On insulating/air sealing an old stone or brick homes

1814 Views 8 Replies 3 Participants Last post by Windows on Wash, Feb 2, 2016

Minotaar

Discussion Starter · Feb 1, 2016

Hi,

First post - a question. Apologies for being clueless; I was not able to find an answer via searching the forum.

I'm house shopping in an area with lots of old stone and brick houses (100-150 yrs old) that are drafty and energy inefficient. Can these homes be made airtight without using spray foam and without removing the wooden framing?

Is it possible install foam panels between and inside the framing, creating thicker walls but achieving airtightness and greater R-value? Wouldn't that trap the wooden framing in a cold and moist space between the (Taped) foam panels and the stone wall, creating a mold risk?

Can rigid foam panels be installed between joists using spray foam at the edges, to minimize the use of spray foam and still achieve some airtightness?

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Windows on Wash

· #3 · Feb 1, 2016

The short answer is yes. Where is the home though (in terms of climate).

The potential problem with your interior foam option is that the outer edge of the stud of sheathing because much colder and can be location of the condensation which creates the exact opposite effect you are going for.

You have also changed the way the wall can dry out with interior foam. If the bulk of the moisture in the air was from the home, that isn't as problematic.

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Windows on Wash

· #5 · Feb 1, 2016

What is the wall construction in terms of layers?

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Windows on Wash

· #7 · Feb 2, 2016

The first thing to do would be to air seal and insulate the ceiling plane as well as any gaps/cracks and a crawlspace retrofit if you have one.

Beyond that, when you get into wall modifications (again...still need to know the specific construction in terms of layers and how it currently directionally dries), you can create some issues if you aren't careful.

Air seal and insulate is first and even doing that will make the walls work much better from the outset.

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Windows on Wash

· #9 · Feb 2, 2016

Still need to know what the Wall layers are in order to be safe. It's very possible that dense packing cellulose is an option, but we really need to know what and how the wall is constructed.

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