Insulation, Radiant and Vapor Barriers - Tyvek question

I'm about to tear drywall out of my kitchen to insulate between the darned furring strips they used when the place was built. :wall: (Can't re-frame the wall, for several reasons). I'm planning on using the foil-coated bubble-wrap insulation to cut down the cold and draft as much as possible (seems like it might provide the highest R-value for the limited thickness), but was wondering if putting a layer of Tyvek up on the interior surface of the brick wall first might be wise. What do you experts think? Thanks for your input!

Tyvek is a housewrap. Housewrap is used to provide a water resistant barrier on the exterior of a home, thereby protecting the sheathing from damage due to continued wetting. Tyvek has no insulation value at all.

Putting it inside your wall, or on the inside surface of your wall would be useless.

After you insulate, installing a 4 mil poly over the studs would serve as a vapor barrier so that you don't have condensation inside the wall cavity from warm moist air hitting cold air.

Thanks, XSleeper. I was thinking that the Tyvek might serve as a draft barrier of sorts; thank you for straightening me out on that. So, you recommend using the vapor barrier over the top of the bubble-wrap insulation and studs, correct?

Correct. :thumbup:

Once the poly vapor barrier is installed and your drywall is taped, it will be a draft barrier- the only weak point being the edge close to the floor. Some ppl who want to stop drafts there will use spray foam, but IMO that's a disaster waiting to happen if you have a finished floor you don't want to get foam on. If you want to do some additional air sealing to make your insulation more effective, (insulation works best in a DEAD air-space- not where air exchange is constantly taking place) insulate the wall cavity with some rigid XPS or ISO foam (1/2", 3/4", 1", 1 1/2"- whatever works for you) once the old lathe is removed and the sheathing is exposed. Rip the sheets of foam down to size on a table saw and get the foam to fit as tight as you can in the stud cavity as you press it out against the back of the sheathing. Then seal all the edges with PL300 foamboard adhesive or some inexpensive latex caulk. Then install all the insulation you want.

Thanks a million for the great information! Greatly appreciated. I'm off to start ripping things apart.