insulation

[housedude]

Hey i just replied to jeffus post on hvac spider. I was wondering if anyone here has insulated an older house and did it save that much money. I have a 50's house with no insulation in the walls an very little in the attic. Before I go cutting holes and blowing insulation and repairing holes in the walls I wanted to see some real life savings (not just the insulation companys bloated numbers). I will probably just do the attic because its realitively simple. I also need better windows but that ones way over budget.

To think I could have bought a newer home but hey wheres the agony and joy in that?

TIA

[Mark B.]

I know there are state and federal rebates (to a limit) on insulation expenses. I recieved some docs in my last bill. Look around.

[Hockeyfan]

Housedude, I know your pain. My house, although not as old (1979) had single pain windows and wasn't very efficient. I added a bit of insulation in the attic and the walls already had it. I have seen numerous shows indicating that you will save money. You should definately caulk around your outlets (from the inside) and switches. I can't believe there is no insulation in the walls. Was that the norm back then. I guess your in Georgia eh. But you still need it for the AC. Also you could purchase a hot water heater insulation blanket. Get it at Lowes for 20-30 bucks (I think). You are supposed to get your money out of them within 2 years. May have even been 1 year, but 2 sounds right. You can seal from the outside of your house too with caulk beneath the siding or other gaping holes. Expanding foam works. I replaced 75 percent of the windows in this place with new ones (double pained and all that crap). I think that helped alot. There are no-longer huge drafts by the windows. I used expanding foam to seal them as well as the new front entrance door. Good luck.

Andrew

[housedude]

Markb I will look into it, the only problems I have seen in the past were disclaimer about a contractor performing the work.

Hockeyfan I caulked around the windows and sealed every hole with expanding foam except outlets (good idea) One hint for others if you have registers do not use foam around them unless you think you will never take them out. I am leaning more and more toward windows because the drafts are really noticeable. Did you do the 75% at once and see a diffrence? or did you do them at diffrent times?

BTW block home just brick -> some type of board with black paper on it ->studs then drywall

[Jackson's Dad]

The attic is a good place to start. Our old home in San Francisco had very little or no insulation, so we had some blown into the attic. It's a simple procedure, and on a hot day you could immediately feel the difference.

I have a ten year old house that was well insulated, but every winter I still have to walk around and clog up drafts and leaks. Sigh.

[SGTDad]

If your walls are already insulated with something, then your best bet is to probably add insulation to your attic and then work on stopping air inflitration, which is typically a huge loss of heat/cooling. It may be worth it to invest in a contractor that will use one of those fans to depressurize your house to find air leaks for you.

[Hockeyfan]

They can also use temperature sensing equipment to find leaks inside your house. Find the warm/cool spots. The windows are great. I did them over a year or so. Did it myself so it was a bit slow. Did every room upstairs (8 windows) and 4 windows downstairs. No drafts at all now. More efficient for sure. I could feel cold air coming in from the windows previously. Just depends upon if you plan on moving. I wouldn't bother doing new windows if your going to move (like I am). It wasn't planned though. Insulate the attic for sure. Insulation is cheap and will save you in the long run.

[Mark B.]

Before I go cutting holes and blowing insulation and repairing holes in the walls

TIA

You would be able to blow your own insulation in walls versus using a contractor?

[jeffus]

Yeah, you can rent the machine at Lowe's (or the Home Despot) and do it yourself anytime...

Wear a respirator! ;)

[Weston]

I agree with whoever said start with the attic... you can add a lot more "R value" to your attic space (almost unlimited thickness of insulation). Later you can decide if you want to do the walls, but like you said you'd have to cut holes in every bay... that's a lot of "blow patches". Besides you probably have 2 by 4's as wall studs and that would limit the r value you would be able to add, versus the amount you can get from your attic (and floor if you have a crawl space!)

[SideShowCecil]

To think I could have bought a newer home but hey wheres the agony and joy in that?

Don’t I know it! I spent most of the summer upgrading the insulation and duct work in the basement of our late sixties bungalow.

