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KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium Member
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK

KrK to 67845017

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to 67845017

Re: Insulating Behind Studs

lol
H_T_R_N (banned)
join:2011-12-06
Valencia, PA

H_T_R_N (banned) to QuaffAPint

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to QuaffAPint
6" of 2 pound in walls and ceiling in my 900 sf office and 1.5" of foam-board over concrete under the finished floor. I pay less than $25 a month in the middle of winter in NW PA to heat it with a electrically heated fluid filed radiant floor system. There is nothing like spray foam. I will never do another job without it.

Draiman
Let me see those devil horns in the sky
join:2012-06-01
Kill Devil Hills, NC

Draiman

Member

said by H_T_R_N:

6" of 2 pound in walls and ceiling in my 900 sf office and 1.5" of foam-board over concrete under the finished floor. I pay less than $25 a month in the middle of winter in NW PA to heat it with a electrically heated fluid filed radiant floor system. There is nothing like spray foam. I will never do another job without it.

Compared to what? How much was it before?
H_T_R_N (banned)
join:2011-12-06
Valencia, PA

H_T_R_N (banned)

Member

said by Draiman:

said by H_T_R_N:

6" of 2 pound in walls and ceiling in my 900 sf office and 1.5" of foam-board over concrete under the finished floor. I pay less than $25 a month in the middle of winter in NW PA to heat it with a electrically heated fluid filed radiant floor system. There is nothing like spray foam. I will never do another job without it.

Compared to what? How much was it before?

It matters to you why? If the OP is interested he can ask.

ropeguru
Premium Member
join:2001-01-25
Mechanicsville, VA

1 recommendation

ropeguru

Premium Member

said by H_T_R_N:

It matters to you why? If the OP is interested he can ask.

Because MAYBE some of us like to gain knowledge in case we might want to do something similar in the future?

Just cannot understand the crappy attitude towards such a simple question.

alkizmo
join:2007-06-25
Pierrefonds, QC

1 recommendation

alkizmo

Member

said by ropeguru:

Just cannot understand the crappy attitude towards such a simple question.

Neither do I.
He gives us a very incomplete feedback on his experience with spray foam.

Just like Amazon reviews of people complaining/praising about the shipping time, his feedback is useless.

H_T_R_N:

What did his heating cost before the spray foam?
What was the insulation before the spray foam?
What does it cost to heat the rest of the house?

Am I being out of line asking these questions?
If so, why am I being out of line?
Were you being out of line by sharing your experience?
If not, why were you not being out of line by sharing your experience?
H_T_R_N (banned)
join:2011-12-06
Valencia, PA

H_T_R_N (banned) to ropeguru

Member

to ropeguru
said by ropeguru:

said by H_T_R_N:

It matters to you why? If the OP is interested he can ask.

Because MAYBE some of us like to gain knowledge in case we might want to do something similar in the future?

Just cannot understand the crappy attitude towards such a simple question.

Mind boggling, isn't it?

Draiman
Let me see those devil horns in the sky
join:2012-06-01
Kill Devil Hills, NC

Draiman

Member

said by H_T_R_N:

said by ropeguru:

said by H_T_R_N:

It matters to you why? If the OP is interested he can ask.

Because MAYBE some of us like to gain knowledge in case we might want to do something similar in the future?

Just cannot understand the crappy attitude towards such a simple question.

Mind boggling, isn't it?

Not really just completely discrediting to your original statement. Don't make claims you can't or won't back up next time. If people even give you the benefit of the doubt to have a 'next time'.
H_T_R_N (banned)
join:2011-12-06
Valencia, PA

1 recommendation

H_T_R_N (banned)

Member

said by Draiman:

Not really just completely discrediting to your original statement. Don't make claims you can't or won't back up next time. If people even give you the benefit of the doubt to have a 'next time'.

Exactly why I didn't bother taking the time to answer the question.
You were not interested in the answer.

