Insulation choices in Victorian era house in NY
July 28, 2018 2:04 PM Subscribe
What are the pros and cons of adding various forms of insulation to a wood Victorian era house in NY?
We are in the midst of doing work on a house we are not currently living in but will move into in the future. One of the things we are taking care of are specific pipes that freeze chronically. They’ll get pipe insulation but the process is bringing up the idea of getting the walls insulated at the same time. Should we do it? How should we do it?
We are in the midst of doing work on a house we are not currently living in but will move into in the future. One of the things we are taking care of are specific pipes that freeze chronically. They’ll get pipe insulation but the process is bringing up the idea of getting the walls insulated at the same time. Should we do it? How should we do it?
Response by poster: One of the things we have done is electric work. So far as we know, there is no knob and tube in the walls.
posted by sciencegeek at 2:23 PM on July 28, 2018
posted by sciencegeek at 2:23 PM on July 28, 2018
Have you had an "energy audit" done on your house yet? That will give you the big picture: where are the house's energy inefficiencies, and what is the cost/benefit of addressing them. Then you can make an informed decision about how to prioritize insulating your walls. (In some areas, the local utility company may help pay for the cost of an energy audit, or the efficiency upgrades it recommends.)
If you do insulate your walls, how to go about it will depend on how your house was built, and what kind of access you have to the wall cavities. A common approach is to open small holes in each wall cavity, and blow in a fibrous material like cellulose or fiberglass. If you go this route, try to find a contractor who's experienced at it. You want them to know how to pack the walls good and tight, but not over-pack to the point it breaks plaster, for instance. Another thing to be wary of is whether there are moisture leaks into the walls. Insulated, air-tight walls do not tolerate water intrusion well (unlike the empty stud bays in a drafty old house).
Source for this info: primarily Green Building Advisor. For truly expert advice, you might try posting your question on their forums.
posted by ContinuousWave at 4:50 PM on July 28, 2018 [3 favorites]
If you do insulate your walls, how to go about it will depend on how your house was built, and what kind of access you have to the wall cavities. A common approach is to open small holes in each wall cavity, and blow in a fibrous material like cellulose or fiberglass. If you go this route, try to find a contractor who's experienced at it. You want them to know how to pack the walls good and tight, but not over-pack to the point it breaks plaster, for instance. Another thing to be wary of is whether there are moisture leaks into the walls. Insulated, air-tight walls do not tolerate water intrusion well (unlike the empty stud bays in a drafty old house).
Source for this info: primarily Green Building Advisor. For truly expert advice, you might try posting your question on their forums.
posted by ContinuousWave at 4:50 PM on July 28, 2018 [3 favorites]
Yes, I think your first step ought to be an energy audit. Where I am, this would be the Mass Save program, where someone from a state-certified contractor comes to your house, performs an audit (and also changes out all your bulbs for LEDs and installs programmable thermostats, if you don't have them—free of charge) and then walks you through your options describing to you what they are; what programs exist to provide discounts, rebates, and loans; and what your ROI will look like. They then can put you in touch with certified contractors who will come do whatever work you elect to have done, and will give you assistance in filling out the relevant paperwork for whatever subsidies you are applying for.
More generally though, what you're likely to get is some form of blown-in insulation, probably cellulose. It's not my favorite type of insulation, but unless you're already ripping open all your exterior walls it's kind of your only real option. (If you *are* ripping open exterior walls, do those walls in fiberglass batting instead. I'd stay away from spray foam on an old house like this because it doesn't breathe, and your house is not designed to be sealed tight.) They'll come and punch a bunch of holes in your walls and fill the bays with blown-in (the process looks like this) and then cover up the holes after. They'll also blow insulation into your attic.
They may also suggest things like new windows & doors, or better attic ventilation, or a new water heater. But likely they'll want to put blown-in cellulose in your walls and attic.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 6:02 PM on July 28, 2018 [1 favorite]
More generally though, what you're likely to get is some form of blown-in insulation, probably cellulose. It's not my favorite type of insulation, but unless you're already ripping open all your exterior walls it's kind of your only real option. (If you *are* ripping open exterior walls, do those walls in fiberglass batting instead. I'd stay away from spray foam on an old house like this because it doesn't breathe, and your house is not designed to be sealed tight.) They'll come and punch a bunch of holes in your walls and fill the bays with blown-in (the process looks like this) and then cover up the holes after. They'll also blow insulation into your attic.
They may also suggest things like new windows & doors, or better attic ventilation, or a new water heater. But likely they'll want to put blown-in cellulose in your walls and attic.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 6:02 PM on July 28, 2018 [1 favorite]
Our house is essentially uninsulated, and that's the way I want it.
But when we had the roof replaced, our roofer offered a blown in 100% glass fiber product that I was sorely tempted by because it had zero VOCs, and was completely non-toxic.
Fiberglass batting is held together by a resin, which is usually phenol formaldehyde based, and gives off formaldehyde fumes at low levels over the life of the product, and I'm pretty sensitive to those. I'm not sure how much it's used these days, but injected foam was formerly mostly urea formaldehyde, and that stuff gives off a lot of formaldehyde.
And blown in cellulose will have a biocide and also a fire retardant, possibly a PBB, which I would be nervous about.
posted by jamjam at 7:59 PM on July 28, 2018
But when we had the roof replaced, our roofer offered a blown in 100% glass fiber product that I was sorely tempted by because it had zero VOCs, and was completely non-toxic.
Fiberglass batting is held together by a resin, which is usually phenol formaldehyde based, and gives off formaldehyde fumes at low levels over the life of the product, and I'm pretty sensitive to those. I'm not sure how much it's used these days, but injected foam was formerly mostly urea formaldehyde, and that stuff gives off a lot of formaldehyde.
And blown in cellulose will have a biocide and also a fire retardant, possibly a PBB, which I would be nervous about.
posted by jamjam at 7:59 PM on July 28, 2018
Best answer: Please do not pursue wall insulation without consulting with someone who is experienced in historic building construction and materials. Old houses were designed to breathe, and introducing insulation, particularly blown-in insulation, can cause moisture retention that may result in rot and mold. While an energy audit is a good thing to do, again be sure that either the contractor has experience with historic buildings, or that you run their recommendations past someone who does. Typically you are better off starting with approaches that will yield more return on investment, such as insulating the ceiling and basement, installing storm windows, and reducing air infiltration via weather stripping. If you have the historic wood windows, KEEP THEM. A well-maintained historic wood window with a storm has better thermal performance than replacement windows, and vinyl windows won't last long enough for you to make back what you spend in replacing the existing ones.
The National Park Service's Preservation Brief on Improving Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings is an excellent starting point.
You can also contact your statewide historic preservation nonprofit, the Preservation League of New York State, which has resources on energy conservation in historic buildings.
posted by Preserver at 8:08 PM on July 28, 2018 [2 favorites]
The National Park Service's Preservation Brief on Improving Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings is an excellent starting point.
You can also contact your statewide historic preservation nonprofit, the Preservation League of New York State, which has resources on energy conservation in historic buildings.
posted by Preserver at 8:08 PM on July 28, 2018 [2 favorites]
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