Insulating a home built in 1958?

[spike95]

Hi Guys,

I am new to the forum and this is my first post. I am closing on my first home this coming week, and I couldn't be more excited/nervous. It is a 1,200 sq. ft. one story house built in 1958 in the Spring Branch area. Now that I've found this forum, I can tell it will be very valuable to me in the next month or so as I prepare the house to move in. I am wanting to get the best insulation possible for this house as I like to keep it kinda cold and I know the investment will pay for itself. I've gotten quotes from a few places to add 10-12" of insulation into the ceiling (on top of the old 4" stuff) plus radian barriers in the roof. The roof is only a couple years old, so it'll need to be something installed from the inside instead of under the roofing. Now that I've come on here, I am finding all the differences in insulation that I am totally ignorant about and wondering if the quotes I got are even for the right thing. What would you guys recommend I put into my house and who to do it? Thanks in advance for any help!

[musicman]

ch 11 just had a story on radiant barriers.

as for insulation, you have several options to increase the r-value of your attic, rolls, blown in etc. just up to you. one thing i would add to your list is attic ventilation. make sure you have plenty of points where air can enter and leave your home. when the insulation is installed, make sure they don't block these vents.

[KatieDidIt]

We used EAS this Spring to do spray insulation. I think it helped. With the way energy prices are this summer to last summer i can't give you a real answer.

We opted out of the radiant barrier paint because I understand it can be diluted and you don't get what you pay for. We are looking into radiant foil.

[jm1fd]

You should also look into having icynene foam sprayed on the underside of the roof to turn the attic into conditioned space....expensive but I can see how it could be worth it.

Of course, for the purposes of efficiency, what's more important than insulation is having a properly installed A/C unit with a high EER (not SEER) and well sealed and insulated ducts.

[plumber2]

Be careful and don't over insulate your 1958 era home. These homes were built to breath. If you don't allow for proper ventilation in the attic and walls, you could encounter mold later on. Nobody wants a home that's had a mold problem.

[flipper]

Be careful and don't over insulate your 1958 era home. These homes were built to breath. If you don't allow for proper ventilation in the attic and walls, you could encounter mold later on. Nobody wants a home that's had a mold problem.

Great point, and I disagree with jm1fd's advice to use icynene.

flipper

[cynative]

You may not want to put too much money into the attic until you check to see if the walls even have insulation. If the house started with window units and then had central air installed later, chances are there is nothing inside the walls. Like was said before, they were made to breathe.

After you're sure you have some wall insulation, you could lay some R19 batts in the attic, and if done well, that should be sufficient. Considerably cheaper than some of the high tech wonders out there.

[BryanS]

You may not want to put too much money into the attic until you check to see if the walls even have insulation. If the house started with window units and then had central air installed later, chances are there is nothing inside the walls. Like was said before, they were made to breathe.

After you're sure you have some wall insulation, you could lay some R19 batts in the attic, and if done well, that should be sufficient. Considerably cheaper than some of the high tech wonders out there.

No where near enough for an attic. Code is R-30 or better. Lay R-19 over R-25 batts (or vice-versa), if you go down that path. You need 14 to 16", blow-in (easiest). This, and a strong, efficient central air system, ample attic ventilation, is going to give you the biggest return in terms of comfort in your home.

You probably won't have insulation in the walls, will have single-pane aluminum frame windows, etc. You are just going to have to live with that. Also, the spray-on radiant barrier... The Ch. 11 report never actually gave any information as to whether it worked or not. They interviewed that guy... but they didn't take before and after temp readings to inform us "Hey, it does work." Or "It's a rip off." Kept waiting for the punch line, but no.

[cynative]

No where near enough for an attic. Code is R-30 or better. Lay R-19 over R-25 batts (or vice-versa), if you go down that path. You need 14 to 16", blow-in (easiest). This, and a strong, efficient central air system, ample attic ventilation, is going to give you the biggest return in terms of comfort in your home.

You probably won't have insulation in the walls, will have single-pane aluminum frame windows, etc. You are just going to have to live with that. Also, the spray-on radiant barrier... The Ch. 11 report never actually gave any information as to whether it worked or not. They interviewed that guy... but they didn't take before and after temp readings to inform us "Hey, it does work." Or "It's a rip off." Kept waiting for the punch line, but no.

