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Ok – I’m trying to make an informed decision here. As you know, most everyone is telling me to have vents put in with my new roof. I believe, after considerable reading on this forum, that vents aren’t necessary, given a dry, air sealed attic space? (is this correct?) However, I have moisture issues, etc. , that are confusing the issue for me. Here are my specs:
I have no “real” vents anywhere.
The house is a story and a half bungalow. One bedroom upstairs (cold) and the rest is attic.
I’m sure the attic is under-insulated. What is there is old (rockwool?). It is a blown in product – I’m not sure what it is – but is only about 4 inches at most. I have considered blowing in more, but don’t want to lose access for sealing holes. Also, I use the space for storage.
A damp basement with stone foundation (dehumidifier runs constantly). It is not financially feasable for me to have the basement water-proofed.
A bath fan that dumps into the attic. I would either have to run it up through the roof, or start chiseling stucco to get it out, neither of which are options I like.
I have slowly been trying to plug holes in the attic ceiling, but I’m sure that I have not found them all.
Both storm doors and most of my windows have major condensation on them when it’s cold.
There are four leaky windows in the basement.
Forced air heat. I have not sealed the ducts yet. None of the ducts are in the attic.
Not a lick of insulation anywhere, except the attic floor.
House has definite cold areas, and things seem to get worse the more I do to try and fix it.
Help me?!
Replies
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I hope Freddy doesn't mind me doing this, but I recommed you visit http://www.weatherization.com.
I first visited last week, it's now in my "favorite places" address book. I had time to check out a few pages and was impressed with what I read.
A very lucid discussion of building envelopes, the best I've seen to date. A fairly comprehensive (to me) troubleshooting area, with links to affiliated sites that I'm curious to check out. In addition, a couple of DIYer tests to check the basic air flow through your structure.
Go, Dog, Go...and good luck.
*Another informative site Fred suggested:http://www.homeenergy.org/698styles.title.html
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You have a lot of issues in the note and those sites listed above will answer most of your questions. You definitely need to vent your roof as you are not likely to ever get this older house that tight to where some heat and condensation won't affect the roof. If possible look into continuous ridge type vents are quite popular now.
*Chris, I sympathise with your finacial concerns regarding the damp basement but if you don't take care of the moisture problem first, air sealing will just be creating another potentially highly destructive problem. All that moisture will contribute to condensation, mold, and mildew, and if there is any pressurization from the forced air system, the moisture can be forced into the walls where it can cause rot, and exterior paint failure.
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I support this post.
And maybe you could use an exhaust fan with humidity switch instead of humidifier. Theres some money you could save right there.
Hope this helps.
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Thanks for all responses. I still am left wondering what's a guy to do? I live in a neighborhood full of 75+ year old houses, and almost every one I have ever been in has a damp basement. Some worse than others, but damp nonetheless. These houses have been here a long time, so should they be left alone, with high heating bills, or are there things that we can do to improve them? I am pretty capable, and enjoy working on my home, but am financially unable to contract out work such as a basement waterproofing. I am afraid, though, that I am making the house worse off by doing some things and not others. For example, I have been trying to make the house tighter for obvious reasons, by sealing around bypasses, weatherstripping and caulking, etc., and now I suddenly am noticing "shadow" lines on the ceiling, which seem to coincide with joists in the attic! I am guessing this is caused by moisture that perhaps was previously not so concentrated? Nothing is obviously soaked up there, though. The short of my question, though, is what CAN I do to my house to improve its habitability, and how would venting the roof affect it?
*Well Chris, Here's what I'ld try if it was my house.1)Buy a gallon of Waterproofing paint(Ugly,etc.)and try painting a test section of the basement wall. If it looks like it worked, then I'ld do the whole thing.2)Tile or paint the basement floor.3)Keep running the dehumidifier.4)Extend bath vent through roof.5)Vent the roof, it's always going to be wet up there.6)Seal the ductwork in the basement.If after all of this the condensation problems were reasonable, the I'ld add insulation to the attic. I can hear Freddie et al laughing, but I think this might be an improvment over what you have now. John
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If you are tearing off, I have a suggestion. My house has skip sheathing (planks) under the five layers of shingles. My intent is to tear off the shingles, remove every 3rd plank, and have fill the cavities tight with sprayed polyurethane foam. This method supposedly has some downsides, but one thing this will do is give me a uniform pressure and vapor barrier under the whole roof deck. I then plan to sheath th whole thing with OSB, then 2" EPS foam board, then 1/2" CDX. On the interior I have fastened 1/2" CDX on the underside of the rafters, then ISO board foam, then drywall. This system is a lot of work (this will be a serious DIY job) but yields a continuous pressure barrier and a center of cavity R value of 46. The R-value through the rafters will be 22, but I need the wood somewhere!
-Rob
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Ok - I'm trying to make an informed decision here. As you know, most everyone is telling me to have vents put in with my new roof. I believe, after considerable reading on this forum, that vents aren't necessary, given a dry, air sealed attic space? (is this correct?) However, I have moisture issues, etc. , that are confusing the issue for me. Here are my specs:
I have no "real" vents anywhere.
The house is a story and a half bungalow. One bedroom upstairs (cold) and the rest is attic.
I'm sure the attic is under-insulated. What is there is old (rockwool?). It is a blown in product - I'm not sure what it is - but is only about 4 inches at most. I have considered blowing in more, but don't want to lose access for sealing holes. Also, I use the space for storage.
A damp basement with stone foundation (dehumidifier runs constantly). It is not financially feasable for me to have the basement water-proofed.
A bath fan that dumps into the attic. I would either have to run it up through the roof, or start chiseling stucco to get it out, neither of which are options I like.
I have slowly been trying to plug holes in the attic ceiling, but I'm sure that I have not found them all.
Both storm doors and most of my windows have major condensation on them when it's cold.
There are four leaky windows in the basement.
Forced air heat. I have not sealed the ducts yet. None of the ducts are in the attic.
Not a lick of insulation anywhere, except the attic floor.
House has definite cold areas, and things seem to get worse the more I do to try and fix it.
Help me?!