Greetings from NY : My house is a 1934 colonial w/ orig windows / no insulation in the walls. I have been going back and forth for a couple years now on what would be the best way to fix the house There is Brick veneer on the first floor and 8″ cedar siding on the second . the second floor cantilevers over about 1′ on the front and back of the house . I am thinking of getting Pella windows made up w/ divided lites and getting the exterior of them in a color so I dont have to paint them any more . There are firestops in every wall in the house @ 4 ‘ . I was thinking of either getting blown in on the inside and new windows /or packing out the existing 2×4 studs and putting R-21 in . All the trim and doors have been improperly painted w/ latex over the top of a good enamel paint job and it keeps chipping off so I dont like painting because its a useless proposition The trim is orig and it looks like standard colonial trim you would buy today except its a dense fir and its a little wider and thicker than the new stuff the doors are the same nice fir /6 panel .I dont have the time to strip the paint and its not worth having them stripped at the prices they want to strip them . I am thinking of starting to go thru the house and re trim and insulate the walls and change the windows room by room as I can afford to do each one . Anybody have any advise for me ? Any ideas on my method ? Also there is the roof whic is slate . When it snows the snow comes ripping down off it and there are never any Ice dams , I am afraid that if I insulate I will start getting them . there are only 6 ” soffits which are un vented . I have 2 Gable end windows one has a exhaust fan that I use in the summer to pull the heat out . That is another thing I am concerned with should I use proper vents in this case or should I insulate the floor and leave the rafters open ?
Thanks in advance
Roy Kennedy
Edited 11/29/2002 5:19:12 PM ET by royalt
Edited 11/29/2002 5:22:36 PM ET by royalt
Replies
Roy my name is Dave Brown and I am a painting contractor on Nantucket Island ,Ma.I now work on new homes but for 15 years I did cosmetic restorations and house stripping down in Ct.(Fairfield county) and did a lot of the work your thinking of doing.1 replacing the trim is easier than stripping it on a whole interior.2 insulating from the interior(correctly)is almost impossible unless the walls are gutted,blown -in may be the way to go here.3 Pella or Marvin make very good replacement windows with new jam liners they are a good way to go.....but true divided sash are ultra expensive, even what they call SDL's(1 piece with dividers applied ) will shock your wallet.What you have is called a garrison colonial because of the 2nd. floor overhang.Usually these homes look good with 6/6 sash or better yet 12/12 both of these are expensive grille options but are still less expensive than true division.On the other ?,s I'm really not that experienced but you have come to the right site look around and see who can help. good luck! Dave
Happy Day after , Dave : Thanks for the reply . I'm a remodeling contractor myself I bought the house in1991 it had a termite problem when I bought it and that was solved . I'm glad that you know the style of the house . I rarely meet anyone that knows that . When I first bought it I removed the aluminum siding on the 8" clapboards up stairs, down and the gables are brick I removed all the alligator paint w/ a heat gun during the late winter and early spring , the material is" cherrycondition " . I have always had a great deal of admiration for the workmanship in the house,and I really hate to change anything and if I do its after a great deal of thought about it . Anyway , I did exactly as you are saying about the windows I ordered the pella architect replacement sashes talk about sticker shock . I feel the wood on the orig windows is better than anything I could buy on the market today thery are 1930's no sign of rot solid as oak . They are 8 over clear sash on the bottom . I talked to an architect about the insulation and he felt that I could prob leave the walls alone and the windows alone would make a giant improvement . they are big windows I ordered the downstairs ones for now . I have that rock lath w/ 3coats of plaster and wire mesh on the ceiling corners 3/4 shiplap and brick maybe about an r-5-6 . I really don't want to disturb the walls and Im using "Aqualock over the existing trim then Ben Moores best paint over that. it will have to do . I wanted to change the doors but The new hinges wouldn't be a ball hinge and the locks are mortised in and the wood isn't as good as the old doors no veneers . If I get new doors and just leave them natural I would see the lines where the veneers meet because thr panels arent solid . The locks are nice old brass . Ihave just decided to keep and improve what I have , I think I will be better off . I really love old hardware and stuff and I hate to change any of it its old dexter locksets . Pella also has some nice storm doors I have a dutch door on the front of the house and they have a storm door that matches the 12 lite w/ the horz panel on the bottom that are usually wood
Thanks again Dave I appreciate you advise
Roy
Just a quick thought on the insulation. If you are going to live there for any period of time I'd sure insulate. Fuel is going up and always has.
If you have not painted the interior this would be a good time to do the blown in. Get a good couple of hole saws and drill, vent, and fill each cavity. Patch the plaster or better yet get someone who knows plastering to do the repair after you insulate.(it will look better) I'm suggesting doing it from the inside. That way you avoid the brick and any weep hole drainage issues. You might be able to use a special paint that would provide some level of vapor barrier.
This is the time to bite the bullet. Make one big f-in, mess fix it, and then clean it up.
Finally put a blanket of fiberglass on the attic floor. You could use the same gable vents unless they leak snow & rain. You'd probably want to put in a couple of soffit vents if there are dead air areas in the attic. Don't forget to insulate the rimjoist, 6-10% of your energy goes out there.
Particular concern should be the chimney as the flue or the bricks could be a great source of moisture. If there is no flue inside the chimney add one. With old style furnaces there never was a problem with condensation as the great amount of waste heat carried away the moisture. 80% and greater furnaces will send a plume of moisture up the chimney that will condense and efflouresce the bricks in a leaky chimney. Even if the wall where the chimney is - is plastered, the brick chimney will eventually efflouresce and ruin the plaster.
Mine was built in 1910 and I've short stepped most of the repairs thinking I'd save time/money but it comes to haunt you if it isn't done right.
You'll never revisit it if you do it right. This comes from a guy who'd repainted every room 3 times.
Booch- that is some valuable stuff from the voice of experience. ...sitting in his nowhereland.
Oh I hear ya My Plaster is rough in some spots I was thinking of putting the holes in on the top and bottom and rocking over them . I hate makin a mess and starting a big project around my own house .
Thanks for your input
Roy