Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with insulation

need attic insulation advice

cheemee — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:40:57 -0800

attic insulation question: I live in a split level home that has two separate attics. Is it counterproductive to have one attic better insulated than the other? (more specifics inside) Both attics were already insulated with fibreglass batting rated at around R-12 when I moved in. I recently added R-40 batting to one of the attics, and am contemplating leaving the other attic as is at R-12. I have heard from non-professionals that I should not leave it this way, as it's doing more harm than good; I would have been better off leaving both at R-12 rather than insulating one attic only.

Anybody with any know-how or previous experience care to share their thoughts? Basically I'm trying to decide if I should insulate the other attic, or if it's ok to leave it as is.

Possibly relevant info:

-the attic that I have already added insulation to is slightly lower than the other attic
-location is Vancouver, BC (temperatures range from roughly -5 to +30 degrees celcius)
-cost is not an issue
-house is approxmately 30 years old
-I did not enjoy adding insulation to the first attic

thank you!

window insulation film

6550 — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 08:21:53 -0800

Is there an inexpensive source for the heat-shrink window insulation film in rolls or larger quantities than the standard kit? I put up the window insulation last year but, because of the size and shape of my windows, each box only did about three windows. Ace does carry a less expensive kit but it seems like there should be rolls somewhere, that I could put up with regular double-sided tape.

How can I make my rented flat warmer? On the cheap, if possible?

handee — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:58:31 -0800

I'm renting a flat and it's cold, and it's going to get colder (I'm on a 1 year contract in the alps). Is there anything noninvasive (preferably cheap, but I'm ok to spend if it's really going to work) that I can do to warm the place up? What sort of portable space heaters give the best performance for electricity/gas? Are there any decent renter-based guides to improving insulation? There's one mains gas heater in the middle of the flat that's supposed to cover the whole thing. I have shutters and decent single glazing. Local people who've visited have looked at the heater and laughed.

Vapour barrier for built-in closet?

bonobothegreat — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 09:00:40 -0800

I have and Ikea Pax wardrobe along the wall of our bedroom and I'm going to frame in around it from the walls and ceiling to give it a "built in" look. The exterior wall behind it is poorly insulated (90 year-old house). It's got about 10" space all the way around and 4" behind. Should I be thinking about vapour barriers and such? Sorry if this is kind of convoluted. I would like to leave the wardrobe freestanding with a 1/2" gap around it that would let me pull the unit out in case I need to access the electrical outlets behind it (plus I'm planning on eventually running a stainless steel chimney up through one of the wardrobe sections. So, I'm worried that leaving a gap will allow the air to get behind the wardrobe and cool off and condense. If I seal it off with plastic and some kind of weather stripping, do I need to pack the empty space with insulation? Something in the back of my mind is saying that I should just put some louvered vents to allow the air to circulate behind it.

Am I way over-thinking this?

insulation

SirStan — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 07:27:45 -0800

Outside facing wall insulation? I have an exterior wall that is currently without insulation. I won't likely get drywall up before winter -- and I want to replace the windows anyways. With that in mind, what should I do to insulate the walls? Standard roll-in insulation?

Does attic ventilation = more efficient air conditioning?

JFitzpatrick — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 08:50:15 -0800

Is leaving the windows in my attic cracked beneficial for keeping my air conditioning bill low? I'm curious if my present strategy has any benefit at all or if I'm misguided in my approach:

My home was built in the 1930s. The attic is half finished, half storage with windows on both ends of the space. There are no heating and cooling vents in the attic.

The door to the attic has weather stripping and a sturdy draft guard at the bottom.

During the summer the attic gets roastingly hot. It's better now that I installed a ridge vent instead of the cruddy little can vents, but it's still quite hot up there.

I've been opening the windows on each end to get a cross breeze which lowers the attic temp. easily 10-15 degrees. For what it's worth I live in a very windy area and there is a steady cross breeze almost 24/7.

Assuming that my floors and walls are properly insulated (the floor between the attic and the living space and the walls under the attic), which I believe they are based on my inspection... is leaving the windows open to provide natural ventilation (no powered fans that would create a negative pressure space) benefiting or hurting my energy efficiency with the air conditioner on?

It seems that lowering the attic temperature can only benefit me, but I'm not heating and cooling specialist and may be overlooking something outside my scope of knowledge.

Thanks!

How do I insulate my crawlspace?

geos — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 11:59:24 -0800

How do I insulate my crawlspace? I'm thinking about next winter, now that I've barely survived this past one in the US Northeast. My house doesn't have a basement: it's built on concrete piers with a 1-2.5 foot crawlspace between the ground and the first floor. What would be the best way to insulate in this situation? I suspect the best thing to do would be to super-insulate the ground floor and then build a skirt around the house to trap the air. However, insulating the ground floor is really difficult due to limited space and obstructions. The ground floor is currently minimally insulated: it would be a lot easier to build an well-insulated skirt around the base of the house.

