I’m a carpenter that’s considering buying a severely neglected 1940 bungalow. It would definitely need to be gutted on the inside but my question is about the siding.
It’s probably cedar lap siding, most of which is in good shape, but there is no sheathing. It’s nailed directly to the studs. I’d like to insulate the place while I had the interior walls bare but I’m concerned about moisture problems, among other things. To restore the house properly would I have to remove the siding and install sheathing and house wrap? Are there any other options?
Replies
Sprayed in place foam insulation might be a good option. Polyiso something or other.
Blow cellulose in from inside before you move in cause it gets messy.
Its way easier to blow it in from inside as all you need to do is drill holes through.....I'm guessing rock?...Cutting holes in clapboard would look crappy.
I've done several houses myself I've owned.
Rent the machine from an insulation supply house...Its like a giant garbage can with a hose you dump the cellulose into.
Be sure to bang the walls with our fists to be sure it goes all the way down.
Also...run a stiff wire in the holes to see if theres any firestops in which case you'll have to drill holes under them as well.
Be warm or cold if your A/C'd
Namaste
andy
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i agree with mark that blown in polysci or something, seen it done on tv. the problem is it takes expensive equipment to do so you have to contract it out. i'm not sure how well of a vapor or moisture barrier it would be but seem to remember thinking its better than nothing. also it seems like a great way to go for insulating under the floor, i've heard they can do it with a long sprayer without even getting under house with just a few access holes (foundation vents). you can always add sheathing to inside of exterior walls before shtrck for sheer strength, a good idea in earthquake prone cali. and then you could always add vapor barrier to existing siding and reside later. or maybe even stucco?depends what you want, if you have money and no time go with blown in. if you have the time, reside.
http://www.fomo.com/
DIYS people the company sell you two part chemical and the applicator
The problem with using cellulose if you are going to remove the siding later after you put cellulose in, it will be on the ground out side. You will need to put some kind of building paper in between studbays next to the siding when you have the sheet rock off.
say fred what is the name of the company? bigtime diy people here, i do everything myself when i can, just dont tell piffin that not only did i hang my cabinets with drywall screws, i built them with drywall screws. shhhh!
Hey, I heard that!.
Excellence is its own reward!
I have hung hundreds of cabinets with drywall screws. Some top grade cabinets too. I've never had one fall in my career so far (over 30 years). I have switched to the nice bronzed cabinet screws that Rockler carries here now though.
Where is this? Cold country? Earthquake country?
-- J.S.
The house is in Eastern NC where we get temperatures from the teens to the hundreds and plenty of rain and humidity.
I'd be very careful with insulation in that old house. I suspect that the easy movement of air through the studs and siding has allowed the house to dry out easily after rain has penetrated the siding. In my experience, and considering your lack of moisture barrier, I feel that celelous would adsorb the blown in water and create problems. Foam in place would probably be good also, but it will keep the studs from drying out as fast as they do now, possibly giving mold a place to grow.
The very best solution, and the most work, would be to remove all the exterior siding, install a water barrier and reside. I suspect you will find significant dry rot inside the wall, but you can sister in studs to take care of that unless the entire wall is shot. The less difficult process would be to install rigid foam on the inside of the studs and allow the rain to penetrate the siding and continue to evaporate out just as it has since the house was built.
Thanks for the advice. I like to do things properly and felt like pulling the siding and adding sheathing would be my best bet. Especially since a lot of siding needs to be replaced anyway. Now I just need to add that to the list and see if the poor old house is worth buying.
Sam
I wholeheartedly agree with Dennis on this one. The reason that the siding and the wall have held up is that plenty of air is getting into the stud bays to dry things out when they get wet. Just filling the cavities with any sort of insulation will cause a moisture problem. I recommend Thermo-Ply sheathing for existing houses with no sheathing or vapor barrier. It is both and it is only 1/8" thick so that you will not have problems with the siding sticking out beyond the trim. Tape the seams with a good quality aluminum tape and you will have a seamless vapor barrier. The stuff is great. I used on my 100+ year old house in New Orleans. If you use this stuff you can use any kind of insulation you like. Do it right or do it twice.
http://www.simplex-products.com/pages/thermoply.html
Good Luck,
Joe
Edited 5/19/2003 7:59:28 AM ET by Eschew Obfuscation