Is there an incredibly thin R 13 insulation for tight spaces?
fireweed22
9 years ago
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kudzu9
9 years agomxyplx
9 years agoRelated Discussions
Help with how to insulate a new home
Comments (19)"The house will be completely wrapped in Tyvek and we are also using an insulated backed siding from Alside which provides another R-5 of insulation behind the siding. Our attic space is free of venting and HVAC equipment. Our roof has a ridge vent for breathing." we put our reflective sided closed cell foam sheathing on the exterior of the walls. foam board caulked at top and bottom, all holes sealed prior to cladding install. this in conjunction with caulking the sole plates begins and insulated and air sealed wall from the exterior. in my climate we use 1' closed cell foam sheathing. this reduces thermal bridging..2x's are approx 1R-value per inch..R value of 2x6=5.5 a big reduction of insulation value.2x6 construction allows for R-19 of conventinal insulation add the closed cell foam sheathing and your wall value increases to R-25 combine this with air tight drwyall approach to interior of walls after insulating with conventional insulation. this I've found is a better use of $$ for foam in walls. we don't see many houses who foam seal the attic floor..since we so stupidly put our ducts and mechanicals in the attic..we mostly foam insulate the roofline..costly dependint on roof pitch. but by foaming the attic floor to air seal and then installing conventional insulation over it..as in your specific case, this is a good idea. the goal is to stop air leakage through the insulation so that it can perform as designed. my goal as an energy rater is to determine the most cost effective way to do this. foam in the walls is costly, and does nothing to reduce thermal bridging of framing members..think about it corners and tees..window framing..overall the thermal bridging reduces walls R-value by approx 20% you can still add the foam sheathing over the houswrap. and since the foam is continous it will perform better and make the wall tighter than an insulated siding. best of luck...See MoreBasement Insulation R-Value
Comments (11)Dr. Lstiburek's rule of thumb is a minimum R20 in basement walls north of the Mason-Dixon Line. (Of course, he doesn't always follow his own rules.) I've used R13 dense fg batts and 1" of XPS in basements plus spf in the rim joist area. That yields a nominal R18. However, in your colder climate (very cold on climate maps) I would be concerned that the 1" board (R5) would not be enough to keep the wall free from condensation on the above grade portion. What's more important than the nominal R value is the tightness of the wall to air penetration. That's why the tape, t&g, caulking and polyurethane spray is so important. BTW, since I live in my own homes, I can say the basement comfort in homes with the XPS/fg combo is noticeably greater than the previous standard fg. Plus there's less need for supplementary heating....See MoreInsulation in attic space in garage
Comments (7)Thank you both for your replies. I am in Michigan. John Manville makes a 2 inch foiled faced rigid foam board. I am concerned about the warmth being/staying in the bathroom not the garage. So perhaps because of my climate I could just use plain 2 inch XPS. But I was told to use the foil faced because it is fire proof. Mike and energy rater the garage temperature is the same. I wanted to use the foam board to reflect back and keep the bathroom warmer. The insulation company told me to place the foil face into the wall, that way any heat in the bathroom will reflect back into the bathroom. Boy this is so confusing to me. There is a heat vent in the bathroom under the vanity. I realize what you are saying about the supply problem in the bathroom, thank you for that. Interesting that I wouldn't see a difference in temperature in the bathroom with putting foam board on the garage side of the wall. I just had blown in cellulose in the attic and that is what the insulation guys told me,...to add the foam board to the garage wall that shares with it the bathroom wall. The other issue I have is the bathroom fan. The insulation company added the cellulose up to R49 and air sealed the attic...it is warmer on my second floor. BUT here is my question...The bathroom fan a new Panasonic when I first turn it on there is a whoosh of cold air that first comes out of it. I realize that there could be cold air sitting there at first on the attic side. BUT I felt it last night with the fan turned ON and there is a bit of cold air that circulates at the top of the fan. I stuck a tissue up there and it definitely sucks the air out of the room but it is weird. Needless to say it is it is chilly in the bathroom when taking a shower until the bathroom heats up from the steam of warm water from the shower. . Does anyone have any thoughts on that?? The duct from the bathroom fan is vented out to the roof and is an insulated duct. The only thought I may have is that it is not properly air sealed on the attic side. Any thoughts or ideas are most greatly appreciated. I am a new homeowner and am new at learning all of this. Your patience is most greatly appreciated....See MoreThin insulators, no recessing of window & door frames?
Comments (20)Sorry Joel - the laws of thermodynamics still apply to your home. I assume the other poster was talking about something like a foil coated Polyurethane rigid panel. Straight from the factory, you could get an R9 per inch out of the high end stuff but it degrades over a couple of years to R7 or so. Still, at 1/2 that would get you an additional 3.5. It probably isn't going to be cost effective for you, but if you only have R11 in the walls, it might make the house more comfortable. It sounds like an awful lot of work for minimal benefit though. Did you get the shutters or curtains up yet? That would be a much cheaper and cost effective way to keep the heat in. I assume your double pane windows are still only in the R3 range. That means you are losing 3-4 times more energy though each square foot of window than you are through the walls. Depending on the size of your windows, a good set of curtains might save more energy than marginally increasing the R value of the walls....See Moremillworkman
9 years agomxyplx
9 years agofireweed22
9 years agogreg_2010
9 years agofireweed22
9 years agoenergy_rater_la
9 years agoScottie Vosburgh
4 years agokudzu9
4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago
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