i hate brick houses

rick32 · 08-08-2006, 09:19 PM

newbie here i have a brick house im trying to remodel, and i desperately need to know the right way to insulate the exterior walls without adding 2x6es and shrinking my living space

any help would be appreciated.....rick

Littlefatdog · 08-09-2006, 12:38 AM

where are you at now? ~1" furring strips with plaster lathe over them? or exposed brick?

rick32 · 08-09-2006, 07:28 AM

exposed brick in one room right now i put up a 2x4 wall 6" in to allow for the r-19 insulation really shrunk the room. i have three rooms left to go just wanted to know if there was another way to do it without loosing living space. i live in the north east so winter is a major factor.
tha walls seem to be about 2-3 brick layers thick if that helps......thanks

tribe_fan · 08-09-2006, 12:10 PM

I believe there is a type of blow in insulation - that involves either putting holes in the Brick of from the inside.

Littlefatdog · 08-09-2006, 09:33 PM

no blown goes in big hollow walls. the brick wall he has is going to be solid. in terms of how radiative heat works, that brick is essentially going to suck the heat right out of anything warm. not literally, but its a good way of thinking about the issue.
i think the most effective, per inch, insulation is isocyanurate? i'll have to check on the spelling. its about r-8 per inch, so you could gap the studs much wider than 18 o.c. - i dont know if that's code acceptable, but its neither a partition wall nor a load bearing wall so i dont see why not. then use 4x8 sheets. i think one version has a reflective coating, perhaps not mylar but something else that reflects radiative heat back into the room. the problem with traditional insulation right against brick with studs is that there will be a significant amount of thermal bridging. i live in philadelphia myself in a brick home.
you could even perhaps turn the studs sideways and work with the 1.5 inches. although that would give you an r-15 wall at best... still i bet it would be warmer with the reflective side than the studs+fiberglass

now that i've cast a stone maybe we'll have some more opinions

rick32 · 08-10-2006, 07:25 AM

Thanks again for your .02 This is a learning curve for me. my wife and i plan to sell the house in 2-3 years but im tired of freezing my beans off and paying a 400$ electric bill to do it! the heaters are some of the first ones to come out so there pretty old. they draw a lot of amps but get about as warm as a fart. I replaced the one in the boys room and in the kitchen and that made a world of difference. now i just want to keep the heat in. thank you all for your help

08-08-2006, 09:19 PM	#1
rick32 Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 78	i hate brick houses newbie here i have a brick house im trying to remodel, and i desperately need to know the right way to insulate the exterior walls without adding 2x6es and shrinking my living space any help would be appreciated.....rick

08-09-2006, 12:38 AM	#2
Littlefatdog Newbie Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 11	i hate brick houses where are you at now? ~1" furring strips with plaster lathe over them? or exposed brick?

08-09-2006, 07:28 AM	#3
rick32 Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 78	i hate brick houses exposed brick in one room right now i put up a 2x4 wall 6" in to allow for the r-19 insulation really shrunk the room. i have three rooms left to go just wanted to know if there was another way to do it without loosing living space. i live in the north east so winter is a major factor. tha walls seem to be about 2-3 brick layers thick if that helps......thanks

08-09-2006, 12:10 PM	#4
tribe_fan Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Cleveland, Ohio Posts: 223	i hate brick houses I believe there is a type of blow in insulation - that involves either putting holes in the Brick of from the inside.

08-09-2006, 09:33 PM	#5
Littlefatdog Newbie Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 11	i hate brick houses no blown goes in big hollow walls. the brick wall he has is going to be solid. in terms of how radiative heat works, that brick is essentially going to suck the heat right out of anything warm. not literally, but its a good way of thinking about the issue. i think the most effective, per inch, insulation is isocyanurate? i'll have to check on the spelling. its about r-8 per inch, so you could gap the studs much wider than 18 o.c. - i dont know if that's code acceptable, but its neither a partition wall nor a load bearing wall so i dont see why not. then use 4x8 sheets. i think one version has a reflective coating, perhaps not mylar but something else that reflects radiative heat back into the room. the problem with traditional insulation right against brick with studs is that there will be a significant amount of thermal bridging. i live in philadelphia myself in a brick home. you could even perhaps turn the studs sideways and work with the 1.5 inches. although that would give you an r-15 wall at best... still i bet it would be warmer with the reflective side than the studs+fiberglass now that i've cast a stone maybe we'll have some more opinions

i hate brick houses