Also, because of topography and soil type (sand, practically beach) the ground under the house is really dry so I'm not too worried about moisture build-up....

Why do double-paned windows have a 2cm gap?

unmake — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 20:46:04 -0800

Why is a 2cm gap between window panes optimal? I came across this 2cm/0.75in figure while researching solar oven design. It appears to also apply to regular housing windows, and walled insulation in general. Nowhere have I found a justification.

Is it based on some engineering principle, or law of thermodynamics?

Help me insulate my air conditioner!

kmtiszen — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 10:17:38 -0800

lI have a through-the-wal air conditioning unit. How do I stop the cold air outside from coming in through the cracks? I have a Friedrich WallMaster through-the-wall air conditioner that's great during the summer, but leaves my apartment exposed to the elements during the winter months. It's one of those sleeve models, so the back is just a grate that lets the cold air flow in with only the structure of the AC to stop it. The unit came with this foam wadding to help seal the edges, but it just doesn't do the trick. Is there some other insulating practice that I just don't know about?

THANKS!

Help us figure out how to insulate our condo windows!

yoga — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 16:27:19 -0800

Window treatments that insulate. Really big windows in a really old building. How? [this is long, sorry]
We live in a renovated historic building that was originally built in the late 1800's. In 1994, the space was converted to residential condos. Our windows are huge. Like, 10' tall and about 6.5' wide. (The width is segmented into 3 equal-ish bays of about 2' each.) We have 3 of these ginormous windows. Glass is double pane, but these things are cheap.

The slackass developer cheaped out on a number of things, the window treatments among them. So despite having lived here for 11 years, we still have the original aluminum mini blinds on all three window segments of each window. the blinds act as a radiator (?), dissipating heat like nobody's business. Further, the vertical mullions are also aluminum, and part of the giant heat sink known as our living room exterior wall.

I went over to the local shop with measurements in hand & came away equally immobilized. I wanted to go with honeycomb shades, but the height stretches out the pleats too much from the weight of the shade itself. Unless we go with the super expensive honeycombs with structural support.

We also considered plantation type blinds with wider slats made of plastic, since the guy said the R factor would be in the middle between the mini blinds (nil) and the honeycombs (I forget the number). This one is still in the running, but it doesn't solve the vertical mullion heat loss problem.

The sills are deep - the cats love sitting on them and watching the birds. But we are freezing and need to figure out a decent modern looking solution. It's not likely the HOA will be replacing the windows for more efficient ones anytime soon. Recaulking is done once a year to the whole building.

So short of doing something for the upper 3rd of the windows and something else for the lower 3rd (to try to open up the options around the weight problem), what are our options? Money is a secondary issue to keeping our heat.

signed,
mme. freezyfeet

fixing hollow, too-short door

sparrows — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 07:41:45 -0800

I need to cheaply sound-insulate a door that has two issues: it's hollow, and it has half-inch gaps at its top and bottom. For the next half-year I'm living in a bedroom inside an apartment that's been really cheaply renovated. The door to my bedroom is a super-light hollow wood door that doesn't fill the full space of the door frame. This is useless both for sound insulation and for air insulation (I want to keep out incense and cooking smells from the hall, as well as sound).

Installing a new door is not an option. So, I'm thinking I need to do two things: fill up the door with something solid, and make its top and bottom not have the gaps.

-- For filling the door, I'd like to seal the bottom (how should I do that?) and fill it by pouring in from the top, with a funnel, something that is dense and cheap but wouldn't make a horrible mess if it somehow spilled (maybe a bag of birdseed?).

-- For making the door reach its top and bottom, just some foam or cloth padding? But there is wall-to-wall carpet in the room unfortunately -- rough and dense carpet that would catch on something that drags past it -- so my solution will have to slide over that carpet. I would really like to do this without a door-sock or something else I have to bend down and manually move every time I need to open the door. Maybe the bottom could be a rubber flap of some kind?

how to remove shrink plastic insulation tape

let444 — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 20:20:59 -0800

does the double sided tape from shrink plastic window insulation kits come off a painted wood window frame all the way without peeling the paint?

basement insulation

docpops — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 19:11:46 -0800

Need opinions on insulating a basement... I'm finishing my basement. About 2/3 of the walls are below grade, framed with 2x6 lumber set an inch from the wall. I've read competing opinions on optimal insulation strategies, with the primary concern being moisture. A contractor friend has basically stated he would never put batt/fiberglass insulation in a space like this (even with moisture barrier) that might get condensation and is recommending foam board.

