Sometimes, It's Better NOT To Insulate
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- Опубликовано: 29 сен 2024
- Should you insulate an old home or building? Remodels, renovations, and "adaptive re-use" of older buildings are becoming more and more common nowadays. Remodeling or renovating an existing building, especially an older building, may seem simpler than building from scratch, however, upgrading these existing homes poses significant challenges, especially when it comes to insulating. Adding insulation changes the heat flow and moisture balance of the building, as the building will stay wetter for longer. In this video, we discuss the risks associated with insulating an older building and steps that you can take when assessing whether insulating is an appropriate solution for your remodel.
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I see the note that this is a book on northeastern design. Is there a comparable guide to southern design?
I had no idea that this topic was so complex... I always assumed that more insulation was a good thing! I hope homeowners are aware of these risks...
Thanks for watching, I'm glad I could raise some awareness about this issue! It's definitely a more complex topic than what most people realize.
Most aren’t aware. Most builders aren’t aware either. As materials and methods of construction change, builder education is more important than ever. Videos like this should be required to watch as part of getting a contractors license but unfortunately here in VT….. there is NO contractor’s license 😫
I'm a practicing architect in NY and MA, but completed my graduate studies in Oregon (UO). I've been following your videos on Instagram, and now I'm watching the youtube videos too. Your presentations are clear, thorough, and you get straight to the point. And your graphic representation skills are great. I'm heading over to your website to grab the Moisture Management and Flat Roofs detail e-books. Great job, very well done.
retired builder. Love your videos. Very well done and no bs info. my only problem with them is how fast you talk. I have to run the video at .75 speed, but it sounds distorted. I wish you could slow down your voice-over a bit.
You're going to save people hundreds of thousands of dollars and lots of stress with this kind of content. Thank you. I'm looking to buy a home in the greater Boston area and the only options in my price range are houses 50-150 years old. Just thinking about buying a house that has little to no insulation and oil heating has made me extremely hesitant, but I'm currently renting out of someone's basement and can't live how I'd like to so buying a house really feels like a must. Hopefully I can find something that I can afford both on paper and in reality (when all the issues start to show).
My question is, how likely is it that an inspection done before buying a house would be able to discover whether or not insulation was installed properly? Or tell me that moisture is an issue and I can't simply blow in insulation after buying? Should I simply assume that it's an issue when I'm looking at buying houses this old?
Ideally I guess you'd get the inspection after a rainy day or humid week
Thanks for the new content! I bought your book and subbed you. Keep it coming!
Thanks so much for watching and for your book purchase!
This is a topic "close to home" for me! A fixer-upper allegedly built in 1950 in NW Florida, I have found a multitude of issues. Two different building styles, one is well built and uses reclaimed lumber, the other is unbelievably deficient. I suspect an amateur enlarged the house at some point. No insulation, of course, and the tar-paper in the walls has crumbled away in numerous places. I think this is what was called "balloon framing," with air moving through the walls from the crawlspace up to the attic. Once I finish attic remediation, I plan to install a radiant barrier and have insulation blown in or else lay batts. The heat radiating down from the 9.5 ft. ceiling during summer is significant. The sun transmits energy through mainly two sides of the house in a similar way. I've been installing 2 inches of rigid foam panels with a radiant barrier and then a rain-screen with new siding. The walls will continue to move air on the inside, but hopefully this strategy will improve interior comfort level.
Balloon framing fell out of fashion by 1920. Western/Platform framing is generally better, but there is nothing bad about Balloon house other than needing fire blocks to prevent fire from spreading rapidly upward.
@@ThePTBRULES Thank you for the reply, and the note about fire blocking. An engineer (or other inspector) suggested the house may have been moved from another location, suggesting that the better framing might be older than 1950. I have discovered horizontal and diagonal framing in some places, along with horizontal furring as well as some beadboard under the drywall. I have attempted to block off the openings at the bottom of the walls to keep _rats_ out of the cavities (and attic), but there is apparently still plenty of air flow. This is Florida, so humid air is the standard usually. According to Asiri Designs' research, that means I regularly have gallons of water moving up and out through the attic. The good thing about this old house, there is no evidence of condensation rot.
Thanks so much for the fantastic videos and the e-book. You do a superb job at explaining the science. My question is: If you choose not to insulate, what does that mean on a practical/theoretical basis in 2024? I'm assuming I'll forgo lath and plaster with some horsehair - as much fun as that might be to do. So how does one approach addressing things like mold, pest/animal fire prevention? For example, I was hoping to use blueboard/plaster for my interior walls, but I assume I'd need a a moisture barrier behind it or some alternate choice of more mold resistant material (you mention fiber mesh atone point). And in a varied climate like New England, is there an approach to at least mitigate potential comfort and energy efficiency issues (states are banning propane so we're all going to have heat pumps eventually)? Without a good approach, it seems like going "no insulation" with contemporary materials and thought processes could cause problems to the structure in the same way mindlessly using spray foam would. Or I could just spend the weekend collecting horsehair...
