Insulating an uninsulated 1930’s House
chillywilly
| Posted in Energy, Heating & Insulation on
Wife and I have been looking for a house for quite some time now. Finally found one we like. Had an inspection done yesterday and learned that the walls are not insulated. Only the attic floor has insulation. What options do we have to insulate the walls? I’ve heard of a product similar to “Great Stuff” that is pumped into the walls. Any other ideas would be much appreciated.
We are in Southwestern Connecticut.
Replies
Blown-in cellulose is a common option. This is usually done from the outside. Maybe your local utility has a consevation incentive program to help pay the cost.
While you're at it, make sure the attic has enough insulation and is properly vented. Double-check for air leaks from the heated space into the attic.
Al Mollitor, Sharon MA
Where are you located?
What kinds of siding?
The "Old House Journal" site will have good (and conflicting, of course) info for you.
I would look into dense pack cellulose.
Check to be sure there isn't any knob and tube wiring in the walls - K&T should not be enclosed by thermal insulation.
The key to forgiving others is to quit focusing on what they did to you, and start focusing on what God did for you. Max Lucado
Sojourners: Christians for Justice and Peace
Edited 11/10/2004 11:06 am ET by Bob Walker
Blown-in celulose is probably your best bet. Not nearly as expensive as A+B expanding foam for the materials for one. Also, the expanding foam can "blow out" causing more fun than one generally wants.
What sort of wiring & plumbing are in the house now? This can be important. "Knob & Tube" wiring can't be sealed up without some extra considerations.
Which actually gets us to "what renovations do you see as likely in the near future?" It would be a shame to get the wall insulated only to have to dig them out again to put new wire or pipes in. At the same time, if the clapboards are about shot (or there's vinyl siding), it's not that big a deal to insulate when the siding is stripped off at all. Or, if you are repairing/renovating/replacing interior walls anyway, then you can get to the exterior wall cavities that way (the b-i-c guys just need a top & bottom hole for the hose).
Thanks. What about moisture? If there's no vapor barrier between the inside and outside walls, won't the celulose get moist and fail over time?
Paint the interior walls with a low-perm (< 1.0 perm rating) paint. I hear that there are now low-perm paints that are not shiny or eggshell...
Yeah, what Taylor said.
Forgot that you are up north, down here in the south, we need the VB on the outside, so, if you reside, you can apply VB while you do that.
This is, of course, for those who have decided where they stand on the great VB debate. <G>
The most recent studies on modern cellulose show that it's very stable, much more so than the old stuff. The old material was significantly looser, and once it lost integrity, it just slumped down to whatever volume it actually filled. This looks kind of odd on a thermal-imaging camera (nice to know the guy who does the thermal imaging for the local utility; but the utility would have sent him around for the smae price as I paid <g>).
And just about anything is beter than FG batts.Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
My two cents worth on cellulose in your walls.
Make sure that your house is constructed with brick over stud walls. In that case there is a place for them to blow insulation.
If your house is double brick construction then you have a problem. All the advice I have gotten so far is that you do not blow cellulose between double brick walls. Too damp. The options in that case, as presented to me, were;
1. Insulate walls from the inside -- lose a few inches of interior space
2. Insulation on the outside and cover with stucco -- ugly
3. Remove a layer of brick, install insulation, and then put it back --- not practical.
It is a moot point for me because my house is brick on stud walls and has insulation in the walls already.
There is a poured foam insulation product that I have heard of that may do the trick. I think that http://www.icynene.com is one place to go for that information. No insulation contractors in my area have heard of this sort of thing so I don't have good solid practical information on it.
Ahhhh! the joys of living in an old house...Last year I didn't know what any of this stuff meant.
>>Make sure that your house is constructed with brick over stud walls. In that case there is a place for them to blow insulation.
>>If your house is double brick construction then you have a problem.
I'm curious, I've never seen an all brick stucture dated after 1890 or so in my area.
Anyone here seen an all brick structure from the 30's (residential?)
The key to forgiving others is to quit focusing on what they did to you, and start focusing on what God did for you. Max Lucado
Sojourners: Christians for Justice and Peace
Anyone here seen an all brick structure from the 30's (residential?)
We have a couple here, they're in the Hysterical District. Obviously meant to be "substantial" houses; which probably makes them mid-late 20's, and not Depression-era houses.
We have one that's actually brick over terra-cotta masonry units--it has a unique look from the inside.
There's two dorms left on campus that are veneer brick over terra cotta; all of the "brick" dorms on campus are all-brick construction.
Hmm, so I've seen/toured 4-5, worked on 1, and lived in 3-4 (dormatories, not all-brick houses)--that probably still meets the "very rare" condition.Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
http://www.fomofoam.com/
They have a slow rising foam that won't blow out walls. Probably could get Icynene for about the same price. Fomo's product is a higher R value and closed cell so no vapor barrier needed.
That said cellulose may still be your option. Look here for more info about it. http://www.regalind.com/technical.htm