Insulation Updates for Old(er) Homes
If you live in the midwest and you live in an old(er) home, you’ve probably experienced the following during our wintertime season:
Cold drafts 🌬
Cold spots ❄️
Differing temperatures between rooms and floors 🥶
Condensation on your windows 💧🪟
Ice damning 🧊🧊
With another winter around the corner, it might be time to update your home’s insulation to fend against these unwanted symptoms of outdated or damaged insulation. In this article, we’re going to cover what is possible and what might be the best option for your situation, budget, and home.
Attics: Insulation
Most attics have some type of blown-in insulation installed such as fiberglass or cellulose. Current energy code dictates that residential attics reach a minimum of R-49, aka ~14” of cellulose or ~17” of fiberglass.
When we inspect attics in older homes, we tend to see about 4”-8” of insulation, if we see any insulation at all! With this low amount of insulation, these homes are losing heat through their attics all winter long.
The fix is easy: blow-in more cellulose or fiberglass. Bring your attic up to current energy code. Our crews will be in-and-out of even big blown insulation jobs in just a couple hours.
(You’ll thank yourself for the investment when your gas bill is suddenly lower than it’s ever been).
Attics: Ventilation
When we inspect attics, insulation is not the only thing on our minds. We also determine the condition of attic ventilation, typically via air chutes or baffles. If your air chutes are damaged or missing, then air coming in through your ventilated soffit may be blowing your attic insulation around, creating spots of either low or no insulation.
When we see this, we replace or fix ventilation chutes. We block areas where installing chutes is not possible. And, we reinstall any insulation that got displaced.
Attics: Air-sealing
In new higher-end homes, you might see attic air-sealing as a part of the insulation package. This refers to the process of sealing (typically with foam or another type of sealant) any penetrations between the ceiling and the attic, which prevents air from traveling between these two spaces (air as in, your home’s heat during wintertime).
In any home that is not brand new, you typically can’t air-seal the attic because the attic insulation is in the way.
But if your attic has little to no insulation, or you get damaged insulation removed to pave the way for new insulation…then you do have the option to air-seal!
Like blowing-in insulation and fixing/replacing ventilation chutes, this process will take only a few hours at most, and could have potentially large effects on your energy bills, the temperature in your home, and your comfort.
During an insulation removal project, we discovered this hole in an attic! Holes and gaps like this provide ample opportunity for heat to be lost during the wintertime, and for cooled air to be lost in the summertime. Sealing these spaces will make your home more efficient and comfortable.
Attics: Insulation Removal
This brings me to my last point about attic insulation. If your insulation is damaged- be it via mold, water, animal or insect infestations- then it is most likely time to remove all that is damaged and replace it with new. Check out this portfolio page where we go into the removal process in-depth.
Walls: Drill & Fill
Let’s say during an insulation inspection you discover that your exterior walls have no insulation whatsoever.
I’m not kidding: we’ve seen this. In homes built as recently as the 60s, insulation just wasn’t a major concern. If you live in an older home that seems impossible to keep warm, this may be the issue.
So, what do you do? Tearing down walls and starting from scratch is an option that we’ll cover in a moment. But let’s say you’re looking for something less invasive. What’s even possible?
The answer: drill & fill insulation.
For a drill & fill install, walls are not removed but rather drilled into to create a hole through which insulation can be blown-in. Holes are plugged afterward, and siding or drywall companies are often involved for any further prep or patchwork that is required. And, voila! Your exterior walls are now insulated with nothing removed.
Removing Walls
If you decide to go all-out and remove interior lathe, plaster, or other wall material to address insulation concerns, then a whole world of options just opened itself up to you. You can have your pick of installation options: spray foam, fiberglass batts, net & blow, a hybrid install, and we can address any air infiltration issues with caulking and can foam.
Granted, this will be more expensive as you’ll have to cover the cost of not only insulation, but new drywall, texture, and paint. But if it is your forever home, it might be worth considering.
You can always contact Thermal Shop if you need help deciding which option is best for you.
Unfinished Walls
If you have unfinished walls in your home- framed with no drywall, or concrete foundation walls- then these can easily be insulated with the same options listed above: spray foam, fiberglass batts, net & blow, hybrid install, or (for unframed concrete walls) blanket insulation. Any rim joist in unfinished areas is also potentially accessible and can be easily insulated to increase your home’s efficiency and comfort.
Crawl Spaces
If you have a crawl space in your home, it might be time to huddle down onto all fours and see for yourself if you’ve got any insulation down there. If that doesn’t float your boat, call us and we’ll check it out for you. When working in crawl spaces we typically insulate walls and look out for air-sealing opportunities.
So this Winter…
Do something about your insulation! Our calendar is already filling up with folks who want to address the insulation concerns they have about their home.
Call us today if you wish to do the same!
