Insulating Foam in Wall Cavities?
oldyaller
| Posted in Energy, Heating & Insulation on
Just discovered uninsulated cavities in my exterior wall. I had to take off some panelling to reframe a window and discoved that the upper part of my exterior wall has no insulation in it! The panelling is fragile 200 year old pine plank and I’m afraid to pull too much of it off. Can I drill and shoot expandable foam insulation in there, or will that blow my panelling off? What economical solution is there?
Replies
One issue which isn't brought up here is the presence of knob and tube wiring in exterior walls that may get insulated. I know of at least two exterior wall runs in my house on the second floor, and there may be more on the first floor. I'm thinking that I might need to remove the quarter-round at the floor-baseboard junction and have a peak into the wall cavities before proceeding further.
In my case, is it still worth it to insulate those stud bays that don't have K&T wiring in them? This may be a late summer project, and I'll do the second floor first.
In your case, I believe others will suggest that foam is a poor choice since it can expand and warp the wall. Cellulose is probably a better option.
I couldn't stand it and started pulling panelling off. The framed cavities are irregular so guessing what is behind the panelling in each location was going to be a losing proposition. (Expandable foam would have been a disaster!). Thinking about blown-in insulation where you tack plastic over the studs and blow the cellulose into the cavities. I've heard you can get cellulose with a borate treatment that the mice don't like. That'd be real nice. Good luck if you start peeking into your walls. Ain't no telling what you'll find. I didn't ....