Sep 6
In older homes the drywaller and plaster installer) often did not drywall the space above a stairway ceiling because the stair ceiling created the barrier between the attic and the stairwell. Unfortunately, this creates a huge hole in the attic floor and this space is as cold as your attic during the winter months. It is difficult to properly insulate the inside of these walls and it is wasteful to fll the entire hole with cellulose insulation. The solution is to block the opening between the floor joists with paneling or foam board, and then seal ALL seams wih spray foam.
Duration : 0:2:17
Read the rest of this entry »
Technorati Tags: air, attic, cellulose, foam, insulation, sealing, spray
Jul 27
First we removed the redwood siding and the middle section of the brown fiber board. Then we pulled out the old fiberglass insulation batts. Fortunately they were stapled on the inside of the stud instead of the face of the stud - so they pulled out without too much trouble.
After putting the fiber board back we drilled our 2 inch hole and dense packed with cellulose insulation. There were several small cavities such as where an interior wall meets the exterior wall as well as the corner framing that had no fiberglass insulation at all. By adding cellulose we increase our r-value to near 4.0, we greatly reduce air flow in the stud cavity and we do not have to air seal the exterior wall top plates (the cellulose seals the stud cavity from the inside). This is a low pitch roof ranch and there is just no way to air seal the exterior wall top plates from the inside. Its difficult to even reach the top plate from the attic much less get a foam gun pointed in the correct spot.
Duration : 0:4:6
Read the rest of this entry »
Technorati Tags: air, cellulose, dense, fiberglass, insulation, pack, removed, retrofit, sealing
Jul 19
While our awesome 1970’s door was still in good shape and energy efficient in its day, its now leaking air at the corners and we want to replace it with a door that lets more light in.
The house has shifted in 30 years making the new install not as straight forward as we would have liked. This is really not a how to video I am not sure if we should have flashed under the door, the book I have didn’t say to however I have seen a few things that make me think we should have, we were having camera problems and were under time constraints to get the door in before dark, but you should get the general idea.
We had the help of our good friend Gonzo, his excellent carpentry skills and level headed approach made him the voice of reason.
Duration : 0:2:46
Read the rest of this entry »
Technorati Tags: 2x6, 70's, air, cat, caulk, cleaner, crooked, diy, door, energy, entry, foam, frame, front, house, how, install, insulation, leakage, level, leveling, New, not, outdated, shimmed, shims, star, that, to, unlevel, vacuum, walls, watching
