Insulation is any material used to slow the transmission of heat or reduce the transmission of sound. Typical materials include fiberglass, foam, blown cellulose, and reflective foil. This should not be confused with weather stripping.
2
votes
3answers
413 views
What is a good solution for hiding insulation in an unfinished basement?
First off, let me note that I am a tenant in this house. My landlord lets me do small improvements, but I'm not going to finish the basement with drywall myself.
Basically, we have an unfinished ...
1
vote
2answers
208 views
What are some cheap (and landlord friendly) ways to fix a drafty flat?
The worst affected seems to be my room. It is the end of the turret with a massive vent (now gaffa-tape sealed) I will be sitting by the wall and actually feel the freezing cold air against my neck ...
3
votes
2answers
147 views
How can I insulate the floor of a room above a porch?
I've been searching around for an answer or pointers on this for a while, it's possible I'm using the wrong phrases when searching!
I have a UK 1930's built semi-detached house, Streetview pic before ...
1
vote
1answer
577 views
What could be causing my bedroom to be so cold, and how can I make it warmer?
I live in a two story townhouse with a basement this summer, they replaced the furnace and air conditioning unit. Last winter i put the 3M film over the windows to help with drafts and it worked great ...
2
votes
3answers
721 views
Will insulating pipes shorten the time it takes for hot water to reach the faucet?
Ok, so I took a few weekends and totally insulated all hot water pipes I could get access to from the water heater. Now, I still wait approx 90 seconds for hot water to reach the farthest faucet from ...
3
votes
1answer
244 views
How do I raise my garage ceiling after spray foaming?
I'm starting to add central vac to my house, which mostly involves pipes in the garage. I cut a hole in the garage ceiling (drywalled) to check things out, and found there's an 18" up to the bottom of ...
5
votes
2answers
465 views
What are the differences between hot and cold roof systems?
Can someone explain the differences, pros and cons of a hot roof vs a cold roof?
I would like to vault a ceiling in an addition off of our family room, taking the drywall all the way up to the roof ...
4
votes
1answer
135 views
Can I use a magnetic air seal on an exterior door?
It occurred to me it may be a good idea to air seal an outdoor door using a similar magnetic seal as refrigerator doors. I can't find this product available today. Maybe because it would make opening ...
4
votes
3answers
441 views
How should I insulate a room built into a metal barn?
I'm building a room into our (existing) barn; how should I best go about insulating it?
The barn is a Morton building -- pole barn construction, metal siding. It's closed on three sides but open on ...
1
vote
1answer
142 views
What specifications should I look at when choosing an exterior door?
I'm considering replacing the front door, and I'd like to know what to look for to get the most insulation. When shopping for doors, I'm not sure what I should be looking at to determine which doors ...
2
votes
2answers
205 views
Is dirty batt insulation on attic floor a sign of air leakage?
My attic is 530 sqft, with soffits, ridge vent and some 18"X18" window with mesh over it (I cant recall its name). The house was built in 1960 and has batt insulation on the attic floor. The batt ...
3
votes
2answers
198 views
What can I do in this vented crawlspace to keep the room above warmer?
I've recently moved to a new home. This home had an addition that was built on top of a Crawlspace that is vented to the outside. Needless to say, the morning after the first cold night made me ...
6
votes
1answer
371 views
How to properly seal the transition between basement wall framing and spray-foamed box joists?
We're looking at insulating the box joists of our concrete foundation. We have 2x3" walls framed which are holding batt insulation, which are 3-4" away from the wall (to accommodate a layer of batt ...
3
votes
1answer
458 views
How can I insulate my garage?
My sister's garage gets very cold and very hot as it is not currently insulated. She has the heating/ac unit in there as well as a deep freezer. The attic space directly above the garage has no ...
2
votes
2answers
306 views
How do I properly insulate an attic ceiling?
I'm considering insulating my attic ceiling using a foam kit.
Doing a bit of research tells me that air sealing and proper ventilation are key
I live in Long Island NY and currently have about R-19.
...
0
votes
0answers
82 views
Is this Home Insulation quote too much? [closed]
Recently got a Home Energy audit and the company provided a quote to perform the following:
- Open Cell foam insulation for Attic ceiling. He didn't measure the attic ceiling square footage, instead ...