I'm OK with foam board, but not sure how the hell to put it in so it's nice and airtight, imagining tons of minor air gaps where I didn't slice the panels correctly, and not sure I'll get much of an R value unless I lay the panels in 4 inches deep or more, so I need to double or triple lay them, I guess.

Another option we are investigating is sprayed foam, so anyone with firsthand knowledge of this techniques, please spill it.

Sucky puns go here

msalt — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 16:07:35 -0800

I need a vendor for a "blower door test" in the Portland, OR area. (they put a temporary door with an outblowing fan in your front doorway so you can find air leaks and patch the places where your walls suck.)

No heating this winter: What now?

MaddyRex — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 05:10:41 -0800

How do I keep warm this winter in an unheated apartment? This winter I'll be living in Connecticut in an unheated house. My room is about 15 x 10 feet with a drafty window and a sky light; the apartment is large (2 floors, 2 bathrooms, four large bedrooms, a dining room, a very large family room & very large kitchen, and I share it with 3 other people. The building is pretty old and not particularly well-insulated; the decision not to have heating this winter is because evidently they paid a mint in central heating last winter just to keep the house in the 50s.

I've purchased a fancy-looking space heater and I have a good down comforter and wool blanket. I'm fine with dressing warmly. What else should I be doing to keep not only my room but the apartment, bathroom, etc. livable?

Is bubble wrap a good insulator?

boby — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 07:00:28 -0800

I want to seal off the staircase to the third floor of my home to save on heating bills this winter. The rooms are used for storage only now. Is bubble wrap a good insulator? I would like to let light thru but keep the heat in. My home is an old Victorian with a winding staircase.

How can I dry out the insulation under my car's carpeting after a big leak?

Askr — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 07:48:32 -0800

How can I dry out the insulation under my car's carpeting after a big leak? How can I dry out the insulation under my car's floor carpeting when I can't pry up much of the carpeting?

I found a puddle in my car's passenger side the other day, flowing back and forth from back to front as I accelerated and braked. I'm not positive how it got in there, but I'll work on that separately (sunroof, window seals, underside plugs, etc.).

Here's what I've tried:

+Bailed out as much water as I could, then got as much as I could with a wetvac, but I could still hear water moving under there when I pressed down on it.

+Pried part of the carpeting away from the rear footwell as much as I could, which is just barely enough to snake a hand in there, and have been sticking a chamois cloth and little carwash towels in that opening to absorb and then wringing them out a couple times per day, hoping that wicking action will draw water from as far as the front all the way to the back there.

+Bought a dehumidifier, ran an extension cord to the car, sealed up the window where the cord went in and let it run all night and all day. I got almost nothing that way. Could be a bum dehumidifier, I suppose, but maybe the problem is that the water is not exposed to the air enough.

+I leave the windows open whenever I can to air it out.

There's no more standing water, but the insulation is like a sponge, still wet enough to keep making the towels pretty damp. I can't get under the carpet in the front - I can't see how to remove the paneling to even get at the edge of the carpet to pull it back. I'm sure mold is happily colonizing by now, five days later. It stinks up close in the area where I've peeled it back, and the whole car stinks if I have to leave the windows shut for a while. I don't want that permanent stink, but that will be a separate issue I'll deal with and I've seen other questions here that address that. What else can I do to dry it out quickly?

I looked at DampRid, but that seems to be more for moisture in the air, which won't do much if a dehumidifier didn't do much. I read about people running a hair dryer on it all night, but that sounds like a fire hazard. Other internet forum ideas on this topic haven't quite hit it.

Ideas?

How do I insulate my windows?

judge.mentok.the.mindtaker — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 21:11:17 -0800

What is the best (most cost effective way) to insulate my apartment windows? My girlfriend recently moved into a new one bedroom apartment in your average 70+ yearold railroad style 4 story stone walkup building. (Think So. Philadelphia or Brooklyn, NY)

The place recently had its interior renovated, and she really likes it. Between the kitchen, main room, and (small) bedroom, there are 5 large ceiling height casements with the crummiest, creaking, squeaking, out of the runners single-pain windows you can think of.

Since it's a rental, replacement is not an option, and since it's already hot as hell, I'd like a DIY solution I could start on tomorrow. How can I insulate these things? We have a large, new window airconditioner with a rating that far exceeds the square footage of the apartment, but it just can't keep the place cool!!

Should I rent an apartment with electric baseboard heat?

washburn — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 13:00:48 -0800

Should I rent an apartment with electric baseboard heat? Looks like I'll be staying in this college town one more year (hopefully not more than that) but I need to find a new apartment. I've finally spotted an inexpensive apartment in the desirable area of town, but it's the top floor of an older house, and it's listed as coming with electric baseboard heat.

I'll be touring the place tomorrow, and may soon be faced with a decision of whether to rent; however I'm pretty worried about the cost of heat in winter, here in the midwest, where power prices have jumped quite a bit.