Not sure why you feel its OK to crap in someone thread, when you were so adamant about people not doing it in yours.

edit: I guess I should have added the sarcasm tag in my response to ropeguru, but I really didn't think it was necessary.

ropeguru
Premium Member
join:2001-01-25
Mechanicsville, VA

ropeguru

Premium Member

said by H_T_R_N:

edit: I guess I should have added the sarcasm tag in my response to ropeguru, but I really didn't think it was necessary.

Actually yes, given the past response we were discussing.

alkizmo
join:2007-06-25
Pierrefonds, QC

1 recommendation

alkizmo to H_T_R_N

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to H_T_R_N
So anyway, care to give details?
We're interested in the details.
More people than you think are redoing their basements (Me included).

Draiman
Let me see those devil horns in the sky
join:2012-06-01
Kill Devil Hills, NC

3 edits

Draiman

Member

said by alkizmo:

So anyway, care to give details?
We're interested in the details.
More people than you think are redoing their basements (Me included).

You won't get an answer from him given his post history. Even though multiple people are genuinely interested in the details it's not worth his time to bother with the details yet he'll post BS stuff and waste his time on that. Pretty nuts!

grobinette
Southeast of disorder
MVM,
join:2001-01-27
22152-1106
·Verizon FiOS

grobinette to QuaffAPint

MVM,

to QuaffAPint
Do you think you guys could stop bitching at and about each other and provide answers to the OP's question? Just because you don't like what someone says doesn't give you license to drag a thread off topic with unnecessary and inappropriate replies.

Sorry QuafAPint.
MaynardKrebs
We did it. We heaved Steve. Yipee.
Premium Member
join:2009-06-17

MaynardKrebs to alkizmo

Premium Member

to alkizmo
said by alkizmo:

said by ropeguru:

Just cannot understand the crappy attitude towards such a simple question.

Neither do I.
He gives us a very incomplete feedback on his experience with spray foam.

Just like Amazon reviews of people complaining/praising about the shipping time, his feedback is useless.

H_T_R_N:

What did his heating cost before the spray foam?
What was the insulation before the spray foam?
What does it cost to heat the rest of the house?

Am I being out of line asking these questions?
If so, why am I being out of line?
Were you being out of line by sharing your experience?
If not, why were you not being out of line by sharing your experience?

2lb. foam will give an aged R-value of just about R7 per inch, so a 6" wall is R42 - waaay above code everywhere, except perhaps Alaska and northern Canada. R42 is low for ceilings in cold climates, but the biggest factor is that there are no drafts with a properly applied foam job.

Fact is that most people will find 2" of spray foam quite comfortable most of the time even in winter as long as there are no drafts. I have a study filed away someplace that discusses this - I'll see if I can find it in the mess called my office.

Best way, in my opinion, to insulate ceilings is to apply the ceiling drywall and then spray 2" of foam from above onto the drywall and the sides and tops of the ceiling joists. Then use 12" (about R42) or more of blown cellulose or mineral wool on top of that.

With the 2" of foam you get the vapour barrier and a waterproof ceiling - a missing shingle never results in a leak to the living space. With the 12"+ blown insulation you get extra R-value for low cost and a LOT of sound attenuation. Nothing wrong with a quiet R14 + R42 = R56 ceiling. That said, I have R72 in all the flat ceiling areas of my 100-year old house, and R42 spray foam in the cathedral ceiling areas.

Draiman
Let me see those devil horns in the sky
join:2012-06-01
Kill Devil Hills, NC

Draiman

Member

How much did doing that work improve your heating/cooling costs? That sounds like it is a MAJOR improvement.
MaynardKrebs
We did it. We heaved Steve. Yipee.
Premium Member
join:2009-06-17

MaynardKrebs

Premium Member

said by Draiman:

How much did doing that work improve your heating/cooling costs? That sounds like it is a MAJOR improvement.

Subjectively, the place was more comfortable both in the winter and summer.

