"First, unless your local authority requires it, I know of no code requiring insulation for basement ceiling joists (or 1st floor joists). I live in an area of winter lows between -20 & -30 and there was no such requirement at a 2008 completion date; and NY bases their code on the IRC. " Chapter 11 of the IRC from the 2000 through 2009 versions all have required basements to be insulated....even in New York state for 2008 builds. See the link below. The International Energy Conservation Code (adopted in most US states) also requires it. ------------ Basements is nearly all US locations are required to be insulated either in the ceiling or foundation walls. How much insulation is determined by where you live, what type insulation you will use, where the insulation will be located, whether or not your basement walls are considered below grade or above grade, and from what materials the basement walls will be constructed. For most locations, newly constructed basements either need to be insulated in the ceiling of the basement using a minimum of R-30 or on walls using R-13 cavity insulation (batt) or R-10 of continuous (rigid foam). As mentioned, the best insulation is rigid foam located on the outside of the foundation. But rigid foam cannot be used in regions of high termite infestation and must be parged with mortar when installed on the outside above grade. Rigid foam used on the interior of the basement walls can also work, but as mentioned, it must be thermally isolated from the habitable space to prevent ignition in a fire. This can be done by framing walls in front of foam applied to the masonry foundation...then installing wallboard to themally isolate it...or by installing faom insulation like Thermax which has a foil coating which can be considered a thermal barrier. Bottom line is that insulation for Virginia and most places in the US is mandatory in new home construction. The only question is where the insulation and how much is required to be installed. Here is a link that might be useful: New York State Building Code

hire an energy rater to give you specific to your home info. what my years of this type of work have taught me is that the air sealing is the first line of defense. a blower door test will show you where your house leaks and a duct test will show where ducts leak. in new construction nationwide there is 25 to 30% duct leakage in new homes..in existing homes it can be higher..it can also be lower..but not often the case. caulk..not great stuff will provide a good flexible seal that will last (depending on years of caulk purchased) great stuff breaks down and does not expand and contract. if you can stop the air leakage into your house it will be affordable to heat and cool once the air barrier is complete then insulate. insulation slows air movement but doesn't stop it (except foam insulation which when properly applied lowers air infiltration..for a price) when air moves through insulation it lowers the performance of the insulation. when you put a power attic ventilator it pulls air from inside the house (at air leakage sites) and from ductwork located in attic (duct leakage sites). pav's can put the house under a negative pressure causing the house to pull in air via holes ..recessed cans..the oversized cut for the drain under the tub...many of these leakage sites allow voc's into the house which contribute to allergies ect. cellulose insulation has a fine powder that spreads through out the house..entering through leakage sites and spreading via hvac system. caulk caulk and caulk. your biggest payback is reducing the air infiltration. after that the duct/return air leakage then would come insulating attic..biggest savings crawlspace..open cell foam not batts. batts droop over time due to gravity..and condensation forms on the undersides of floors causing floors to rot. as wind sweeps the batts it robs the insulation of R-value (you should see a thermal scan of batt insulation in floors on a windy day!) then lastly walls. air seal walls prior to insulating caulk ceiling moldings to ceiling and wall floor moldings to wall & floor window and door frames to walls gaskets behind plates of switches and outlets. There is a national association of energy raters hire one to evaluate your home and give you real world proven information for your home. www.natresnet.org we are trained, nationally certified unbiased professionals. best of luck

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.

Old wiring a problem and need to be careful, but should be able to blow in insulation at least in some areas. This requires making some small holes in siding and pumping in insulation material, then patching holes. Note that, assuming heat is running to achieve a fixed temperature, the decision on various forms of insulation is independent of other things done. There is still a benefit in storm windows or double pane glass even if walls are poorly insulated. Insulting roof or attic floor, if not done already, well worth it even if walls poorly insulated. In the extreme case, it makes just as much sense to insulate one wall even if the other three walls of the space are just plastic sheets. It sounds counter intuitive, but if the furnace is pumping out enough heat to maintain a fixed temperature in the room, the rate of heat loss though any wall surface is independent of the rate of heat loss of the other walls! Solar is a high up front cost item. Not worth doing if it means sacrificing funds that could improve insulation or replace unsafe wiring. Difficulty of redoing wiring depends on whether there is an unfinished attic and/or basement. If so, most new wiring can run through unfinished space and then fished up/down wall cavities to specific outlets/lights. Particularly if doing it yourself, electrical upgrades can be done piecemeal. Start with a new main electrical panel replacing the existing fusebox (if applicable). Then as time and money permits, run new romex cable from the panel to existing outlet locations in an area and replace outlets with modern grounded type. Outlets are quite cheap. The real cost is the labor. If you need to hire an electrician, this job is best done all at once. Experienced electricians are good at fishing wire through walls with no/minimal disruption of existing wall surfaces. The biggest problem is if a complete requiring requires bringing the house into current code compliance, since that would require adding lots of new outlets to meet current standards of outlet spacing