omeyers, We are in Illinois. We build a 1800 s.f. home for us about 6 years ago and used Icynene (foam insulation) on 2x4 walls. We loved it! I think the savings were not that good in this size of homes, they say that homes bigger thn 3,000 s.f. get better savings. I liked the fact of knowing there was no fiber glass flying around (usually the insulation they pace at the rim joist is exposed) We sold the house last year pretty fast (1 month)and the insulation was a good factor. Last year we built another house for us, 2,500 s.f. and used 2x6 and blow in Spider Insulation with R-23 (DH just wanted to try something different). I loved the fact that it was a formaldehyde free insulation. DH wanted to see what people thought about the house (he is retiring in about 6 years and we will move down south)and we had an open house prior the closing - we received an offer the same day and decided to sell the house :( (we paid $5,000 and the attic was R-49) Now we need a house for us and getting ready to start building. The thing is, the foam insulation is just R-13 (officially) and they claim it performs a lot higher than that because it seals better (and it's true). DH wanted to try it again and the bid was 13,000. We supposely save in wood studs, vapor barrier and window extensions but still it is about 40% higher than the SPIDER. The way I see it, when promoting the house to sell it, isn't it better to say that the house is 2x6 with R-23 formaldehyde free than saying we have a 2x4 with R-13 -but very marbelous insulation? oh and the foam insulation people say that incresing the stud to 2x6 does not help and the price will be double!!! What do you guys think? we are still deciding. see the attached link, it healps to know what R-value to use depending on location Here is a link that might be useful: Energy Efficiency

cordovamom, Central TX and other parts of TX. Here is a copy of an article from the Austin American Statesman "HOMES Area housing market still sizzling Increases in October home sales and prices put Central Texas on pace for another record year. By Claudia Grisales AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Thursday, November 23, 2006 The Central Texas housing market is on track to end the year with more record sales. Sales of existing homes in Central Texas rose more than 8 percent in October from the same month a year ago, according to an Austin Board of Realtors report released Wednesday. Last month, a record 2,073 single-family homes were sold, up from 1,913 sold in October 2005. This, combined with a higher median price, relatively quick sales and a higher number of pending sales, is good news, says Charles Heimsath, president of Austin-based real estate consulting firm Capitol Market Research. "All those taken together says to me it's a very strong market that shows little signs of weakening," Heimsath said. The Central Texas region has posted a strong pace of home sales this year, signaling that the region continues to buck national trends of a cooling housing market. It also bodes well for 2007, as economists expect the region to hold on to its strong sales and growth. Last month, the area's median home price was up almost 9 percent to $175,000. And homes are staying on the market for 66 days on average, which makes it a seller's market. Pending sales were up 19 percent to 2,417. And sales of condominiums and townhomes are also posting gains, up 25 percent from October 2005. "That's a trend we want to watch going forward," Heimsath said. The median price of these properties is up 28 percent to $168,250, inching closer to home prices. And that could signal a shift in more baby boomers downsizing to condos or townhomes, combined with younger, first-time buyers, Heimsath said. The strong trends are expected to continue if favorable mortgage rates and the region's healthy job growth remain intact, said John Rosshirt, chairman of the Austin Board of Realtors. By contrast, national home sales fell in 38 states, including Nevada and California, during the summer months. "Most parts of the country would love to have our stats," Rosshirt said. The mortgage and job growth rates "will lead to a strong real estate market. So it looks like an excellent year on all regards and an optimistic 2007." So far this year, the Central Texas region is posting a 10 percent increase in sales compared with the same period a year earlier. The median price during this same period is up 7 percent to $174,000. There are fewer homes selling for under $120,000 so far this year, which is down 6 percent or more compared with the same period a year earlier. Home sales in the $200,000 to $249,000 price range, however, are up 18 percent. Among the Central Texas submarkets, the South Austin area known as area 10 posted the highest "hotness" factor, which is calculated by the number of pending sales versus active listings, Rosshirt said. In that area, which includes neighborhoods such as Cherry Creek and Tanglewood Forest, active listings took about 18 days to sell, the report found. Real estate agent Corey Yaz, whose specializes in area 10, says activity was fueled in part by many first-time buyers. And that means quicker sales as well, Yañez said. "People need to move quickly; area 10 is more affordable than other areas in Austin, but it's very close to downtown," said Yañez, who is with Ultima Real Estate Services. So "for me, it was a very busy month and one of the best months I've had all year," she said. " Here is a link that might be useful: Area housing market still sizzling

I have just emailed you the information regarding our energy rater. You're fortunate that there's a lot more information readily available now than there was when we began building our house nine years ago--actually, tomorrow is the anniversary of the date we began with the tree guys at the lot clearing the building site--and not much was available when we began researching energy efficient building during the five years before that. However, we found out about Joe Lstiburek early on, and used his book, as well as information we got from EEBA, and gradually DH found bits & pieces of info by digging around as you have. Training for people to get many of the various energy related certifications has been developed and improved relatively recently, and their use has been slow to penetrate most builders methods around here. But probably the reason you've had difficulty finding an energy rater is that they have to pay to be on many of the online contractor listings, and paying for each separate listing for each certification can add up, especially when most homeowners will not be looking for them, since they are more interested in spending money on kitchens & media rooms, than they are in the energy efficient details of a good house envelope and systems. And besides, they trust their builders to have told them everything they need to know. :o) When we were talking to builders about building, and asked about energy efficient features, almost all of them only mentioned increased insulation and energy efficient windows. Every HVAC contractor we talked to based the estimate for the size of the furnace strictly on the square footage of the house, even after we told them all of the things we would be doing to tighten the envelope. The geothermal guys were the only ones who new what a Manuel J was, and I think that so impressed DH, that he trusted them to do everything else correctly, which didn't happen in retrospect. Builders & remodelers who actively pursue high ratings for energy efficient features know who the certified raters are, because they network at local & regional conferences or ask their builder friends, so the raters usually don't need to advertise or set up a web site. You've already done more research than most people building a house. I hope all goes well with your build, and will look forward to your posts as you progress. Anne

if the 3/4" foam board is in good shape just leave it there. if I'm understanding your description correctly the foam board is on the exterior of the wall under the brick. with the foam board in this location of the wall it is stopping thermal bridging from ambient into conditioned space. this foam board has an insulation value depending upon type. that adds to the value inside the cavity. you don't need the vapor barrier to the interior. http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/insights/bsi-001-the-perfect-wall/?searchterm=perfect%20wall upgrading the insulation in the walls, would be easy enough to do with it all open. you can special order R-15 batts. while things are open, air seal. invest in a case of caulk & seal things up as the project progresses. best of luck.