I need your help solving an ongoing problem. My husband and I live in a stucco, spanish style house that was built in 1926. The problem we’re having is that the exterior walls are constructed of some kind of “tile brick” (no studs) that are horizontally stacked on top of each other. The outside surface of the walls is stucco, the inside surface of the walls is plaster. Because of this design there is no way to insulate these walls. This would probably not be much of a problem except that we live in Iowa and it gets extremely cold in the winter, when the temperature drops below 32 degrees which it does for several months the inside surface of the exterior walls get very cold to the touch. Inside the bedroom closets (which both have exterior wall exposure) water condenses on the walls and creates mold. I need advice on how to fix this problem correctly.
We have a newer energy efficient natural gas forced air furnace (orginally when the house was built it had a coal furnace), we’ve blown insulation into the attic space and we’ve replaced several old casement type windows with new double pane windows. These measures have helped to make the house warmer but the problem with the closets is a continuing problem.
Any ideas how to solve this problem?
Replies
Try replacing the closet doors with louvered (vented) doors to allow that trapped air a way to get out.
Mike has probably your best answer...
if not a full louver use a half louver in a swinging door or go with a louvered bi-fold...
taking it a step further add heat to the closets with the louvers would really help...
put in small branch lines from the main forced air trunk line or with electric radiant floor heat...
this will give you the idea http://www.warmlyyours.com/
what type of floors do you have in the closets..
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thanks for the the feedback, only problem is we keep the doors to the closets open all winter long and the walls still have condensation on them, there will literally sometimes be beads of water running down the walls, this is when it's really cold, like 10 degrees and below. i have wondered about the venting heat into them idea just to keep the walls warmed up. i've also wondered about taking off the plaster, laying 2 x 4's on their sides and putting a panel of foam insulation between them and then sheeting rocking over that. do you think this would work?
You want to just prevent the closet condensation or adress the whole house insulation issue?
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At this point I'd like to get the closet situation under control. If you have any ideas about how to get insulation in the rest of the house I'd definately be interested about this too. Thanks for your input!
The walls are probably terra cotta block, which is essentially a fired clay building block. Great material for some things, not so good for exterior walls in heating climates, as you've found.
3 cell example:
View Image
This image shows them installed vertically - unusual in my area:
View Image
I haven't heard of anyone retrofitting blown-in insulation into TC - the labor costs would be high and the likelihood of significant damage to the TC also high.
This is a prime example of a great use of EIFS: Exterior Insulating Foam System - EIFS was developed in Europe to insulate masonry buildings after WWII.
The water infiltration problems seen with EIFS are significantly less, if not nonexistent. http://www.eifs.com/
Even so, do not go with the low cost estimate - and talk to a knowledgeable RE agent as to whether EIFS carries too much baggage in your area and might hinder resale value based on misconceptions.
(As a home inspector, I'd jump at buying an EIFS covered TC block building if done well.)
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That is exactly what our walls look like only the terra cotta pieces are stacked horizontally instead of vertically. The EIFS information is very interesting and would be a great solution for the entire insulation problems the house has. We live in the mid west and the closest city to us is Omaha, Nebraska, how would I find a contractor in Omaha that would be familiar with this system?
For a quick fix for the bedroom closets could we remove the plaster and put foam insulation panels on the walls and cover it with sheet rock or plywood?
Thank you for your input!
For a quick fix, you could just put the sheets of foam board against the inside of the closet walls without tearing out the plaster. If you plan on doing the exterior solution soon I don't see why you would want to tear up the plaster walls.
Thanks for the reply. I don't know if we will be able to do the exterior, I've got a call into a contractor in the city, we're going to see what it will involve and what it will cost. If it's not too cost prohibitive it would definitely be the best route.
Yes, but include a vapour barrior. Rigid insulation ( blue SM gives you R5 per inch, poly-iso about 7 ) 6mil. poly and then board. The V.B. will ensure that you will not get any condensation behind the wall.
Good idea about the vapor barrier and thanks for the specifics about the foam board insulation.