3
votes
1answer
207 views
Are there any DIY polyurethane foam insulation options available?
I recently had a leak (hurricane Sandy) in an "eave"-like space that required the removal of a part of my drywall ceiling. All of the insulation that was above the ceiling was drenched. To replace it, ...
1
vote
0answers
129 views
Do I need to add a protective layer to insulation for wall heater?
I am going to install a 4000 watt wall heater to an add on. It is the kind of wall heater that is seated in the wall. i also plan to install insulation in between my wall studs. there will be ...
8
votes
3answers
675 views
How do I remove blown in attic insulation?
I want to replace the drywall ceiling in my house. It's old and has been painted over a million times. Home was built in the 50s. How do I replace the ceiling without replacing the insulation? Or if I ...
3
votes
3answers
377 views
Is torn kraft paper vapor retarder in the attic a problem?
I'm adding additional insulation in my attic. Unfortunately, I tore the kraft paper vapor barrier of the existing fiberglass insulation in many places while air sealing. Is this a problem? Or is this ...
2
votes
1answer
135 views
What is the best way to install insulation batts in an attic?
As far as we can tell, the attic is laid out like so - first is the 2nd floor ceiling, then whatever material is right above that, then the attic joists, then there is plywood nailed to the joists, ...
3
votes
1answer
164 views
Can I add unfaced insulation on top of faced insulation which is on top of cellulose?
I want to roll out some additional fiberglass insulation in my attic. Currently there is loose cellulose with faced fiberglass batts placed on top of the cellulose. The facing is facing out as in ...
3
votes
4answers
647 views
What is the best way to insulate a room with glass window for winter?
Winter is approaching and I have heard that some people insulate glass windows and balcony doors during winter to preserve heat. What materials can I use to do this? I am living in a rented apartment, ...
2
votes
4answers
543 views
What to do with a cold corner?
I live in an apartment on the 4th floor. My bedroom has the misfortune of being in the very corner of the building - it has two outer walls. On top of that, the corner between these two walls is ...
3
votes
1answer
634 views
How should I insulate around pipe/cable holes in drywall?
Notice the gaps between the pipes and the drywall in the pictures above? These gaps appear in both the walls and the ceiling, and I feel like in at least one case, I've noticed a difference in air ...
3
votes
1answer
450 views
Should I cover a skylight well from the inside?
I made the mistake of having a Velux skylight installed in my bedroom. The installation was done by pros, both inside and out, and it has never leaked through 2 hurricanes. The installation was done ...
3
votes
1answer
329 views
Worthwhile to insulate basement ceiling while remodeling?
I have an existing finished basement where I'm in the process of replacing an severely damaged plaster ceiling with drywall. I've got the entire thing open, and as it's an old house (1925) there is ...
5
votes
1answer
252 views
How can I replace ceiling gypsum board and loose fill insulation at the same time?
I lost most of a ceiling panel due to water saturation and collapse. It was removed along with insulation residue and a temporary fiber board panel tacked in in its place. Now I would like to install ...
3
votes
2answers
192 views
Is it a good idea to put 1/4" XPS under engineered floors?
We're pulling out the carpet in a room next to a room with hardwood floors. After removing the carpet and putting down the engineered floor, we'll be 1/4" short of the hardwood.
Options:
Use ...
0
votes
3answers
186 views
How do I insulate exterior basement wall?
Working from scratch with a bare wall. What do I do? 3 hardware stores have told me 3 different things. We have very cold winters here. Looking for cheapest and highest R value. contractor next door ...
5
votes
5answers
860 views
How can I insulate a basement wall that has 1x1 framing installed on it?
It is freezing in my basement so I decided to re-insulate my daughter's bedroom. I removed the old paneling walls to find that it wasn't insulated! There was a water barrier and a heat shield. My ...
3
votes
1answer
314 views
Does my wood stove pipe have to be chrome to be safe to use?
I'm currently renting a house that has a wood stove, and figured that as it's used as a rental property, the stove would be safe to use. However a friend of mine today was telling me that if the ...
2
votes
1answer
854 views
Can a new ceiling be build directly onto an old one
I would like to build a new ceiling on to an old slightly sagging and poorly finished ceiling (peeling paint and no joint plaster used). I see this way as more convenient and less messy than ripping ...
3
votes
1answer
97 views
Should I have my old ceiling vacuumed before installing insulation?
