Question on Insulation

shumakerscott · 01-11-2008, 04:50 AM

I'm in the process of buying an old, 100+ yrs, sandstone house. Very thick walls. Sandstone is very common here. The owner has installed a new wood fired heating system tied in to a 900 liter exchange tank and 6 solar panels. All rooms have radiators. Say no to OPEC! There is a whole lot of work to do on the floors, ceilings, doors ect.. I will try and post pics as I work on things. The first thing I have to do is install insulation. There is none. I want to use non-backed fiberglass because I already have 4 big rolls of it. It will go in between the roof beams. No attic, it is all living space, sloped walls. I also want a radiant barrier, clay tiled roofs hold heat in the summer. I know that I need a vapor barrier too. Can I use perferated aluminum barrier on the inside or should it go behind the insulation nearer the roof? My buddy also has a roll of some sort of goretex type stuff for vapor barrier. What is the right way to go? Thanks SHU

NateHanson · 01-11-2008, 08:36 AM

The vapor barrier always goes on the warm side of the insulation, as moisture will move from warm to cold. So regardless of where the insulation is installed, the vapor barrier will face the heated interior of the building.

shumakerscott · 01-11-2008, 09:02 AM

Then I would want a perforated radiant barrier on the outer side?

jiggyjack · 01-11-2008, 05:39 PM

Tyvek or similar.

Big Bob · 01-11-2008, 06:01 PM

the idea is to get rid of humidity. K factor is determined by temp at a given humidity. R factor is derived from this bell curve factor.

concretemasonry · 01-14-2008, 12:22 AM

You cannot rely on many of the ideas on insulation and vapor barriers from the U.S. - Most U.S. were educated by the Pink Panther and those concepts are based on lightweight construction using materials tested under steady state conditions is a laboratory for 24 hours - not really comparable to materials in a massive house. - The U.S. does have provisions for heavy construction, despite Ownes Corning objections, but most people do not recognize the benfits.

I am sure that if you have lived in a traditional permanent European home, you understand the differences and the needs for comfort and econmics. Most European/EU standards are ahead of U.S. because they represent all types of construction. - You have probably found this out if you are aware of the vast difference between the U.S. windows and the good European windows. - the same applies to appliances, except we usually the see the lower quality stuff in the U.S. at big boxes.

Did you change the spelling from Schumacher/Schuhmacher to Shumaker or was it your ancestors? - From a Luxenbourger (Mosel valley).