Pa can get cold and expensive to heat when there is lots of heat loss. I have only notice in the last two years any icicle formation. I therefore will attack the eaves and the space behinc the kneewall in the front. I need to do some siding in the back of the shed dormer and it has vinyl over clapboard. The clapboard is right on the studs. I may pull all off and insulate and work my way out with sheathing and new siding. I have my work cut out for me.
Mkke
Mike, welcome to Breaktime. You didn't mention what region you were located in.
Do you know if there is an airgap between the block and brick? Or between block and finished plaster?
As Rich pointed out, stopping air infiltration can also greatly aid keeping the heat in.
While you COULD attack the problem from the exterior by installing XPS or polisocynate insulating board, and then side over that... That would be a major undertaking considering the home has a brick exterior.
Attacking the problem from the inside really depends on how the wall is contructed. Is the finished plaster wall directly on the block? Or is there a stud wall in between?
There are some experts on this site. If you give them more details, they can give you a better idea of what would work best for you.
jt8
When women love us, they forgive us everything, even our crimes; when they do not love us, they give us credit for nothing, not even our virtues. -- Honorý de Balzac
Thanks for the replies I do have some air infiltration problems that will be addressed as well as the area behind the kneewall and the "attic" However I can't do much about the rafter spaces as there is no access.
There is and air space between the block and the brick veneer of only about an inch and I don't think there is much space between the plaster and the block. I had already thought about attacking this from the outside as mentioned but it would also change the character of the home as well. Attacking from the inside is tough as well as I should remove all the plaster--almost all in great shape.
I think I am at the point of addressing any air through the roof, eaves etc and see how much that helps. I am also going to move the thermostat as it is in the coldest part of the house and sometimes the other areas are too hot--at the expense of the energy bill. The registers have been balanced so the air flow is good.
Thanks again
Mike