Replies

1. 
   Mad_Dog | Jan 27, 2002 04:41am | #1

   *
   Hi Donald,

   I assume you are interested in the insulation mostly from the standpoint of a cooling benefit rather than a heating concern, but no matter, it helps both ways. Your idea of hardiplank is an excellent choice for a bungalow. I'd be tempted to say that you don't need sheathing under that, especially if you do a good job and keep your edges/joints sealed well.

   But how about some rigid foam insulation, acting sort of as sheathing but helping to gain some needed insulation quality? You can get R10 or possibly better out of a single sheet thickness. These can be tongue and grooved for an even better air seal, plus help to even out the wall surface for the siding.

   You're the first person I've seen use the term underbuilt when comparing a bungalow to today's cheapo houses. Interesting.

   Good luck. How's the interior detailing? Love those old houses.

   MD

1. 
   Donald_Nichols | Jan 27, 2002 05:16am | #2

   *Mad Dog, Underbuilt? 2x8 floor joists 24" o.c. 14' spans, yea, there is a bit of bounce when you walk across the floor. ceiling joists are 2x4 24" o.c. 13' spans, only they did not have long 2x4s, so they used a twelve footer and scabbed on that extra foot, it did not help that a heavy attic fan was installed over the dining room, quite a bit of sag before I replaced the joists with 2x8, remember, those joists are holding up 1x8 sheathing plus sheetrock. Rafters are 2x4, too, 10 - 12 foot span, all of these are reasons I am surprised there are not more sags in the framing, you can't say that about every house in the area. I wish the detailing was better, there have been some unfortunate "improvements" over the years, but the wide baseboard, door and window casings and interior doors remain - all old southern heart pine; windows double-hung sash, divided lite over a single pane. Original floors, narrow strip, mostly vertical grain pine. I hope to install new interior details appropriate to the style of the house, like the best bungalows. By the way, what about vapor barriers, or tar paper? Thanks, Don

1. 
   Mad_Dog | Jan 27, 2002 08:01am | #3

   *Donald,I guess I'd call your house poorly built, if not underbuilt. Went a tad skimpy on the lumber. Maybe depression built? At least it was probably good quality full dimension lumber?Vapor barrier, tar paper, etc. Guess it depends how far you go with it all. If you rip out the asbestos shingles, old claps, get into the wall cavity then shoot, you could insulate in several different ways and put some tarpaper on before your nice new siding. I'd use latex paint on the inside as a vapor barrier where possible. You sure don't want it on the outside of the wall as I'm thinking you're well aware.But, it's an old house. Mine's older yet, and I don't get too excited about vapor barriers and tar paper on it in general, though if I would replace all the siding that would surely factor heavily into the argument, which so far has been smaller scale remodeling work.Do you plan to be thorough with this, strip it down or were you going to add onto one or more existing layers?

1. 
   Donald_Nichols | Jan 30, 2002 06:09am | #4

   *Mad Dog,(good lumber, probably indeed built during the depression). I pretty much plan to take off all of the exterior siding down to the studs, and replace it with a clapboard, more like the original look. (Insulate from the outside, if I can, I wasn't expecting to wind up with a superinsulated box, but anything will be better than nothing. I have a traintrack nearby, and I also hope to realize some soundproofing.) I saw a much older redo, now "hardiplanked", and they did indeed run sheathing (3/8 " or 1/2" ply) and I think Tyvek on the outside of the studs before installing the clapboards. by the way, it does dip in to the 20s & 30s here, and these old places were designed more to stay cool than warm. (today it is unusally warm, highs in the 80s lows in the 60s). Thanks, Don

1. 
   bobntpa_ | Mar 03, 2002 03:16am | #5

   *Donald,You mentioned that the house currently had cement-asbestos shingles on the exterior walls. Are there issues involved with removing this type of siding on a home? The reason I ask is mine has the same type of siding and I want to remove it but have yet to contact the city to see what is involved.

2. 
   Hausdok_ | Mar 03, 2002 07:25am | #6

   *Hi Don,Last summer, I raised a sagging second floor of a 1-1/2story 1918 bungalow, replaced the corner supports that hold up the second floor, installed a set of paralam headers across the front span, restored the frieze and then restored the front and back porches. While I was doing that, another company, Evergreen Siding, came in and completely tore off all of the exterior siding, so an insulation contractor could shoot insulation into the walls. Once insulated, the siding company completely redid the entire exterior in Hariplank claps and Hardishingles. The house came out looking great. For an idea what your house could look like, go to http://www.evergreensiding.com , click on projects and single-family residences and check out the house. For some reason, last time I looked, they still hadn't posted the photos of what it looked like when completed, but it is about 90% there in the last photo. It went from the ugliest house in the neighborhood to the one that all the neigbors want to emulate. The Hardie product was a good choice and should bring that old house to the next century if cared for.ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!Mike O'HandleyBungalow Rescue, Kenmore, WA