Adding Insulation To Exterior Walls

Add about 1 4 in.

Adding insulation to exterior walls.

Every gap and compressed batt leaves a path for heat or cold to escape. Before switching to spray foam insulation tom used to use polyisocyanurate panels that way he would build a 2x4 wall insulate between the studs with batting paper face removed then cover the whole thing with foil faced panels and seal them with foil tape before putting up wall board. Many older homes and some newer ones lack sufficient insulation in the exterior walls. Insulation in house exterior walls is one of the primary defenses against heat and energy loss.

Fiberglass is a great way to insulate an existing wall. Adding exterior rigid foam. John hartman fine homebuilding magazine 208. How to insulate house walls from the outside.

It may look easy to go buy some packs of rigid insulation panels down at the. When properly constructed it provides a tight dry warm and durable structure. A question about replacing siding sheathing and batt insulation in a 50 year old house revives questions about the use of rigid foam insulation on exterior walls. So if your house was built before insulating walls became standard you can potentially save a great deal of energy by insulating.

Retrofit wall insulation is a debatable subject because there is no single right answer for all homes and homeowners. Re siding an existing home presents an opportunity to upgrade the home s energy performance. In this post we explain. Measure and cut the fiberglass batt for an exact fit.

Only a cost benefit analysis in relation to your own situation can help you arrive at the right answer. Correcting this can pose a challenge as it is often difficult to determine how much insulation is in the walls let alone gain the access needed to add more. While fiberglass often comes in batts it does come in loose fill form as well making it easy to install without tearing open any walls. Unfortunately however builders didn t insulate the walls of most homes built before the 1980s.

With a small hole and a pump you can insulate your existing walls with minimum fuss. To the measurement to ensure a snug fit. In some cases the cost of adding insulation may exceed the cost of energy needed to heat or cool it. Adding a layer of rigid foam to the walls of any building is somewhat labor intensive.