Another insulation question

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Author Message   sportsnut Citizen Username: Sportsnut Post Number: 1698 Registered: 10-2001 Posted on Tuesday, January 18, 2005 - 12:18 pm:        About four years ago we had our maplewood room re done. The contractors did a very shoddy job. It was our first reno using contractors and we learned quite a bit about the process. The room prior to the renovation was always cold so one of our goals was to insulate all the walls and ceiling as part of the job. There are eight windows in the room and they are approximately ten years old - not terrible but not great. The room has two baseboard steam radiators at either end both about five feet in length. Underneath there is a crawlspace and overhead there is a pitched roof (half a gable). The room is still cold, however it is better than before. We have full lenght fabric shades and plastic covering the windows this year. Today as I sit here typing this I can feel cold air coming through the opening where the recessed lights are and it feels like when you're on an airplane and the airconditioner is pointed at you. My question is how to resolve this. Do I need to open up the ceiling and insulate along the sides and top of the roof? Any suggestions? Thanks,   Michael K. Mc Kell Citizen Username: Greenerose Post Number: 538 Registered: 9-2003 Posted on Tuesday, January 18, 2005 - 12:39 pm:        Look at the blown insulation post   sportsnut Citizen Username: Sportsnut Post Number: 1700 Registered: 10-2001 Posted on Tuesday, January 18, 2005 - 1:29 pm:        I know they put insulation between the ceiling joists but I'm wondering if there needs to be more done. Would blown in insulation really help if there is already insulation between the joists?   Bobkat Supporter Username: Bobk Post Number: 7262 Registered: 5-2001 Posted on Tuesday, January 18, 2005 - 1:42 pm:        Just make sure that the recessed lights are the type that you can cover with insulation. Many of these have to have an airspace around them to avoid a fire hazard.   Wilkanoid Citizen Username: Cseleosida Post Number: 299 Registered: 10-2002 Posted on Tuesday, January 18, 2005 - 2:07 pm:        Sports -- We ended up getting covers for the recessed lights. I know that problem of the air coming through the recessed light 'cans' very well. Our couch is right underneath them! Can't remember the details of the covers, or if Mr. W ended up replacing the cans altogether. There is some improvement, but the problem isn't completely gone. Insulation, drafts, and the dynamics of warm/cold air is another of Mr. W's obsessions. Feel free to talk to him about it. W   jasper Citizen Username: Jasper Post Number: 215 Registered: 7-2001 Posted on Tuesday, January 18, 2005 - 5:44 pm:        Our Maplewood room is so cold in this weather that if I want to watch TV (that being the location of our only TV), I have to completely wrap myself in a blanket from top to bottom. However, this attracts my very large cat on top of me, which serves as a very effective heating device. The hard part is getting up to turn off the TV and go upstairs. Needless to say, our room has 10 very old windows and probably zero insulation in the roof, with a crawl space below. The two steam radiators don't stand a chance unless the heat is turned up to at least 75 degrees for the rest of the house, which would put our gas bill even higher through the proverbial roof.   mjc Citizen Username: Mjc Post Number: 151 Registered: 10-2004 Posted on Tuesday, January 18, 2005 - 5:51 pm:        Our "Maplewood room" (in South Orange) has the same problems, and nothing material is going to be done about it this year. Has anyone used the plastic film applied on the window frames? Effective? Reasonably easy to apply and remove? sportsnut?   jasper Citizen Username: Jasper Post Number: 217 Registered: 7-2001 Posted on Tuesday, January 18, 2005 - 5:57 pm:        sports did say that they used the plastic covering this year. I haven't tried it lately, but years ago I had used it in my apartment (which, mind you, was relatively new construction and still hopelessly cold), and I remember thinking that it was quite a nuisance to put up, not too bad to take down, and was somewhat effective. sports?   sportsnut Citizen Username: Sportsnut Post Number: 1707 Registered: 10-2001 Posted on Tuesday, January 18, 2005 - 6:51 pm:        It is effective at controlling drafts but when it gets this cold it really doesn't have much of an impact. I'm thinking that I should cut a hole in the ceiling squeeze through it and put insulation up there. Then crawl into the crawl space and put insulation in the floor. The plastic is easy enough to put up the only problem is that it leaves the sticky tape residue on the outside of the window frames. I put the outdoor kind on. Aesthetically its quite ugly.   mjc Citizen Username: Mjc Post Number: 154 Registered: 10-2004 Posted on Wednesday, January 19, 2005 - 10:38 am:        Thanks, sports. I would take ugly over drafty at this point, and regarding the residue, it's probably about time to paint the trim anyhow. (cold in the office this morning, too) happy day! MC