Insulating house walls with blow-in type insulation...tips? (Wilson: transfer, neighborhood)

[dankspeed]

We own a brick house built in the 50's and are freezing!! A buddy at work did his himself and said it was easy. Can anyone give advise or tips?
Thanks
Dan

[rrtechno]

Was his a brick house? Those would have to have holes drilled in all the stud cavities on the exterior walls from the inside to fill with insulation. If it is not a brick house, those holes would be drilled from the outside which is a much less messy job.

Here is a link to one website with instructions.

Installing Blown-In Insulation Tutorial

[Wilson513]

Originally Posted by dankspeed

We own a brick house built in the 50's and are freezing!! A buddy at work did his himself and said it was easy. Can anyone give advise or tips?
Thanks
Dan

Start with the windows and doors. Caulk as needed. Plastic on a few of the interior windows. Then re-installation of the weatherstripping on windows and doors. Then, run the fan on your forced air system all the time when its below freezing out. Insulate the attic space with pink foam. When all of that is done, fill the wall cavities.

[dankspeed]

Originally Posted by rrtechno

Was his a brick house? Those would have to have holes drilled in all the stud cavities on the exterior walls from the inside to fill with insulation. If it is not a brick house, those holes would be drilled from the outside which is a much less messy job.

Here is a link to one website with instructions.

Installing Blown-In Insulation Tutorial

Thanks rrtechno. Thats an awesome site!

Wilson 1010,
The windows are newer windows and they're getting plastic over them today. The walls just have no insulation. They are ice cold to the touch.

Thanks guys

[kjbrill]

One word of caution. Many older homes were built without an effective vapor barrier in the walls. Also, the air gap between the exterior wall and the interior plaster was vented between the basement and the attic. I have seen older homes, especially frame, where blowing insulation into the wall cavities trapped the moisture moving through the wall and literally rotted the structure from the inside out.

[dankspeed]

Originally Posted by kjbrill

One word of caution. Many older homes were built without an effective vapor barrier in the walls. Also, the air gap between the exterior wall and the interior plaster was vented between the basement and the attic. I have seen older homes, especially frame, where blowing insulation into the wall cavities trapped the moisture moving through the wall and literally rotted the structure from the inside out.

I wonder where I could go to find out if my house is ok to insulate behing the wall. It's a brick home.

[Hargrave]

Originally Posted by kjbrill

One word of caution. Many older homes were built without an effective vapor barrier in the walls. Also, the air gap between the exterior wall and the interior plaster was vented between the basement and the attic. I have seen older homes, especially frame, where blowing insulation into the wall cavities trapped the moisture moving through the wall and literally rotted the structure from the inside out.

Spot on.

Another thing you might want to think about is that the blown in insulation tends to settle in the cavities of the home. So in a few years you might have to do it again. I don't know if the new fillers they use settle out as much as they used to but it's an issue worth mentioning.

[kjbrill]

Much of it depends the age and the construction style. Older brick homes built during the 40s probably up to the 60s had a wall structure made up of cinder block with a brick veneer which was attached by masonry directly to the cinder block. On the interior, thin furring strips were attached to the cinder block and then rock lathe attached to the furring strips and plaster used as the interior finish. These walls, because of their density, are often what feel cold to the touch and can actually sweat by moisture condensing on the cold interior wall. There is very little which can be done to increase the insulation value.

Later, this type of construction gave way to use of a wood stud (2by4) structure, with an exterior sheathing, originally plywood and then particle board, and a brick veneer layed up against the sheathing. Typically the interior finish was drywall attached directly to the wood studs. The question is whether the spaces between the wood studs were filled with insulation or not. My current home is of this type, approx 37 years old, and the exterior wall studs were insulated. This is still the typical brick construction used today. The only difference is whether the wall thickness is increased by either using 2by6 studs or staggering the 2by4s to achieve an overall greater thickness and therefore increased insulating value.

Older brick homes could vary in construction considerably, particularly in what is the backing behind the brick. If either concrete or cinder block the space is already occupied. Since the density is high, it is a good heat transfer medium meaning the interior walls will feel cold due to the heat being rapidly transferred to the exterior.

If the main problem is the cold touch and possible condensation of moisture on the exterior walls, it is possible to apply a rigid foam sheet insulation on the interior. This would be finished similar to drywall. Most people forgo this due to the overall expense, as all of the interior trim etc must be reset, built out around windows, etc. The insulating gain is not that high compared to the inconvenience and expense.

If utility costs are a consideration, the two main areas are the attic and the windows. The attic is usually the most accessible, You can double or triple the insulation in the attic relatively inexpensively. To determine whether you need more, observe the neighborhood after a snow. If your roof is the first one on which the snow melts you need more insulation. Remember - heat rises. Windows are also very significant, maybe the most. After many years of putting up with contractor grade windows I had mine replaced. A huge difference in heating and cooling costs. I am now kicking myse lf for not having done it earlier, as they would have easily paid for themselves.

[kjbrill]

I forgot you originally mentioned the house was built in the 50s, and you do have replacement windows. In the 50s, if it was a development house, it is likely a cinder block support structure with a brick veneer attached directly to it using mortar. The interior would have thin wood furring strips (approx. 1/2 to 3/4" thick) attached to the cinder block and either rock lathe/plaster or later on drywall as an interior finish. This type of wall feels cold to the touch as it is very dense and transfers heat quickly between the interior and exterior. Other than what I previously mentioned, using rigid foam sheets on the inside of the exterior walls to increase the insulation value, there is little you can do with this type of construction.

[carlottalowry]

All I want to knew is step by step how to blow insulation into a wall with a machine.thanks