Insulating Walls in Existing Home

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Author Message   kdm Citizen Username: Kdm Post Number: 10 Registered: 10-2002 Posted on Monday, March 15, 2004 - 12:55 pm:        I'm hearing many contradictory things about the pros and cons of blowing in insulation (cellulose, foam, etc.). Does anyone know who does this and what issues (other than cost) there are to consider? Thanks.   Zeno Citizen Username: Eratosthenes Post Number: 68 Registered: 9-2003 Posted on Monday, March 15, 2004 - 1:32 pm:        In terms of insulating your home: it is a jungle out there. Insulation is definitely a Good Thing to do, but you must educate yourself first of all. Read "Insulate and Weatherize" by Bruce Harley. Read the white papers by the Building Science Corporation (www.buildingscience.com). Don't trust what a contractor tells you. Air sealing of the house is an important part of insulation that many insulation contractors are not aware of. And yeah, you should also ventilate your house, but in a controlled manner. There appears to be some disagreement about how seriously to take vapor barriers, in this climate anyway. You can get one by painting your walls (inside) with an impermeable paint. I looked at spray foam, looks good because it both insulates and air seals, but at least the high-density stuff seems to be mainly a new-construction kind of thing. Perhaps low-density foam (icytelene, etc) can be used to retrofit insulation, all I really know about it is that it is pretty expensive.