My house (built about 1890) has no insulation in the roof and so I plan to put in insulating batts. There is a lot of old dust and a few possum droppings up there, and I have heard that the dust can ...
3
votes
2answers
1k views
Can I install cellulose insulation without a blower machine?
I've purchased a few bags of loose fill cellulose insulation from the local hardware store (GreenFiber brand). How will the insulation work if I don't put it through the machine to fluff it and force ...
8
votes
2answers
4k views
What's the best way to keep my garage from freezing?
I live in Colorado. My 1950s house has a one-car attached garage that was built in the 2000s. The walls that are not shared with the house are not insulated: the studs and sheathing are visible from ...
0
votes
1answer
118 views
Cost of Sound proof insulation [closed]
I have 1200 sqft area of flooring that is going to be insulated with cotton. The installers say that sound proof insulation is going to cost $1000 more. So that's like almost an extra $0.80 per ...
4
votes
4answers
1k views
How should I insulate the walls and ceilings of this 1920's semi-detached brick house?
I'm renovating a 1920's semi-detached house. The plaster on the walls was slapped straight on the wall about an inch thick, and the ceilings were lath and plaster which had been overboarded. Most of ...
3
votes
2answers
252 views
What should I do about this possible mold I found under paint?
I live in Austin, Texas, which is important in that we don't receive much rain, and it's not very humid.
I was peeling paint off of the old drywall, and found what appears to be mold on the bottom of ...
6
votes
1answer
703 views
Does it do any good to use fiberglass insulation if you're not going to drywall?
My attached garage is not insulated. When I look up, I see the roof sheathing.
I was thinking of adding insulation to the garage. The problem is there is no attic space, so I shouldn't drywall it ...
0
votes
0answers
33 views
Oven Insulation [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How do I replace oven insulation that has been soiled by mice and smells bad?
My oven insulation had to be removed due to it being soiled by mice. The oven is an older ...
5
votes
1answer
108 views
Is a sealed attic appropriate for Southern California?
I have a two-story house. Half the house has a cathedral ceiling (which will be left as is) and the other half has a traditional attic with no soffits. The only ventilation in the attic comes from two ...
9
votes
6answers
1k views
How can I insulate my attic on a tight budget?
My attic is running 135Fahrenheit (55 Celsius) and more right now. And that's before it even gets to the hottest part of the day! The A/C guy said the A/C's are working perfectly. But he tested the ...
2
votes
2answers
242 views
Is a thick, unvented hot roof a good candidate for spray foam?
Upon removing some drywall from an unvented hot roof I noticed two serious issues:
1) The roof sheathing is not a taped or sealed ply but a 2x8 T&G
2) There is no vapor barrier and the cavity ...
2
votes
3answers
871 views
How should I insulate a bedroom in the attic?
After doing lots of research and reading lots of different opinions I would like to know what is the best way to insulate and vent a 1 1/2 story house that has a bedroom upstairs in the roof/attic ...
3
votes
1answer
252 views
Should I install vapor barrier in a seasonal cottage?
I am installing drywall in the bedrooms of a seasonal cottage in northern Ontario. It is unheated in the winter. The cottage is insulated with R14 insulation. Will the installation of a vapour ...
4
votes
2answers
393 views
Do I need an air space between insulation and flooring in the attic?
As part of a local council grant, I am getting my attic floor insulation (2 inch thick fibreglass) replaced with 4 inch thick insulation. It will lie between the joists, on top of the plasterboard ...
7
votes
1answer
151 views
How do I replace insulation in the corner?
I'm re-insulating a room in my house, and have come to the corner. The studs are arranged like so:
x| | |
-
-
x = the space I'm talking about, | = studs of an interior wall, - = studs of an ...
4
votes
2answers
1k views
Are there any dangers associated with rigid foam insulation?
Is there any danger of bad fumes/gasses being released from polyisocyanurate or polystyrene rigid foam insulation? I'm planning on insulating my bedroom from the inside (ie: putting the insulation ...
5
votes
2answers
352 views
Can I put rigid foam on studs to prevent thermal bridging?
I'm re-insulating an interior wall & putting up drywall to replace the old plaster walls. Rather than screwing the drywall directly into the studs, I'm toying with the idea of putting a 1/2 inch ...
