Remodel of the 1927 Seattle home in 1999 did not insulate the main floor, as that would have required damage to lathe and plaster. It did raise the second floor by 6” with sistered 2x12 and attendant insulation between floors for R-30 between stories. Upper story was removed and replaced with 2x8 framing and R-22 on exterior walls, interiors were framed in 2x6 with R-19 batts. All of it given 6mil vapor barrier. Attic was R-30 when the inspector signed off. Basement remodel a few years later used foil backed urethane panels. Maybe all of R-11 at best, but the temperature there is dead stable at 57f without the furnace working. The aluminum windows were all replaced with custom wood casements, double paned and low E glass.
The ANC house has noticeable efficiency fall off when temps drop below 25f. I notice the same need for added heat on the main floor of the SEA house, but not for the upper floor or basement there. Easy enough to toss a log on the fire to kick in extra BTU instead of raising thermostat past 67f. Also, SEA has much more comfortable relative humidity. This morning I awoke to 3% in the ANC hovel. 0*f at sunrise. I really am not pleased with five months of snow. Had I desired that, I would have moved to a mountain someplace in the Andes. clay > On Feb 26, 2020, at 8:47 AM, Randy Bennell via Mercedes > <mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: > Winnipeg is probably at least as bad as Anchorage for cold weather. > > My house was built in 1981 so is not state of the art in terms of insulation > etc. However, it is a jump ahead of what was being built in the 60s and into > the 70s. We have 2X6 stud walls with fiberglass bats that are 6 (well 5 1/2") > thick and at least a foot of blown in cellulose insulation in the attic. It > has a plastic vapor barrier installed but not one as good as the builders > currently use. They use heavier plastic now and make more of an effort to > avoid punctures etc. We have double pane windows for the most part in the > original house. They do fine except in very cold days when we sometimes get a > bit of moisture condensing on the inside glass. We put an addition on in 1987 > and used triple pane windows in it. I think that was a mistake as I do not > think they are much better and the seals have failed in all of them while the > double pane windows are still good and they are older. That might be an issue > of who built the windows I suppose. > > I guess if I were to build a new house, I would likely make it more efficient > but our existing house has been pretty good. > > It is also possible to upgrade a house. One could add on more insulation on > the exterior walls etc. There is lots of available information on how to do > so. > > RB _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
