Insulation, Radiant and Vapor Barriers - The walls are open, the leaves are fallin', and there's a chill in the air...
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Spyder Dryver
10-24-03, 08:44 AM
I have a couple of questions about insulation. Which is pretty surprising considering the forum that I am in :-) I opened up the walls of my house for a rewiring project earlier this year. The wiring is pretty much done, and before putting drywall back up on the exterior walls, I decided I should consider insulation. I can't quite figure out why the walls weren't insulated in the first place, the house has always had drywall and the upstairs seems to always have had wall insulation (I don't think it's fiberglass, it is yellow and appears to be more foam-like). Anyway, here are the details on my house:
1956 Cape Cod, located in Cincinnati, OH.
The summers can get hot and humid, winters are generally cool and dry.
Brick exterior walls
2 x 4 studs, that are approximately 16 inches on center. There are some instances where that is not the case, probably because of the dimensions of the rooms.
The wiring is brand new Romex (and Cat 5 and RG6), so we don't need to worry about any old stuff.
Here are the questions: Should I use fiberglass batts considering that the walls are open? I still can't help but wonder if there was a reason that insulation was never placed in the walls - I suppose to cut down on building costs. What about a vapor barrier? My brother claims that if I get the paper-faced batts that I will not need any additional barriers. What about the spaces where a batt will not fit in between the studs? There are some places where there may be as little as 5 inches or so between the studs. Should I just leave this open?
Thank you everyone for any advice you can offer!
1956 Cape Cod, located in Cincinnati, OH.
The summers can get hot and humid, winters are generally cool and dry.
Brick exterior walls
2 x 4 studs, that are approximately 16 inches on center. There are some instances where that is not the case, probably because of the dimensions of the rooms.
The wiring is brand new Romex (and Cat 5 and RG6), so we don't need to worry about any old stuff.
Here are the questions: Should I use fiberglass batts considering that the walls are open? I still can't help but wonder if there was a reason that insulation was never placed in the walls - I suppose to cut down on building costs. What about a vapor barrier? My brother claims that if I get the paper-faced batts that I will not need any additional barriers. What about the spaces where a batt will not fit in between the studs? There are some places where there may be as little as 5 inches or so between the studs. Should I just leave this open?
Thank you everyone for any advice you can offer!
chfite
10-24-03, 11:16 AM
If the walls are open, install the batts. Kraft paper to the room for vapor barrier. Cut a batt into strips to fill the gaps.
reason that insulation was never placed
Utility prices encouraged the use of more energy back then. The rates per therm or kilowatt went down as usage rose. Believe it or not.
Hope this helps.
reason that insulation was never placed
Utility prices encouraged the use of more energy back then. The rates per therm or kilowatt went down as usage rose. Believe it or not.
Hope this helps.
Spyder Dryver
10-24-03, 02:29 PM
I didn't think there was any structural reasoning for the lack of insulation. I just wanted to make sure all was good before I proceeded. Thanks for your reply!