Wood-framed walls are the easiest part of the home to insulate since they can be treated in the same way as new construction. The main concerns for wood-framed walls are the thickness and accessibility of the wall cavity. Assessment of wood-framed walls should also determine the presence or absence of insulation.
Some homeowners prefer to do certain upgrade work themselves. The required tools are mainly common household items and a couple of specialized tools which can be borrowed from friends or rented from a local tool store. One couple has successfully worked on a blown-in cellulose cathedral ceiling using a scaffold and an insulation blower which the material supplier loaned to them. The DIY approach may not be everyone’s cup of tea but it can offer substantial savings when it is done correctly.
Once you have identified the air leakage points from an assessment of your home, you can proceed with the insulation process.
You should begin by sealing up small cracks, leakages and penetrations on the inside of the outside walls, floors and ceilings. The interior is usually warmer and applied sealant lasts longer as it is not exposed to harsh weather conditions.
Fireplaces may warm our bodies but they dry up our pockets as well. There is a great deal of air leakage in the whole chimney when it is not in use. Even when it is in use, the fire sucks up the heated room air and cold air is drawn in from outside, replacing the heated air that went out through the chimney.
Basements require complete dryness before insulation can be added to the interior. The requirement is the same for vapor barriers. Persistent problems with moisture or water leakage will only serve to destroy even the best quality work.
Insulating a dry basement is similar to insulating a new house, although you won’t be able to choose the material for the walls themselves. There are few problems when new concrete or block walls are already in place, but cut stone walls or rubble may prove to be a challenge with their irregular design and varying heights. Framing becomes difficult although the methods remain the same.
Today’s mark
Walls have large surface areas and are responsible for a significant percentage of a house’s heat loss. Older homes constructed from solid materials like stone, log or brick usually have no insulation on the inside: there is often just a small air space between the outside covering and inner frame wall. This drainage cavity should be insulated as it can cause water leakage and condensation.
If you have to improve old siding, you might as well improve the exterior insulation too. You have a choice of methods for adding insulation underneath the new siding, which will increase your home’s overall "R/RSI" value significantly. New siding with blown-in insulation eliminates filling in access holes as well as repainting.
Other points to note are:
When purchasing an inverter, important considerations are the unit's electrical rating and the option of a "sine wave" or "modified square wave" model.
Here's what to check when selecting an inverter:
