gawain3
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« on: January 03, 2011, 06:09:45 PM » |
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I've done a lot of research and have plenty of experience in renovating homes. I presently live in a wood-framed home with a brick veneer exterior. The house was built in 1960. I have discovered that there is no insulation whatsoever in the wall cavities. I would like to insulate the house. Here is what I propose. Someone please chime in with thoughts and advice.
I want to super-insulate the house in the following order:
(1) remove the 1/2" 2'x10' sheetrock strips that are covered with apx. 1/2" of mud/applied plaster; (2) clean any debris out of the wall cavities and then install Owens-Corning insulation batts without facing; (3) install 1" thick 4'x8' pink insulation boards (Owens-Corning), which is considered a vapor retarder, on the exposed studs; (4) install 7/16" thick 4'x8' oriented strand board for stiffness (for the sheetrock); (5) install a 6-mil plastic vapor barrier; (6) install 1/2" thick 4'x10' sheetrock; and (7) prime and paint the surface with a quality semi-gloss paint.
In the end, the cross section would look like this: (1) 3.5” thickness of brick, (2) ½” to 1” air gap, (3) ¾” thickness of brown, perhaps petroleum-based, Celotex (buffalo or beaver board?), (4) 3 ½” of pink insulation batts, (5) 1” thickness of pink insulation board, (6) 7/16” thickness of o.s.b., (7) 6-mil vapor barrier, (8) ½” thickness of sheetrock, (9) primer, and (10) semi-gloss paint.
Here are some of my concerns. First, I would like to use the oriented strand board for stiffness and so that I can apply the sheetrock uniformly. In addition, the o.s.b. base would allow for a rigid surface for installing heavy pictures etc. My first question, if I use o.s.b., where should my vapor barrier be?
Here is my second concern. In my research, a lot has been said about vapor diffusion. I am concerned that moisture will transit through the brick or mortar, the air gap, the buffalo board, and then come to rest in the insulation batts, thereby causing mold, or some related failure. I can find no data about insulating a brick veneer home. Should I be concerned about this possibility?
Lastly, because of insulating the house, the freeze-thaw line of the brick veneer has moved closer to the frame of the house. Because the brick veneer will be colder than it has been in the past, do I need to worry about spalling, cracks, or just a general degradation of the brick veneer? This concerns me the most.
Please give me your thoughts, good or bad.
Thanks
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