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Posted by CompleteNewb on June 28, 2008, 10:19 pm
Our home was built in Michigan in 1929. It's a cinder block basement w/
cement floor, and at the top of the basement wall we can see where wood
framing rests on the top of the cinderblock, so I'm assuming it's a wood
frame house on top of the cinderblock foundation. I see wood panels under
the aluminum siding outside (which is where chipmunks are going, but that's
a different story).
Our house is IMPOSSIBLE to heat, so I'm thinking we have no insulation. The
walls inside are plaster. When I look at the little cubby space behind the
wall in the 2nd floor (it's a sloped roof, and the walls of the room are
straight, so there's that little unfinished triangular space where you can
store stuff behind the wall along the length of the house), I DO see some
kind of old insulation in the rafters; it's black paper with all this
crumbly red nasty stuff behind it. It looks like the equivalent of the
fiberglass stuff you see today, just all crumbly and cruddy. I can't look
down the walls, though, because the slope goes out past the walls, so the
floor of the cubby space comes to a point where the sloping roof is going
down.
Is the only way to tell what's behind our plaster cutting holes and tearing
out whatever we come to until we see either insulation or the outside
surface of the wall? Might there be a better, less damaging way (like
taking one panel of aluminum siding off, removing that big wood siding
piece, etc., except that actually seems harder)?
I'd like to know if we can use that blown insulation stuff, but I think I
need to know what's behind there to know if it's possible.
Thanks for any tips, ideas, etc.
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Posted by Doug Miller on June 28, 2008, 10:21 pm
>Our home was built in Michigan in 1929.
The age of the home, by itself, is sufficient reason to assume that the walls
were not insulated when it was built.
[snip]
>
>Our house is IMPOSSIBLE to heat, so I'm thinking we have no insulation. The
>walls inside are plaster. When I look at the little cubby space behind the
>wall in the 2nd floor (it's a sloped roof, and the walls of the room are
>straight, so there's that little unfinished triangular space where you can
>store stuff behind the wall along the length of the house), I DO see some
>kind of old insulation in the rafters; it's black paper with all this
>crumbly red nasty stuff behind it. It looks like the equivalent of the
>fiberglass stuff you see today, just all crumbly and cruddy. I can't look
>down the walls, though, because the slope goes out past the walls, so the
>floor of the cubby space comes to a point where the sloping roof is going
>down.
You're not going to be able to look down the walls anyway. They have 2x4s at
the top as well as the bottom.
>
>Is the only way to tell what's behind our plaster cutting holes and tearing
>out whatever we come to until we see either insulation or the outside
>surface of the wall? Might there be a better, less damaging way (like
>taking one panel of aluminum siding off, removing that big wood siding
>piece, etc., except that actually seems harder)?
Remove a baseboard. Cut a hole in the plaster about 1.5 inches above the floor
and look inside the wall. Replace the baseboard, thus hiding the hole.
>I'd like to know if we can use that blown insulation stuff, but I think I
>need to know what's behind there to know if it's possible.
Yes, you can -- but I think that you're probably better off hiring that job
done instead of trying the DIY route.
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Posted by ransley on June 28, 2008, 10:30 pm
On Jun 28, 9:21=A0pm, spamb...@milmac.com (Doug Miller) wrote:
>
> >Our home was built in Michigan in 1929.
>
> The age of the home, by itself, is sufficient reason to assume that the w=
alls
> were not insulated when it was built.
> [snip]
>
>
>
> >Our house is IMPOSSIBLE to heat, so I'm thinking we have no insulation. =
=A0The
> >walls inside are plaster. =A0When I look at the little cubby space behin=
d the
> >wall in the 2nd floor (it's a sloped roof, and the walls of the room are
> >straight, so there's that little unfinished triangular space where you c=
an
> >store stuff behind the wall along the length of the house), I DO see som=
e
> >kind of old insulation in the rafters; it's black paper with all this
> >crumbly red nasty stuff behind it. =A0It looks like the equivalent of th=
e
> >fiberglass stuff you see today, just all crumbly and cruddy. =A0I can't =
look
> >down the walls, though, because the slope goes out past the walls, so th=
e
> >floor of the cubby space comes to a point where the sloping roof is goin=
g
> >down.
