Plastic on the inside is usually a vapor barrier.
If you look behind the siding at the bottom, you might be able to see whats behind it. In my case it’s easy to see.
Most older homes as stated already will not have insulated walls. My house does not, but it was built in 1910.
I recently replaced all the old window with High Eff. ones and it has made a world of diffenece. I also still have a ~60% eff forced air gas furnace from the mid 1960’s. I kept my house in the lower 60’s all last winter and never had a heating bill over $200. Not too bad, especially since I am the lower unit in a duplex.
Before you go blowing insulation in your walls, you better make sure you dont have the old knob and tube elecrical in those walls. If you do, you are creating a major fire hazard for yourself.
If you have old windows, replace them first as a majorit of the heat escapes the house through windows and doors, and only about 10% though the walls.
I agree. I had a bunch of cheap $169 window depot usa windows installed in my house this past spring.
Right now I can see that it made a hell of a difference over the old wood windows.
So far I only have about 5 installed, only about 25 more to go in the whole house.
My place also has about an inch of foam insulation that goes under the siding.
This I did not know…
good info to realize when purchasing a home.
thanks! =]
The house I live in is pre-1900 and my room has floor to ceiling origional windows on 3 sides. Thanks god utilities are included in the rent.
my house was built in 1890 and has full insulation :gotme:
it’s just shitty blown in tho, looks like it was made by the homeowners lol
generally on outside ceilings/below attic you run r30 and outside ground walls you run r19
Dave,
Let me know if you do price the foam insulation. I have newer triple pane windows so I know thats not the problem. We have a 95% Dunkirk boiler and radiators. Im getting killed on gas bills in the winter. Im was at >250 a month on budget. now that my dad isnt home, I have gotten the budget to drop around the 200 dollar mark but with the wife being pregnant, I know its gonna cost me a small fortune this winter.
From everything I looked into the Window is the biggest cost saver. You could insulate the entire house but if you have a single pane window or the old dual system storm windows you are just basically throwing your money away.
I would start with a good vinyl window. I have been price shopping and I have seen some good deals and Quailty at Lenco and Bargain Outlet if you want to save some cash. Be careful on what you get though because they do have some crap there.
Think about how much you will spend to insulate this house vs. how long it will take to return on investment. High heat bills suck, but even if you save $100 a month in the winter, it’s only about $600-700 a year (cold months).
X…
Not going to help you for the walls but Lowe’s and Home Depot are both selling R-30 unfaced insulation at $9.50 per roll which is 31 sq ft. That’s below half price already and if you purchase more than $399 of insulation at Lowe’s they give you a $100 gift card.
This would be perfect for attics.
we just insulated my dads attic and used r38 on the ceilings and r21 on the walls… fyi, i guess…lol
If you have vinyl siding, just pop it off on a warm day, on a cool day it tends to crack. This is the best way to start blowing in insulation. Holesaw the cavities.
Another option is cutting holes, small as possible, in the plates from the attic. Reinforcing with blocking afterward isn’t out of the question if the plate is too compromised.
Heck if its Balloon framing you have the possibililty of filling most of the cavities from the attic as its open from top to bottom. Inserting insulation and fire retardant materials would be ideal in that situation as that style of framing favors the flow of fire.
The key is having the windows put in right, sealing around existing windows and insulating walls and Tyveking those walls will do wonders. A new window in a wall thats like swiss cheese, poor sealed doors and such, is a moot point.
We’ve had some problems with vinyl windows warping and hanging up overtime. However companies like Pella and Anderson do make pretty nice vinyls. Pella is also running a sale right now I think, that combined with the tax credits can get you a really nice window.
The best cost savings is saving up or getting a good loan to get it all done at once so your not opening things up twice. Mimicking new construction the best you can. Todays materials are worlds ahead of the past stuff.
The expandable foam insulation, like great stuff, is very expensive. A big advantage to it however is it also acts a part of the structure of the wall. Urban insulation has been the contractor we’ve used for that stuff.
*When I say “we”, thats a fill in for Castanza Building Corp.
Good info. What about for a block wall?
I would say the same thing; seal everything up as good as possible; stop all air leaks; both around the bricks and between the exterior sheathing and brickwork.
I know what I did in my new bathroom worked wonders. I took 1/2" blue/silver face insulation; cut it to the width and height of the wall cavities; then put them in against the outside sheathing (in my case 1x6s) then used greatstuff to seal around them; in essense creating a vapor barrier with the rigid insulation and foam. Then I put R13 insulation over the top of that in the wall.
Block wall… Wood wall… Replacing a leaky window with a tight window is always good. As mentioned you’ve got to install it right so that you don’t move the leaks from the window itself to around the window, but duh.
Right, But Tyvek is meant to be put on the exterior wall to seal off the window to the outside wall then side over it. With a block wall you have to seal around the window then seal off the inside wall to the block.
So, besides using a weather proof sealant on the outside and foam insulation around the perimeter of the window frame on the interior wall you really don’t have many options for a block wall…right? This had been done since the 50s and 60s. I was just wondering if there are other options or a recommended sealant to use.
What kind of block wall are we talking about. If there’s framing on the inside, those cavities should be filled and the window with extension jams sealed best it can around that. Something like a shop or garage all you can do is seal it up unless you have it framed.
There should be some sort of barrier between the framing and the block wall. If its like a traditional brick house most likely the window will be set on the framing and sealed like any other, brickmold sealing it closely to the brick, and caulk around the brick mold (matched to the paint or window color usually is the best.) Brick is kinda like a really thick siding 
My house is brick ontop a poured foundation. The window is set on framing that is sealed into the opening. I’m guessing this is the brickmold you mentioned.
I was planning on removing the window, leaving in the framework, apply new sealant, install window, then install new trim work. There really is not much room to add more insulation. I figure I would try one room to see how well it works unless you have another suggestion…?
From what I can tell the 45 year old windows (Sliding pane and storm window) are just a poor system for insulating.
Yeah that would probably be your only option.
EDIT: slightly of topic but Tyvek is more than just a house wrap:
http://www2.dupont.com/Tyvek/en_US/uses_apps/covers/tests_prove.html