Insulation Options?
I have renovation fatigue. I’m nearly done, but the next thing on my list is to have insulation blown into walls and roof line. I have two quotes – and I guess I need to figure out the diff between Icynene and Lapolla and all these other words. All I know is it’s another 5k…
I have renovation fatigue.
I’m nearly done, but the next thing on my list is to have insulation blown into walls and roof line. I have two quotes – and I guess I need to figure out the diff between Icynene and Lapolla and all these other words. All I know is it’s another 5k check.
Can I insulate this thing myself in a “good enough” way? These quotes are only insulating to an R-21 to R-26 level on the roof and under R-19 for walls. Can’t I do that? The walls are all open. It doesn’t seem too hard…
My main problems are: No vapor barrier anywhere. So I don’t think I can just roll out batts — or can I? I only have room for 4-5″ for insulation in roof rafters. And in one room, I can’t insulate some walls without blowing in.
Can anyone tell me what my options are? Is there something better than batts? Are those blowers you can rent at Home Depot a bad idea? I won’t be owning this place forever ..
I used sprayfoamdirect.com for my basement. It worked great. But since your budget is $5k, I am not sure this is a good idea for you. It basically works out to $1 per square foot. For R21, you will need three layers of the foam. For R48, you will need 7. While it is an efficient insulation product, it is still expensive comparative to other products.
Brenda, thanks for your posts. You make me feel so much better about the fact that our house has no insulation whatsoever.
Last year, we covered the windows in shrink wrap. Made a huge difference. Then again, that might be because each window has a one-inch gap at the top where air comes through. So your mileage may vary.
The best thing to do is have an inch of foam sprayed on the outer surface, that will give you +/- R-7 depending upon the system used. That will seal all air leaks too. Then fill the rest of the cavity with batt insulation. If you can afford it, spray the entire cavity, which sounds the way to go with your roof.
Icynene bad. don’t have energy to list all the reasons. Do research on and off this site.
I also have renovation fatigue.
Most of our homes were built using an accumulation of knowledge and building techniques. They also were built in a time of lower energy costs.
I have come to trust most evolved over time techniques, selection of the fittest etc.
In my contracting experience I have always sought the lowest hanging fruit.
What has this to do with what thickness of insulation?
Infiltration robs so much heat out of a home that the thickness of the insulation is blown (energy speaking) out of the water in comparison.
I frequently see well insulated walls, but a plumbing chase that is drafting hot air out of the house like a flue. Or window frame/masonry joints (external) that have gaps you could put your finger through.
Especially if we are talking a masonry, or masonry attached home, try to think outside the box and cut down the air leakage, its effect dwarfs any insulation R-Value calculation.
In the suburban market, this is done with thermal imaging, but that technology hasn’t really hit the city, and frequently air leaks are on a roof, or an exterior wall or basement that quickie audits never check.
Good luck,
Bruce
ediface,
yes, that’s my roof more or less — just without the attic. it’s either open all the way down to living room (half the house) or there’s a loft space/bedroom that I know will never be comfortable. your solutions sounds doable. kind of a pain in the ass. I may try my hand at the DIY foam. I understand you don’t have to deal with venting with foam, right?
If you have a pitched roof look at this; http://www.allproroofing.ca/roofing/roof_ventilation/
Nothing is better than high density spray foam but it is pricey. An alternative is to put 2″ blue/pink or poly-isocyanurate foam boards over you unfaced batts, seal with tape, all the joints to make a vapor barrier then 5/8″ type X sheetrock for a fire barrier over the foam. It’s a very DIY job and works very well.
Job was done years ago, fiberglass bats laid between the joists of the space between the top floor ceiling and the peak roof…the 3d floor, which was always hot, is now hotter than ever, and the lower floors are just as drafty. You’re supposed to have vents in the space to avoid condensation etc but we never did and have not had problems (now our new roof is vented so that worry is over). But no miracle. Nothing ever makes much difference: new double-glazed windows, foam strips around the doorways, and once I covered all the cracks with that foam til it looked like some Japanese monster movie, “Invasion of the Giant Spittle Bug.” What works: tearing off the walls and putting in insulation, then putting new walls back on. But not all our walls required demolition, so we’ve insulated piecemeal as we’ve done everything else. Basically, our giant wood house is like a party tent in Antarctica to heat. We wear sweaters.
I had my roof space insulated by federal Conservation…$2.00 psf plus $200 each for 2 vents. It made a huge difference the following winter.
I’ve also had insulation sprayed into the stud cavities in a gut reno and that is probably the best that you will get.