I have an old house that I am about to replace the siding and windows on. It has been added on to before. This question pertains only to the older portion of the house as the newer portion is insulated. Before I get too deep into this, we live in Gulfport, MS about 1/2 mile north of the beach. Humidity is an issue, along with the occasional hurricane. When this house was originally built (in the early 50’s), tongue and groove 1 bys were used for both the intermediate sheathing on the outside of the exterior studs as well as on the interior of those same studs. Needless to say, these are very sturdy walls and probably one of the reasons this house has withstood many hurricanes, the most recent of which was Katrina. Sorry, but I digressed a little bit there. While in the process of replacing the siding, I want to remove the outside 1 bys and put in fiberglass insulation from the exterior side vs the more common practice of placing it from the inside. My significant other is adamant about not using blown in insulation (read if mama is not happy no one in the house is happy). This leaves me with the choice of rigid panels between the studs (I am not real crazy about that) or fiberglass batts between the studs. Based on current installation practice, the standard kraft faced fiberglass batts would have the moisture barrier on the wrong side if placed and secured from the outside. Is there a product out there that would satisfy that purpose (seems like I saw one at some point, but I cannot find it now). If so, what would be the best way to address a moisture barrier, given our humidity issues down here?
Replies
May I inquire why no blown in insulation?
As I said, the significant other is adamant regarding no blown in. Warning: I am now about to make a possibly politically incorrect, stereotypical comment. As a general rule, most of that gender do not necessarily have to have a logical reason, they just state what they want or do not want and that is the end of it.
I do not mind pulling off the old intermediate sheathing (1 bys) as I would like to do some inspection anyway. I spent many years as a carpenter/homebuilder/etc before I lost my mind and decided to become a paramedic. Her ex did some remodeling in the older section and the wiring I saw in the attic gave me nightmares (literally, I would wake up thinking the house was burning down) until I reworked it. I do not need to go into details, just believe me, it was scary. According to Tina, the old section was knob and tube, which he changed over. There are several other areas that need attention also. His intent was good, but his skills and attention to detail left something to be desired.
Lott
Edited 11/8/2009 9:29 am ET by Lott
Thanks for the warning.
;-)
Lott
Send her on vacation to her mothers and quick blow the walls with celulose!
Hmmm...sounds like a plan. However, she is of Italian descent and would porbably have a contract taken out on me if she ever found out! *heheh*
Lott
Better to ask forgiveness!
Love them Italian wives. Got one that is 1/2 italian and 1/2 irish. Talk about terror!!!!
Sounds like mine. Her maiden name wasn't Piazza by any chance, was it? *heheh*
Something else you might appreciate. This house is a bungalow style house and was built without a roof overhang. She wants me to put an overhange on it with exposed rafter tails like many of the other bungalow/craftsman style houses around here! Oh yeah, I am 56 yrs old and will be doing this by myself. Oh, I almost forgot, she wants new windows also. Basically, I will be doing an entire remodel of the outside along with a new roof and inside window casings and trim!
Why did I ever tell her I used to be a carpenter? Guess the tools gave me away!
Lott
I am 55 and just about done with remodeling for awhile. I convinced my wife that hiring the roof done was best. It sounds like we know who wears the pants in your house!
Would your wife change her mind about the insulation with facts?
Edited 11/8/2009 7:18 pm ET by frammer52
*heheh*...Well, you know the old adage, "She has half the money and all of the honey."
She really does not see the need for me to insulate the old walls at all. We live in Gulfport, MS and the heat load on the HVAC system is unreal. I will attempt, one more time, to give her the facts (she reads my Fine Homebuilding magazine more religiously that I do). She feels like blown in will settle and not be as efficient over the long haul. Additionally, I do not know if this house has blocking in it or not. I doubt it, based on the economy of construction that seems to have taken place when the house was built. Guess I will have to break out the old framing gun and worm-drive skilsaw again!
I had thought about subbing out the roof to someone else. However, there will be a lot of piecing going on since I am going to put a roof/rafter overhang on the house. I am also going to put a gable over the flat roof that currently exists on the front porch.
I would have done all of this after Katrina, but I had to rebuild my in-laws' house in Bay St. Louis in my time off. They had no flood insurance and received over 16 feet of water. The house, although still on the foundation, was racked. Additionally, it had a significant amount of termite damage in the studs. I was able to jack it up, replace the plates and studs and save all of the structural wood from the ceiling joists up. It was quite a project. Now for another...
Cheers,
Lott
Is she familiar with dense pack cellulose?
You could invest in a foam kit.