Code is R-19 unless there is more than 15% glazing (window surface), which I doubt unless there is a wall of glass somewhere on this little house. Over 15% moves to R30.

[BryanS]

Code is R-19 unless there is more than 15% glazing (window surface), which I doubt unless there is a wall of glass somewhere on this little house. Over 15% moves to R30.

Please provide a link to your source.

Here is mine:

http://www.hctx.net/CmpDocuments/103/AAP05/Minimum%20Acceptable%20Property%20Standards-2008.pdf

Harris County Community Services Department

Harris County, Texas

Minimum Acceptable

Standards for Residential

Acquisition, Construction

and Rehabilitation

9. ENERGY CONSERVATION - All structures shall comply with energy conservation measures to the maximum extent feasible. These measures include, but are not limited to:

a. Installation of insulation or the installation of additional insulation, especially in the attic/ceiling areas: The recommended level for ceiling insulation is to an R-30, wherever possible;

b. Weather-stripping;

c. Caulking;

d. Replacement of ineffective or inefficient heating/cooling systems;

e. Replacement of single pane window units with thermal units or, the installation of combination storm windows if the single window units will not be replaced.

INSULATION - Attic areas and floors over cold crawl spaces will be insulated to R-30 or to cavity capacity if less than 3 inches of insulation is currently in place. Walls will be insulated only if the panel or wallboard is removed. Plastic ground covers will be placed in crawl spaces

20

under insulated floors. Recessed ceiling light fixtures will be covered, leaving an air space, before insulation is placed over them.

To me, it appears to be R-30... Maybe I have been under the wrong impression this whole time. Would love to see other sources that point to the contrary. Even if some other code document indicates R-19, it would be ill-advised to insulate to that level in your attic and not R-30+.

[cgallagher]

If you add insulation, be careful about blocking the soffit vents located at the eaves. You can cause more harm than good.

[flipper]

If you add insulation, be careful about blocking the soffit vents located at the eaves. You can cause more harm than good.

Good point! They carry insulation baffles at home depot and lowes now:

flipper

[cgallagher]

Mmmmm...., nice pics. But it looks like a 14 on 12 roof pitch. Typically they're hard to find in the Spring Branch area. You're probably going to find that your roof is 3/12 - 6/12, and it makes installing baffles very difficult. Just keep in mind, if you install batts, don't run them all the way to the edges. If you blow in, go around the soffits afterwards and use a powered blower to clear any insulation that may have falled over the holes.

[BryanS]

Mmmmm...., nice pics. But it looks like a 14 on 12 roof pitch. Typically they're hard to find in the Spring Branch area. You're probably going to find that your roof is 3/12 - 6/12, and it makes installing baffles very difficult. Just keep in mind, if you install batts, don't run them all the way to the edges. If you blow in, go around the soffits afterwards and use a powered blower to clear any insulation that may have falled over the holes.

I've installed baffles on as low as 4:12. It can be done. I've worked in the attic space of a house built in 1950 that was 3:12. It would be near impossible in that situation. But 4:12 and better, you should be able to get in there...

[cynative]

Please provide a link to your source.

http://www.publicworks.houstontx.gov/plann...ptive_Final.pdf

As far as I know Harris County does not enforce code on this, but the city of houston does and this is their energy form for residential.

[BryanS]

http://www.publicworks.houstontx.gov/plann...ptive_Final.pdf

As far as I know Harris County does not enforce code on this, but the city of houston does and this is their energy form for residential.

Interesting. Harris Co says one thing, CoH something else (with buildings that have "few" windows). Imagine that.

Would still never insulate any home in the south to R-19, regardless of how many windows the home has. I would say Harris Co has a simpler; more straight-forward take on this (R-30, regardless of window area).

[insidehouston]

While you are putting in attic insulation I would check all the doors and windows. We thought of getting insulation put in because it was always hot and our AC bills were pretty high. Then we found their was a small space underneath one of the doors that just leaked air and a window that did the same thing. Once we fixed those we didnt have any more problems. Plus we only spent like $20. Anyway just my 2 cents.