Hiya-
I’m new to Breaktime, but have subscribed to FH for a few years.
I’m considering buying a fixer-upper to practice skills & have fun (and hopefully make a little money). One I have looked at was built in 1920, has all wet plastered walls and ceilings, and someone later finished the attic (small & centered over the original house). I assume there is virtually no insulation anywhere. The house has a basement and also has a couple of shed roof rooms additions on crawl space. Besides taking down the attic ceiling and adding a little fiberglass (leaving airspace above it), and/or gluing on extruded foam and then covering it, what are my options? This is a cold but dry climate (Wyoming).
I also considered gluing foam board up on all downstairs ceilings including the shed roof areas, then covering it with fake decorative “tin” panels. I would prime all lower floor walls and ceiling with a vapor barrier paint. Then, I figured, the finished attic room could kind of serve as the roof ventilation especially if the windows were not totally airtight.
I also can’t figure out how to otherwise ventilate the main roof and shed roof areas without putting on a new roof, and the roof is pretty good. I hoped putting in some vents under the eaves would help a little. Maybe in a dry climate that would be enough??
P.S. Anybody have any idea how much it costs to have insulation blown into the walls? (2300 ft2; mostly one story)
Thanks muchly!
Replies
When my parents redid an old farmhouse back in the 60s the insulation contractor removed pieces of siding to blow in cellulose. Since the siding was 60-year-old cedar much of it shattered when removed, but they were able to find some cypress with the same profile to replace the missing pieces.
I don't know the answer to your question, but
Assume NOTHING when it comes to an old house,
except for: it will cost twice as much as you think, and there are a number of health hazards out there.
And never, never, ever tell your wife anty particular old house renovation project will be "a piece of cake".
Probably $3,000 to $3,500, depending on the siding. May be easier to do from interior using 1" holes. Easy to patch, sand and paint the holes. Can be a DIY job with a bit of instruction.
Edited 6/8/2006 8:59 am ET by experienced
I have a 2-1/2 story brick veneer, 22X30. We did blow-in celulose in the walls for about 2 grand and did the attic walls and ceiling for a bit less. We installed ventilation spacers below the roof decking prior to insulating. If you are not using the attic space, blown-in between the joists would be fine and cheaper. We're happy with the results. But, to really stop the cold air infiltration, we had to remove the window trim and foam the gaps & window weight spaces. (Our replacement windows eliminated the weights.)
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA