I live in a 1928 brick farm house in Alberta, Canada. Brick houses are rare in these parts so there are few resources for information. The winters here can get to 40 degrees below zero celsius. The lathe and plaster in the living room was removed on one exterior wall, exposing the brick. This was not intentional but it will remain exposed for now. My question concerns the gap between the hardwood floor and the brick. One end of the living room has birch hardwood (the real thing) and the other end is fir. The gap to the brick is about 3 inches wide and 1 to 2 inches deep, very uneven, and full of mortor bits, debris and the edge of a floor joist. Any ideas about what to insulate this space with? I want to put a piece of hardwood on top and scribe to the brick, as if it were a baseboard laying on the flat. So I need enough firmness so that when we step in the hardwood to close the curtains we don’t crack the hardwood etc. Would roxul insulation and then vapor barrier on top (the warm side) be enough? fine gravel? thin set, sanded grout, mortor? How do I protect the edge of the floor joist from potential rot? spray foam? sand, ….Any ideas would be much appreciated.
Discussion Forum
Discussion Forum
Up Next
Video Shorts
Featured Story
Some of these smart devices are more than a leak alarm—they can help you understand your water usage and diagnose plumbing problems.
Highlights
"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
Replies
no thoughts right now on your flooring gap
however, if you've got a structural brick house in AB and plan to leave the brick exposed to interior over winter i'd say that insulating a flooring gap is the least of your concerns. you're going to lose a huge amount of heat and draft through the wall.
maybe i'm not getting the whole picture
j
Hi Jeff- sorry for the delay. The brick wall is not actually too bad. It is a double layer of brick with insulation in between, although it will all have shifted or sunk down. Sawdust, I think. We won't be putting up drywall until the large window is replaced.So I was hoping to finish the edge of the floor to buy some time. Thank you for your interest. Happyclam
<The brick wall is not actually too bad.>Doesn't actually matter. Brick is porous and you'll get a lot of air coming through the bricks themselves. Not a draft, really, but over the whole surface of a wall it's quite a bit 'specially if it's -40C outside and 20C inside. If the brick is painted it'll cut down on the air exchange quite a lot but not all brick is suitable for painting. Unless you're really committed to the look of brick interior, may be worthwhile to insulate and finish the interior wall to start with rather than mess with the flooring gap. j
Hi JeffyT- seriously considering covering my brick. Majority rules. Frame, stuff (foam or roxul) and drywall. Sadly predictable. But I appreciate your opinion with the price of gas and all. It does have an all over draft but a great look. Thank you, happyclam
If all you're trying to do is buy some time, squirt some one-part foam in there. Bit of a pain to dig out later, but easier than plaster, grout, or any of the other ideas you mentioned.
You might also want to stick up some two-inch foamboard on the brick wall. I live in Mont-Tremblant, so I know about minus 40. You leave that brick exposed like that through one Calgary winter and you're gonna buy four times as much fuel as it'll cost you in foam board.
Blue XPS, stick it up with PL 300. Tape the joints with Glasclad. Take you two hours.
You guys skiing out in Banff yet?
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not brought
low by this? For thine evil pales before that which
foolish men call Justice....
Hey Dinosaur- It was my birthday the other day, so I am officially a dino myself. If I put the blue foam on, do I need a vapor barrier over that if I add drywall at some point. I live by Edmonton so Banff is further south of us. Not enough snow yet....Makes me want to go and buy foam. Thanks for the info. I am a happy clam
Some people use rigid foam board insulation as an integral vapour barrier; if you want to do that, you have to tape the joints with Glasclad (Tuck) red tape, and also seal the sides of each panel to the studding with canned 1-part foam.
I don't particularly like building with a VB that is so tight absolutely nothing gets in or out. That in my opinion is a major cause of 'sick building syndrome' which is a fancy way of saying the place is so tight that enough moisture collects inside it to promote unfettered growth of nasty microbes and moulds. My preference is to use the older aluminised kraft paper VB, which stops enough moisture to keep the wall cavities safe, but allows just enough natural air exchange so that you don't need to install a mechanical air-exchanger unit.
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not broughtlow by this? For thine evil pales before that whichfoolish men call Justice....
many thanks for the info. I agree about the microbes. Signing off, happyclam
I have a brick house that has minimal insulation in the walls.
My plan is to insulate these exterior walls as I remodel rooms.
I plan on taking everything off the brick first.
Then running receptacles so the wall is updated to current standards.
Then I plan to put a foam board on the wall.
Then furring strips and drywall.
I figure when you have the brick exposed it is a good opportunity to upgrade the wall.
If you put these layers on the wall it should cover the gap.
Right now my house has cold spots all over the place. You can put your hand on the wall and it is cccoolld!
Will Rogers
Hi Popawheelie- Yes, that is how the gap developed. The hardwood ran up to the wall that is now gone. I guess as long as I build it out to its original thickness the gap will be dealt with. I was hoping to just cover up the strip of debris in the living room. Our house does not have too many cold spots except for the office built over where the coal was stored below. Perhaps all the heat is being sucked out evenly thru the exposed brick! Never short of projects. Good luck with your renos and being thorough with the upgrades. hclam