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Old 12-12-2013, 02:17 PM
 
Location: The beautiful Rogue Valley, Oregon
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Interesting reading up on the pros and cons of this on the net, mostly pertaining to moisture issues and getting a good fill - also secondary issues of underfilling or filling with too much pressure and blowing out the drywall.

The scenario: our 1950s house (concrete block foundation/daylight basement and 2x4 framed main story) has no insulation in the walls. We want to blow in insulation without taking the drywall down. We have a company coming out with a thermal camera which will show us the worst areas and SHOULD show us the wall framing (because of the thermal bridging that occurs at the studs) and alert us to problems in getting a good fill in advance.

For the block basement, we will take the drywall down and use a "Mooney wall" to put in insulation - although it does meaning removing and reinstalling all the windows as well.

Mooney Wall -- A low cost, high R value wall

Anyone tried either of these?
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Old 12-12-2013, 04:15 PM
 
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I can tell you that the cost of adding insulation to already insulated basement is extremely unlikely to have any positive payback especially when you start by ripping out the drywall. If you are saying there is no insulation behind the existing drywall in the basement (which I find extremely hard to believe...) there very well might be some increased sound deadening factors and a little bit of comfort but for even greater comfort I would give serious thought to insulating the floor which is most climates where basements are found is a far bigger factor... Basement Subfloor - Basement Subflooring Options I cannot recommend attempting to use any kind of blown-in cellulouse or fiberglass insulation in the basement. Insects and vermin WILL make it a nightmare. First choice would be spray foam, followed by rigid foam boards, followed by rockwool batts.

I agree that before you attempt to insulate the main structure it is wise to get a thermal image done. This will help alert you to issues AND should be followed up by a third party that does the "after" to prove that EVERYTHING got done correctly. I have seen far more folks get far less than they thought they were paying for in situations like you are facing -- fact is blow-in insulation is very tricky to use in "retrofit" situations and often crews encounter bracing that leaves major sections of the home with inadequate insulation.

Finally every study I have ever seen strongly suggest that the payback for the SIMPLEST efforts to add major insulation to the ATTIC and do a top notch effort just adding weather sealing to MAJOR sources of air leaks is often the far smarter path for inceased comfort. Even fairly new windows often lose their factory sealing in less than five years. Adding insulation is NOT going to change that and doors / windows / pipe exits / electrical plugs that leak air will still leave your home VERY uncomfortable / high utility costs even is insulation is added.
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Old 12-12-2013, 05:23 PM
 
Location: The beautiful Rogue Valley, Oregon
7,785 posts, read 18,764,059 times
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The attic is on the list but has to wait for now - the previous owner put in a heat pump for the main floor and the A/C unit is in the attic, right in front of the crawl space access. Between the unit and the ducting, you can't actually get into the attic. On the list for next year for the main floor is adding new pot lights in the living room, moving some of the poorly placed pot lights in the kitchen and adding a range hood (there is no hood or vent in the kitchen). One side of the house has no soffit vents, either, so we have to add them and the little cardboard shields that prevent new insulation from covering them.

To do all that, we have to get up into the attic and disconnect the unit and the ducting for access. We can't have new insulation blown in until all that gets done.

The daylight basement, which is concrete block, has a sandwich of paint over wallpaper over paneling over 1x2 firring over concrete. We'll find out when we take it down, but some of the sections we have exposed so far show no insulation behind it at all. Fortunately, in the Mooney wall example, this is all DIY stuff that we are completely competent to do, which cuts our costs quite a bit. Drywall is not my favorite thing to hang, tape and mud, but we have done enough of it in the past to be comfortable with it. The daylight basement is about 900 sf, so it is a big project but not a huge one.

Hadn't seen that particular floor product before, thanks for the link - we were considering a 2x4 floor but the main basement room has a HUGE slider which would then be below floor level and would need to be reinstalled which would have been a massive pain

The previous owner did put in reasonable quality new vinyl windows. The door seals are fairly good.

As far as positive payback - I don't expect some of this to pay for itself in heating/cooling bill reduction, but I DO expect a warmer, less drafty house, and I am willing to pay a reasonable amount to get it.We got a good price on the house knowing that these issues existed and knowing we were going to fix them.
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Old 12-12-2013, 06:07 PM
 
Location: On the plateau, TN
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IMHO....I would not use a cellulose fill in a basement situation....possible water/moisture intrusion and a set-up for mold.....
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Old 12-12-2013, 06:38 PM
 
Location: The beautiful Rogue Valley, Oregon
7,785 posts, read 18,764,059 times
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The fill is for the main floor - the house is built into a hill with a daylight basement. The main floor is 2x4 studs and the basement is concrete block.
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Old 12-12-2013, 06:58 PM
 
Location: Cold Springs, NV
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I actually worked on an insulation truck in the summer of my 16th year. I just loaded material in the machine and did what i was told. I remember a few times drywall would get popped out, and there was a guy who fixed it. I would say go for it, because it may have been one in 20 jobs we did. Just make sure to get as much as you can afford in the ceiling.
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Old 12-12-2013, 08:40 PM
 
Location: On the plateau, TN
15,205 posts, read 12,039,323 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PNW-type-gal View Post
The fill is for the main floor - the house is built into a hill with a daylight basement. The main floor is 2x4 studs and the basement is concrete block.
Sorry, I was under the impression the basement was going to be done in the same way also....
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Old 12-12-2013, 10:23 PM
 
Location: Not far from Fairbanks, AK
20,266 posts, read 36,992,598 times
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In Alaska a lot of older homes that have concrete block foundations are being insulated either inside, or outside with insulating foam blocks. But it can be quite complicated if done outside since one has to dig all around the foundation, then the blocks have to be cleaned and covered with either a moisture proof membrane, or one rolled on. Then the foam blocks are attached to the blocks, and the trench is filled and compacted.

If the foundations are bare inside (no drywall or wood over them), then it can easily be done inside in the same manner as outside, except that one does not have to dig trenches around the foundation. I also agree with others in that you can also install an insulated subfloor on the basement. The only problem would be that you have to work around floor drains and the like, if you have any.

Take a look in here (look for Walls and retrofit):
home | Cold Climate Housing Research Center

Last edited by RayinAK; 12-12-2013 at 10:34 PM..
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