I bought a 12 year old contmeporary house 3 years ago when oil was cheap. Total oil budget at the time was $180 a month, now it is over $500. Yikes!
House located on a hill, lots of wind. Lots of heat loss. House has ony 2×4 framing with cedar vertical siding, previous owner put vinyl over the cedar with only tyvex over the cedar, no foam.
I had a well known siding company out to take a look for suggestions, I had ideas of taking off vinyl siding and using EIFS foam with a couple of coats of stucco. Thought that might really do the trick. Salesman assures me that they will not install the product! He says that the mold issues that result from residential use are nation wide.
I thought about doing vinyl cedar shingle type of siding OVER foam. Is this a good way to go or will any siding over foam result in the same mold issues? House located in NJ/PA border.
Replies
You will get more bang for the buck by tightening up the house (especially penetrations into the attic) and maximizing attic insulation. Also, the furnace may need replaced or adjusted.
Adding foam to the exterior is a great way to tighten up a house. I added an inch of foam to the outside of my house this fall, and my heating bill in the coldest month dropped from $260 (January 2007) to $180 (Jan 2008). the comfort level of my house increased greatly, too. You'll want to detail it carefully, and if your windows are already in, it may be difficult to flash them properly. But it's worth looking into.
I like to float some ideas and questions:
1. If fairly new house, is insulation in stud bays adquate? Do a energy audit with heat sensor to look beyond the wall.
2. Heating cost is higher because oil price went up. If your existing insulation and general tightness of windows, doors, vents, etc. are adequate,foam board and new siding will not help very much, unless very thick boards are used and installed very correctly.
3. The money you spend on new siding--when will you recoup the cost from savings on heating?
4. Stucco and mold are an issue. The vinyl may actually keep your house breathing better. If draft is your problem, even check the sill plates (the wood that sits on top of foundation) for leaks, if you have unfinished basement. But there are problems with making the house too tight as well. I caulked the sill plate joints from inside, but I did not weatherize the basement doors,so the furnace can get some air. I think the compromise is to stop the draft but you have to get some replacement air. This is probably best done by an auditor.
I like to add that now is not the time to panic, and perhaps accept the fact that we have to start thinking in terms of living with the colder house. I hope this helps.
Unless you go with 2-3 inches of the stuff, foam on the outside does have the potential to trap moisture, depending on climate, home construction, and the type of foam used.
You'll get more for your efforts just tightening up the house. Pull window trim from the inside and foam around the windows, install new housewrap and tightly tape it if you reside, etc.
Take a look at mms://justia-njeifs-com.justia.net/files/cbs.wmv
Willy
Perhaps this article from FHB will give some answers. Check out the paragraph on page 3 "Keeping the wall Warm".
Like was mentioned in previous posts, check for air leaks in the attic. Foam around plumbing vents and electrical wire holes. Kitchen soffits can be sources of air leaks if they did not sheetrock behind it before framing it.
You could replace can lights with a version that can be insulated over. Then I would build a box over it to seal it and insulate. But make sure it can be insulated.
You can use incense to trace leaks around the house. Wait for a windy day then watch the smoke movement.
Rich
Thanks,
I have a friend that does energy analysis stuff. On a windy day, I tried the incense stick thing. We have many "insulated" high hat lights in the ceiling. The smoke went right through them like they were not even there. I tried putting in those more efficient florescent bulbs but the light looks like s---t! I was thinking about exchanging the internal trim kits of the high hat lights from black to silver so they would throw more light and then go up in the attic and spray the light housing or external boxes with spray foam to seal them, making sure that I use only florescents lights so that they will not overheat and then load up the attic with insulation.
Do you think that spray foaming the lights will cause them to overheat?
willy
Do you think that spray foaming the lights will cause them to overheat?
Yes. You would be playing with fire.
New cans with thermal breakers are only about $15-20.
Or you could build a styrofoam box over them, giving the fixture lots of room to breathe. Then foam the box to the sheetrock. Use Tyvek tape to joint your corners together. Even if I used thermally protected cans I would give them room to breathe.
Do you have any big hog farms in your area? They get frozen sperm daily in 1.5 thick styrofoam coolers. Might be a perfect size to enclose the cans.
Rich
Rich
I had to laugh at your Do you have any big hog farms in your area!
We take for granted that hogs are a part of our lives here IA but he lives in NJ, probably aint 4 hogs in the state!
Just an observation. :)
Doug
Doug
You're probalby right. We have more hog in Plymouth county alone than the state of Iowa has people. That's probably en exageration. But I pretty confident Plymouth county has 100 hogs for every 1 person in the county.
I read in the Farm Bureau mag that IA has like 25 million laying chickens. We only have 3 million people in the state. And i don't know of any chicken barns in our area.
Some parts of NJ are very rural. Kind of scrub brush type, short stunned trees. Only been there once.
You're right I need to get out more. Willy probably doesn't know what a hog farm smells like. If he did he would buy more incense. LOL
Rich
Do you have any big hog farms in your area?
ROFL! The only place you'll find a Chester White in New Joisey is in the phone book.
Hudson
I guess I showed what a hick I am. LOL
They are great coolers, and you just need to know a farrowing manager and you can get all you want.
(For the NJ guys a farrowing unit is where the little pigs are born, and spend their 1st 21 days.)
Good discussion over on Super Insulated houses. Sounds like you want to build but don't know which method you want.
Rich
Another option is to build the boxes out of political signboard, taped together with sheathing tape or foil duct tape. Not highly insulated, but light and easy to work with, and you can get a tight seal.
If your view never changes you're following the wrong leader
Dan
I've got a Huckabee sign that he can use.
There will alot of use free material around pretty soon.
That's a pretty good idea.
Rich
Sounds like you want to build but don't know which method you want.
Lots of things are in flux; real estate prices and fuel prices in particular. I'm building to match a younger family's future requirements and to build my own retirement fund, so I'm being extra careful to make sure that I get the best bang for the buck.
Many new building products have come along since the last time I built a house so I've had to get educated about them. Certain new adaptations of older methods are showing promise too.
In addition, the side hill lot I'll be building on has it's own positive and negative aspects. Just figuring out the best elevation for the house and the best way to position the driveway has been a major job.
I'm very happy with the carefully evolved design I have today but something may come along to change that tomorrow. It's happened before, many times.
Like most custom homes, nothing is ever permanent until the final payment is made.
Sow's everything with you, Chester?
Edited 3/25/2008 11:22 am by Hudson Valley Carpenter
Hudson
Work is starting to pick up. The phone is starting to ring. I have a couple of roofs to shingle but the ground is too soft to get the truck in and the weather too unstable.
Alot of frosty mornings till 9:30 or so and today we have gusts up to 40 mph.
I would love to build an energy efficient house for myself but it will have to be down the road a few years. This one is paid for and the market is not good.
Plus I need a lot close to town, yet one I can put a workshop on and run the business out of.
Up on morgage hill they wouldn't like my ladders and sawhorses on the side of my shop building. In R1 areas you can't run a business out of your home, unless it's just a office type business.
So i am going to be kind of picky where I buy a lot.
Rich