Interesting tradeoff for older buildings. Insulation is not a panacea. How do you model flow of moisture and heat flow to make the right decisions?
It's nearly impossible to accurately model moisture flow in an existing building, since these programs cannot take into account complex variables like air leakage and convective looping. Taking moisture content readings moisture monitoring is one of the better ways that we can assess conditions, but a lot of it is judgement based on the basic fundamentals (i.e. where is the source of moisture? which side of the building is warm/cold? Is there evidence of staining? etc.)
Older buildings need to breath to live. Breathing means drying, so they should not be tightened up so that they can’t dry out.
I do enjoy your videos but I am not able to work with the guides on my own. I am interested in am independent home energy audit and I wonder what you think of those services, their certifications, pitfalls of energy audits (EX:window company and therefor not independent), and just your general thoughts on how to get started on remodels for energy efficiency for those without the trades or home design experience to DIY these projects?
I have a history of industrial drafting work, so that's where my affinity for your videos comes from. Though drafting the home I live in or trying to implement details and designs from your guides would most likely lead me into a quagmire of pitfalls and easy to avoid mistakes if I stay on the professional side. I don't think I should DIY something like this and would love to know your thoughts.
I'd love to see a video on comparing different sealing products - caulk, vs spray foam, spray caulk, tape, etc. - Recently saw this newish product by Dow that's an extreme sealant. We're thinking about the best and more cost effective way to seal the roof to exterior wall connections on an unvented roof assembly.
Look into Prosoco mvp wrap. It's a fluid applied water and air seal for the exterior sheathing and also the important details of Prosoco R guard Fast flash, Prosoco R guard gap and seam filler.
@@MrItalianfighter1 I've used the Prosoco fast flash, but wasn't too familiar with the Rainscreen MVP wrap, that's awesome. I can absolutely see an application of that product being highly useful.
@SchondorfEnt prosoco has I think 4 different types of fluid applied house wrap. The MVP wrap is water tight, but it is vapor permeable, so it's good for climate zone 5A. More than likely, a supplier in your area who carries prosoco products will most likely offer whichever product fits your climate zone. It isn't a rainscreen though, so you'll still need to install a rainscreen over it. I marked all my stud locations, installed 2" r10 rigid board, used my stud marks to draw lines at the stud locations and am installing 1/2" fir strips at the stud locations to give me that air gap for a rainscreen. I put a bug screen at the top and bottom to cover the air gap. I'll be installing the siding mounting to the fir strips to complete it all. I did my entire house solo, while having a day job, so this has been a long yr for me, but I'm excited about it.
I’m remodeling a 124 year old farmhouse in Illinois… what do i use for insulation?
Instal recuperator. No way around in an insulated house.
Excellent information, thank you for sharing!!!
To everyone reading this, people we're stupid when they built most of these old buildings, but they different constrictions, benefits, needs and technology than today. They would build in similar ways we do today, especially if some of our tools and technology was available.
Examples would be: Taller ceilings and transom windows allowed for lower temperatures in summer, while coal was cheap for heating in the winter. - Labor was cheaper, and there were many masons available than today. -Old growth lumber is far superior than box store wood. - House were built more dense for larger families, different rooms were for different social events.
Technically; house warps wouldn't become a thing until tar paper in the 1920s or 30s, and insulation like fiberglass was far far away.
Your videos are the best! I spent the past several years studying this after I was introduced to it in undergrad. Great job explaining it.
Ah, good to know!
Since I live in the warm and dry part of the west coast where moisture is rarely an issue, I can insulate as much as I want.
i saw a youtube video from an australian builder that didn't put a vapor barrier in his crawlspace, but he said it was fine because he used engineered lumber ... is that an acceptable solution?
No, that's stupid if it's a new build. Wood is wood.
Just not worth repairing old homes: Twice the work, twice the money.
i have always believed in this. I just rebuilt an older home and insulated it perfectly. one problem i believe is it is too air tight and it causes alot of moisture in the air from different styles of heat, i put in a mini split but have to run it on a special program to suck out the moisture because just one day of use it was putting mold spores all over , the windows would sweat ridiculously so i actually ended up putting a dehumidifier in to help with the moisture. Theres got to be a better way.
You need whole house mechanical ventilation, look at HRV/ERV's.
You need a few trickle vents on a few windows (bedrooms, living room...) and mechanical air extraction in other rooms (kitchen, bathroom and toilets)
HRV/ERV are the answer for tight homes
@@pauld3327 i know this is the suggested solution but surely the heat loss from trickle vents more than cancels out the benefits of the insulation?
@@bertRaven1 Absolutely not. Your heating bill will be lower with trickle vents and mechanical ventilation because:
- If humidity is too high, you need to increase the room temperature to be confortable.
- Air is very easy to heat but water is hard to heat. Dry air is cheaper to heat than damp air.