>
> You're not going to be able to look down the walls anyway. They have 2x4s=
at
> the top as well as the bottom.
>
>
>
> >Is the only way to tell what's behind our plaster cutting holes and tear=
ing
> >out whatever we come to until we see either insulation or the outside
> >surface of the wall? =A0Might there be a better, less damaging way (like
> >taking one panel of aluminum siding off, removing that big wood siding
> >piece, etc., except that actually seems harder)?
>
> Remove a baseboard. Cut a hole in the plaster about 1.5 inches above the =
floor
> and look inside the wall. Replace the baseboard, thus hiding the hole.
>
> >I'd like to know if we can use that blown insulation stuff, but I think =
I
> >need to know what's behind there to know if it's possible.
>
> Yes, you can -- but I think that you're probably better off hiring that j=
ob
> done instead of trying the DIY route.
I bet its not insulated so get it checked.
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Posted by Edwin Pawlowski on June 28, 2008, 10:33 pm
> Our home was built in Michigan in 1929. It's a cinder block basement w/
> cement floor, and at the top of the basement wall we can see where wood
> framing rests on the top of the cinderblock, so I'm assuming it's a wood
> frame house on top of the cinderblock foundation. I see wood panels under
> the aluminum siding outside (which is where chipmunks are going, but
> that's a different story).
>
> Is the only way to tell what's behind our plaster cutting holes and
> tearing out whatever we come to until we see either insulation or the
> outside surface of the wall? Might there be a better, less damaging way
> (like taking one panel of aluminum siding off, removing that big wood
> siding piece, etc., except that actually seems harder)?
Often you can see between the electrical boxes and the wall space. Unless
the house was upgraded, it is 99% certain NOT to have insulation if build in
1929. Yes, it is possible to put blown in insulation in the wall, but it
may take some special equipment and/or techniques. I'd call a pro and see
what they have to offer.. They see this all the time and can best help you.
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Posted by CompleteNewb on June 28, 2008, 10:59 pm
Thanks everyone for the excellent help. I feel much more comfortable asking
for opinions here than the local contractors. I think I live in a college
town where none of these contractors really need to do good work or become
true experts in their field, because 90% of the homes here are student
rentals that continue to get in worse and worse shape, and by the time
anything needs to be done it's practically a demolition job anyway.
Whatever the reason, I've had nothing but bad experiences with consults,
from them saying things that even I know is wrong (like an inspector saying
our sump pump empties directly outside into the yard, without even looking
up the pipe to see that it terminated), or completely disagreeing with each
other and saying that I'd destroy the house if I did what the OTHER guy
said. It's been pretty bad. I much more rely on people who actually have
experience and the desire to do good work. I recently learned to solder
water pipes and installed our new water heater (no big feat to you guys, I'm
sure, but a major accomplishment for me, especially since I saved $400 in
exorbitant installation costs by buying a pipe cutter, some pipe, a torch,
and flux), so I feel like maybe I'll be able to do more and more given the
time and good advice.
Thanks again.
>
>> Our home was built in Michigan in 1929. It's a cinder block basement w/
>> cement floor, and at the top of the basement wall we can see where wood
>> framing rests on the top of the cinderblock, so I'm assuming it's a wood
>> frame house on top of the cinderblock foundation. I see wood panels
>> under the aluminum siding outside (which is where chipmunks are going,
>> but that's a different story).
>>
>
>> Is the only way to tell what's behind our plaster cutting holes and
>> tearing out whatever we come to until we see either insulation or the
>> outside surface of the wall? Might there be a better, less damaging way
>> (like taking one panel of aluminum siding off, removing that big wood
>> siding piece, etc., except that actually seems harder)?
>
> Often you can see between the electrical boxes and the wall space.
> Unless the house was upgraded, it is 99% certain NOT to have insulation if
> build in 1929. Yes, it is possible to put blown in insulation in the
> wall, but it may take some special equipment and/or techniques. I'd call
> a pro and see what they have to offer.. They see this all the time and
> can best help you.
>
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