Hi TOny, George is correct; houses that old don't usually have stud walls; my house does have new walls built inside the old ones, but not everywhere. That's why the infrared heat loss tests are so important-- different walls may have different histories--even parts of walls may vary; TCA found a closed-over door that the blown in insulation hadn't gotten--and we found it because I complained about frost forming on the inside wall--the vinyl siding covered up the outside evidence, and new wall-board covered up the inside evidence!
One alternative to running a blower door test to find leaks (they can be used to locate leaks as well as measure air flow) is to wait for a windy day and use something with smoke to see where drafts are--in addition to the ones your body tells you about. Window casings often hide major leaks. If you're going to do quick insulation work while waiting to get to know the house better (good idea, BTW), you may want to use polyethylene on the "worst" windows (the clear plastic is vinyl--AKA the toxic plastic). Also, you might ask a contractor if using Great Stuff: makes it harder to fix things later--I know I've solved a few thorny problem with it, but it gets unsightly over time and is probably VERY nasty while off-gassing. I also use plastic foam "beading"--sold at paint stores--to fill gaps around windows, doors, where walls meet floors (behind baseboards). Oh, the places that air gets into old houses! This year, instead of using plastic, I'm experimenting with curtains INSIDE windows that stop at the sill so they trap cold air in a dead air space. Now this next advice sounds stupid, BUT If you want to get NYSERDA dollars later, you may not want to do too much weatherizing this winter, because the improvement in your utility bills (at least in some cases) determines how much money you get from NYSERDA. Given that many of us with houses that need work keep our bills down with rope caulk, plastic over windows, closed off rooms we would LIKE to be able to use, etc), thermostats set below a comfort level, ANYTHING to keep bills down, this doesn't seem very fair--or ecological or affordable. Good luck. Margaret On Dec 11, 2008, at 4:21 PM, Tony Del Plato wrote: > George, > Not sure but inside it looks like stud wall construction and the > outside is > covered with vinyl siding (ugh). We closed on the house this past > Monday, so > I'm about to embark on a fact finding investigation into my new > home, its > structure as well as the history. At the moment, my focus will be on > the > house itself, as well as getting up a snow fence (if it's not too > late), > INSULATING EVERYTHING, etc. > Thanks for your ideas about the house & what you've done. Seems like > old > homes are like onions. I'm going into the deeper layers thru the > winter. > Tony > > On 12/11/08, George Frantz <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> >> Tony, >> >> Are the walls of the house a solid plank wall or are they of stud >> wall >> construction? I ask because during renovations I discovered that >> the core >> of my "1930s Arts & Craft" house turned out to be an 1873 last of >> the plank >> houses. Use of the familiar 2x4 stud wall construction was not >> that commmon >> before the 1870s. >> >> Fear not, however. I adjusted to the situation by building a new >> 2x4 stud >> wall about two inches inside the original solid plank exterior >> walls, or >> just enough to give me the depth needed to insulate with R-19 >> fiberglass >> batt insulation. You do not have to remove any of the original >> plaster. You just encase it behind the new wall. >> >> I finished off with a poly vapor barrier and the conventional >> sheetrock >> drywall on the inside. >> >> By maintaining a gap between old and new and limiting the number of >> places >> where you attach the new wall to the old wall to just a few >> locations, you >> can also achieve some substantial sound deadening capability. The >> older >> outer wall will not transmit the vibrations of highway traffic to >> the new >> wall, and into the room. >> >> The downside of this approach is that you will lose about six >> inches of >> floor space along the outer walls. >> >> You will also have to trim out affected windows and doors to >> reflect the >> thicker wall, which requires a lot of detail work like carefully >> removing >> existing trim for re-use and ripping new wood to proper widths, etc. >> >> If the trim has a natural wood finish it is a real trip custom mixing >> several types (oak, walnut, cherry) of stains to get one that >> matches the >> old wood. >> >> The deeper window sills however make great places for plants. >> >> In several locations in our house leaving the old plank walls >> exposed and >> finishing them with clear polyurethane created a great accent to >> adjacent >> plaster or contemporary drywall surfaces. The key to refinishing >> though is >> not to sand the plank but rather lightly wire brush off the >> oxidized wood on >> the surface and cleaning with TSP or other non-phosphate cleaner. >> This way >> you can preserve the dark patina of the old wood. >> >> Enjoy the next two decades of the My Old House experience. >> >> >> George Frantz >> >> >> >> --- On Thu, 12/11/08, Tony Del Plato <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> From: Tony Del Plato <[email protected]> >> >> Subject: [SustainableTompkins] Insulation >> >> To: "postingsustainabletompkins" <[email protected] >> > >> >> Date: Thursday, December 11, 2008, 2:24 PM >> >> >> Hello TC Sustainers: >> I just bought a home built in 1850 and want to insulate portions >> that need >> it. Any thoughts or experiences with Airkrete, Cellulose, Icynene or >> Polyurethane as well as contractors would be appreciated. >> Tony Del Plato >> >> -- >> An economist is a surgeon with an excellent scalpel and a rough-edged >> lancet, who operates beautifully on the dead and tortures the living. >> - Nicholas Chamfort >> _______________________________________________ >> For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County >> area, >> please >> visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ >> >> RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: >> [email protected] >> http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins >> free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County >> area, >> please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ >> >> RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: >> [email protected] >> http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins >> free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org >> > > > > -- > An economist is a surgeon with an excellent scalpel and a rough-edged > lancet, who operates beautifully on the dead and tortures the living. > - Nicholas Chamfort > _______________________________________________ > For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County > area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ > > RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: > [email protected] > http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins > free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org _______________________________________________ For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
