Need help! How to insulate when stud walls are already up
kaidan
13 years ago
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worthy
13 years agorexg
13 years agoRelated Discussions
Need help with rigid foam and wall insulation
Comments (4)I definitely want to keep things simple. I was aware of the zipR shearing but I have heard it is typically cheaper to use regular zip board and a separate rigid foam. I don't like house wrap because I think 90% of the residential house wrap is not installed per manufacturers recommendations. I work commercial construction and have seen the tyvek required installation methods and rarely see that in the residential market here. I also thought I could save money and give me the piece of mind by taping the seams myself. I will look into the price difference on the zip sheathing and separate foam and the R-zip. Might be the way to go if it is minimal difference....See MoreBest way to stud wall with blanket insulation?
Comments (11)Based on code, I need R10, but based on my local inspector, I can do ZERO insulation. When I had the inspector inspect a shed I built, I asked him about basement finishing... I was told I didn't have anything to worry about since nothing would be load bearing (His primary concern was structural). He just said to make sure that when hiring an electrician, that the electrician pulled a permit. Last night, when I had to take some stuff to the basement I noticed something that might be a problem. When I go down the stairs to the basement, there's a wall. And I'm worried about the space between the staircase and the wall, because I'd like to put a door to the right of the stairs for a room. You see, I have 9ft ceilings in the basement, so the space between the wall and the stairs might be a bit short. How much space so I need to install a door with the trim around it? I guess I could measure one of my existing doors to see.. Thanks!...See MoreHow to add chicken manure when I've already retired the garden?
Comments (17)It's only a temporary retirement. At this time in the year nothing we put there is growing and productive anymore, so it's done trying for the year. Besides, it seemed easier to add to it when there aren't growing plants to disturb. I cut off what was left of the plants at ground level and left the roots and cut tops in place, added a layer of semi-decayed lawn clippings and some green poke sallet that had been scythed down where it was growing as a weed, mixed in some mostly finished compost as a micorbial inoculation, spread some stale urine that turned up while cleaning, then buried all that in a 5" thick layer of brown dead leaves from a neighbor's back yard. (Incidentally, his place is in much better shape, and those leaves had red earthworms and what looked like a few red wigglers living in them.) Into the leaves I sprinkled all the UCG and ground egg shells I could come up with as they came up, and some tomatoes that had been poorly stored and gone rotten. I came into a slightly rotten intact pumpkin a few days later, gutted it out (seeds were still good for roasting), cut a drainage hole, filled it with a damp mix of shredded paper, cardboard, and more bdown leaves infested with red earthworms and what might be blues, then left it in the middle of the plot hoping it will become a worm castings bomb. They still live in there, I check now and then. About a week later I had the opportunity to cover the whole thing with a mix of wood chips, shredded green and brown leaves, pine needles, and whatever else is in that assortment that Trees Unlimited dumped in the back of my driveway, so I put down 4 inches of that. I may add more later, time and weather permitting, but for now it's been left to sit and do its thing as is....See More2x4 vs 2x6 exterior studs with spray foam insulation. Better Option?
Comments (49)Michigan occupies building climate zones 5 - 7. Zone 5 is the warmest zone that can still comply with the R20 cavity-only requirement. It looks like Ontario has adopted similar IRC mandatory exterior insulative sheathing. We use the performance compliance path on every home, one of the many advantages to including a third party energy rater. Most raters are not keen on getting too far away from code prescriptions. For some of the prescriptions, like blower door minimums, it's cost-effective to exceed code. Most high performance builders are exceeding code with exterior insulation as code encourages risky wall strategies, hence the recommended minimum table I first posted about. Even leaky, all natural homes can have poor indoor air quality. Outdoor air ventilation is now required by current IRC codes and a smart idea for any inhabited enclosed space. It's a life-safety requirement and long overdue measure for modern homes....See Moresusanjf_gw
13 years agoralleia
13 years agoworthy
13 years ago
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kaidanOriginal Author