It’s pretty common around here for older homes to have more insulation added to the exterior of the house. The siding is stripped off, 2 inches of rigid foam insulation is put on the walls, new sheathing and siding installed over that. I think it can add around R10 to the walls. If the house needs a new exterior finish anyways then the added cost isn’t that much.

We’re considering having that and a new roof put on the house possibly in the next three years. We only have R12 in the walls now and the original aluminium siding is starting to look a little shabby.

Although, I’m starting to think about just throwing some paint on this old s%$t box, selling it and buying something brand spanking and built to spec. It might be nice to spend my weekends playing golf or fishing instead of busting my ass building and repairing.

[housedude]

You would be able to blow your own insulation in walls versus using a contractor?
Markb it does not seem to difficult just messy and time consuming. There is an easy/quick way to cut the hole with a hole saw and use the piece you cut out for the repair. I have used it to drop cable lines that had multiple studs running horizontally inside the walls. If anyones interested I think I have pics.

I think I will blow the attic per comments and see where I get with that. I can feel the heat from the attic coming through during summer. I think my casement crank out windows are the second biggest factor but the return on investment may not be worth it to redo them.

[Mark B.]

Markb it does not seem to difficult just messy and time consuming. There is an easy/quick way to cut the hole with a hole saw and use the piece you cut out for the repair. I have used it to drop cable lines that had multiple studs running horizontally inside the walls. If anyones interested I think I have pics.

I think I will blow the attic per comments and see where I get with that. I can feel the heat from the attic coming through during summer. I think my casement crank out windows are the second biggest factor but the return on investment may not be worth it to redo them.

I understand blowing insulation is not rocket science, but it is very messy and time consuming. I just think it fits into the category of a job you might do once or twice and by the time you get the hang of it you are pretty much done. And if the contractor decides to step through your ceiling he can deal with it not you. If you can feel the heat from the attic coming through to the room below that might be a different problem Heat rises. Do you have gable vents and or electric attic fans or regular vents in the roof? I live in GA too and know how hot them attics get.

[sao95]

don't they cut holes in the top plate from the attic and blow it down into the walls :confused: I'd definately do the attic and walls if the walls are not insulated, and replace the windows, if you live there your entire life it will save you money, and it'll up the price and ability to sell the house later....

[sao95]

here's a good link http://www.energy.iastate.edu/efficiency/HomeSeries1.pdf#search=%22blowing%20insulation%20i nto%20walls%20through%20top%20plate%22

[housedude]

Sao no you have to go in from the inside because the outer walls have studs running horizontaly that creates pockets that you could not get to. Houses are dirt cheap here so I dont think i would se a return on the windows from the sale:( If I was still in phoenix it would be a whole new story :D

Markb Its more like radiant heat. the roof is black. It has gable vents as well as ridge vents on top. I think it also has soffit vents under perforated siding not 100% sure on that one. One thing that does not help is that all the registers are in the floor so the cold air tends to pool on the floor. Whats is this thing you call a contractor? :D Put it this way I am so cheap I refinished the hardwood under the carpet to save money. Massive pain and mess but in the end it was worth it and everyone was impressed with the results including me, and I would do it again.

[Hockeyfan]

Put in a ceiling fan to move the air around. That worked here for our downstairs family room. We too have floor registers. Lots of pockets of cool/hot air. The fan moves it nicely.

[sao95]

Sao no you have to go in from the inside because the outer walls have studs running horizontaly that creates pockets that you could not get to.

:confused: fire blocks?

[Mark B.]

Put in a ceiling fan to move the air around. That worked here for our downstairs family room. We too have floor registers. Lots of pockets of cool/hot air. The fan moves it nicely.

Housedude,

This would be the first thing I would do before adding more insulation to the attic. If you have all the venting you say you do in your roof working correctly the heat should not be working it's way down to the rooms below. I assume your returns are low or on the floor as well. If they are this only compounds the problem.