I have not done all the calcs because of lack of time and that I was doing a lot of different things to the house at the same time, all of which had temporary minuses and pluses with energy consumption. Plus my boiler was acting up, so I didn't have steady-state mechanicals last year. I need to get last years degree-day info and look at my bills for actual consumption before I can begin to do anything.

Since my house is a mix of plaster/lath over brick (1st floor) and old full 2x4 framing on the 2nd/3rd floor I have some challenges. I can only get 1" of spray foam injected behind the plaster in certain locations - which helps with air sealing but is minimal insulation. The 2nd floor wall cavities were mostly uninsulated but due to the construction of the house (1" plaster, 1/2" lath, 4" dead air, 1" sheathing, and about 1" thick cedar shingle top cover, I get an effective R5 or thereabouts just for that.

Since I will NOT willingly tear out plaster walls - no drywall system comes close to the feel and paint holding of a plaster wall - I have injected either blown cellulose or low-rise foam into the wall cavities in different locations (depends on access and criticality) - ie. foam injected behind radiators or areas of known air leakage, and cellulose where I'm more concerned about outdoor sound attenuation .... like the walls behind bed headboards or facing the street as 2lb. closed-cell polyurethane spray foam does NOT have the same sound attenuation properties of blown insulation or open-cell spray foam (Icynene - R3.5/inch - same as cellulose).

So a framed wall in my place has an R-value of about R33 if spray-foamed, and R19 if it has blown cellulose or batts. Walls that are spray foamed 'feel' different - they're warmer and there's no discernible draft but they transmit outdoor noise more than the blown cellulose walls do. You'd never notice the sound differential unless you compared the wall sections side-by-side in a room. I should get a db meter and actually measure it.

I always use Roxul mineral wool batts whenever I use batt insulation.

alkizmo
join:2007-06-25
Pierrefonds, QC

alkizmo

Member

Injecting foam in walls is somewhere down the line for me (When I can calculate my heating costs after my current insulation additions).

I can feel that my exterior walls are cool to the touch in winter, but there's no way I'd rip out all the drywall to place batts.

My only worry is that there's already some sort of batt insulation in those walls that would block the injection.
MaynardKrebs
We did it. We heaved Steve. Yipee.
Premium Member
join:2009-06-17

MaynardKrebs

Premium Member

said by alkizmo:

My only worry is that there's already some sort of batt insulation in those walls that would block the injection.

Depending on how your builder/electrician did things, you might be able to see what's going on beside or through device boxes - but that's no guarantee that what you find in one location is the same everywhere.

You could have a thermographic audit done (preferably at night or pre-dawn) during cold weather to 'see' which areas of the house lose heat. Once you understand what's behind one or two walls then you can use the thermo images to decide what to do next.

alkizmo
join:2007-06-25
Pierrefonds, QC

1 edit

alkizmo

Member

Click for full size
Read my reply for the picture above. How do you relocate an attachment picture?
said by MaynardKrebs:

Depending on how your builder/electrician did things, you might be able to see what's going on beside or through device boxes - but that's no guarantee that what you find in one location is the same everywhere.

You could have a thermographic audit done (preferably at night or pre-dawn) during cold weather to 'see' which areas of the house lose heat. Once you understand what's behind one or two walls then you can use the thermo images to decide what to do next.

When it comes to it, I will get an audit and find the cold spots.

For now, once I am done with the basement, I have to build a separation wall in my garage to make a finished laundry room so I can convert the current laundry room into a nice guest bathroom.

By attacking the garage and the current laundry room, I will get to see some exposed exterior walls and see what's what (And if there is a consistency).

So far, all I have as a "hint" is a little hole in the back wall of my garage where it connects to the house. The insulation in there looks like grey brillo.
[View picture above]
It's probably original from 1964, who knows what it is.

edit - I realize that this might have actually been steel wool stuffed in the hole to stop rodents from going into it (no idea why they wouldn't just patch the hole).