Insulation, Radiant and Vapor Barriers - New Home Insulation
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02-05-01, 10:51 AM
I was just curious as to what the standard procedure is when insulating the exterior of a new home. All that was done on the exterior of the house was wrap it in Tybek.
lefty
02-06-01, 07:22 PM
How far along is the construction of this house? After the Tyvek is on, siding the exterior would be one of the next steps. After that, and after the wiring and plumbing are in place, the exterior walls will get insulated, from the inside, before the sheetrock is installed. Could it be that the builder just hasn't gotten that far yet?
Jack the Contractor
02-07-01, 06:29 AM
You do not insulate the exterior of a house. You insulate the interior. The Tyvak is a wind break. It is very good.
You could wrap it around you and get very warm very fast.
Insulation usually goes on the heated side of a wall, which is the inside. Hope this helps.
You could wrap it around you and get very warm very fast.
Insulation usually goes on the heated side of a wall, which is the inside. Hope this helps.
Resqman
02-07-01, 08:10 AM
Tyvek is basically Gortex for your house. It is a semi-permeable membrane that allows water vapor out of the house but not in. It is also a wind break to help stop drafts in the house.
Typical construction in this area is framing with 2x4. Corners of building get one sheet of 1/2 plywood on either side of a corner. The remainder of the wall is either covered with plywood, foam board, or composition board. Overtop of that is Tyvek house wrap. Then the final exterior, brick or siding. After all the utilities have been roughed in, spray foam is used to fill all the holes where utilities pass through framing. Then insulation is put between the framing members on exterior walls. 3.5" fiberglass insulation with either a kraft paper face or occasionally unfaced fiberglass then sheet plastic over the entire wall. Holes are cut around utilities. Finally sheetrock is hung and taped. 1/2" sheetrock for interior walls and ceilings. 5/8" sheetrock for walls and ceilings between garages and living space as a fire barrier.
Insulation is typically blown in the attic space with fiberglass batt insulation in the floor joists. The floor insulation is installed both correctly and incorrectly. It should be installed with the vapor barrier (kraft paper) agaist the subfloor with the fiberglass open to the crawl space or basement. A plastic sheet vapor barrier is laid over dirt crawlspaces. Basements may or may not get a vapor barrier over gravel and then poured concrete.
Typical construction in this area is framing with 2x4. Corners of building get one sheet of 1/2 plywood on either side of a corner. The remainder of the wall is either covered with plywood, foam board, or composition board. Overtop of that is Tyvek house wrap. Then the final exterior, brick or siding. After all the utilities have been roughed in, spray foam is used to fill all the holes where utilities pass through framing. Then insulation is put between the framing members on exterior walls. 3.5" fiberglass insulation with either a kraft paper face or occasionally unfaced fiberglass then sheet plastic over the entire wall. Holes are cut around utilities. Finally sheetrock is hung and taped. 1/2" sheetrock for interior walls and ceilings. 5/8" sheetrock for walls and ceilings between garages and living space as a fire barrier.
Insulation is typically blown in the attic space with fiberglass batt insulation in the floor joists. The floor insulation is installed both correctly and incorrectly. It should be installed with the vapor barrier (kraft paper) agaist the subfloor with the fiberglass open to the crawl space or basement. A plastic sheet vapor barrier is laid over dirt crawlspaces. Basements may or may not get a vapor barrier over gravel and then poured concrete.