Right now, I don't know what the heating cost of the place was last year; perhaps I'll be able to find that out. But I wonder what people's opinion of this sort of heating are, and whether it should be deal-breaker.

Also, I'm wondering whether there are any cost-saving requests I ought to make of the property management company before signing the lease. For example, I was thinking of asking to see the attic, and then asking them to insulate it some more (perhaps simply pumping some insulating materials over the floorboards, if the attic has a floor). Perhaps I should also request a "smart" thermostat of some kind? This is a fairly cheap rental unit, from a fairly cheap rental company, so I doubt I could get new windows, etc.; however I'd be interested in any relatively "quick and easy" requests I could make of the rental company that might reduce the heating bills in this new place come winter.

Many thanks.

How can I insulate a sash-weight window in a 1900 house?

msalt — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 01:17:24 -0800

How can I insulate a sash-weight window in a 1900 house? (I wish titles showed up on the main page so they didn't repeat the question....) Seems like you kind of have to leave a big hole there for the weight. But a lot of cold air is getting in there. I'd rather keep the weights if I could.

I want it loud... but my neighbours don't!

ClarissaWAM — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 13:31:55 -0800

Please help me find the best music solution for my new but badly insulated (UK) flat. I like my music loud - but my downstairs neighbour doesn't. I've just bought a top floor flat in a converted Victorian house with a nosy and clearly concerned downstairs neighbour.

I don't too much mind headphones as long as the quality (& convenience) doesn't suffer. I also intend to get the best under-carpet-insulation I can afford.
But what else can I do to maximize my pleasure and minimize her annoyance?

- what is the best option WRT really good headphones? (wireless?)
- considering I do like my music blasting how can I make sure she hears as little of it as possible? (soundwoofer on some sort of support, speakers high up & away from walls... what else?)
- are there any cheap tricks I am missing?

Thanks for any help!

insulating a room

dearleader — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 11:05:20 -0800

RenovationFilter: I live in the top floor of a historic building. I have a small section on the sloped ceiling where the original planks are visible. One problem is that there are spaces between the planks, an inch or into the spaces is the actual roofing material. As you can imagine this is hardly energy efficient. I'd like to "plug" up the gaps but leaving the sections of planking exposed for aesthetics. Does anyone know how I could do this? I'm imagining there's some kind of black spray foam insulation I could spray in there that would expand to fill it, and not be too visible, but I'm not sure if there is, or if this works. Any recommendations for tips or specific products is highly appreciated.

Insulating coatings for steel

Carbolic — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 15:13:30 -0800

Insulating paint? Anyone have any personal experience with such products? I have a large sun room in a 1960's era home. The frame around the glass is steel. When I run gas heat in the winter the frame sweats like crazy to the point where I have puddles of water on the floor. I googled and found several products like this . I see "NASA" and, for what ever reason, think scam. Anyone know of a paint or other coating that can be applied to steel that will provide some level of insulation greater than regular paint. Any ideas will be appreciated.

The Cold Equations - Strategies for Winter

zamboni — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 12:50:52 -0800

Help an Australian survive the North American winter. As the temperature drops and snow begins falling, I'm beginning to realise I don't know how to deal with weather this cold. While there's been lots of specific c o l d w i n t e r a d v i c e on askmefi and elsewhere, I'd like to learn the more general stuff - the everyday strategies and little tips that would make an upstate New York winter bearable.
Recommend your favourite ridiculous hat, handy car maintenance tips, advice on layering clothes, house maintenance, or any random thing that makes your winter better. I'm looking for the sort of stuff you learn as a kid, so both obvious and obscure recommendations are welcome. (Example: Apparently, it's important to brush snow off the top of your car so it doesn't slide down your windscreen when you brake. Who knew?)

On a more specific note, is there a way to insulate a glass sliding patio door without blocking the light?
Observations along the line of "That's not a ~~knife~~winter! This is a ~~knife~~winter!", or accusations of general whinging wussitude are most likely accurate, but unnecessary.

Let the sunshine in?

jujube — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 07:05:49 -0800

Is there a way of determining how much heat I am losing by opening versus closing the shutters of a drafty window? And also, determining how much heat I am gaining when the sunlight streams in through the open shutters? I have very very drafty old windows. I also have very effective wooden shutters. In the winter, I put one of those Saran-wrap looking plastic sheeting on the windows and keep the wooden shutters shut, to keep the cold out. But I really hate how dark the house gets, and all my houseplants die within days due to the lack of sun. The windows, when I keep the shutters open, let in an enormous amount of sun. In the summer, just a few hours of open shutters will render the room boiling hot. Is there any way of measuring how much heat I am losing if I keep the shutters open during the day, and also, how much heat (if any) I gain by letting the sun in?