Insulation of older homes

Factual Questions
1

We are considering moving in the next couple of years, and find ourself drawn to older (1900-40) homes. Living in the Chicago area, I was wondering what issues there are concerning insulation in homes of this age, and what can be done about them. I would have to imagine that original wooden windows/storms are less efficient than modern insulated, multiple-pane units (not to mention less convenient). But it also seems as tho they would lack as good insulation in the walls, Ty-vek wrapping, and such. I would imagine that adding insulation in attic spaces would be the easiest deficit to rectify.

I would appreciate it if folks with knowledge/experience would let me know if I should continue to consider old homes as a possibility, or if I would regret spending my older years in a cold, drafty house.

2

Odds are there is no insulation in the walls. Coal, and later natural gas, were used. But houses in that era most often had no insulation in the walls.

I bought a 1915 clapboard house that had none, and I hired a company to blow it in. There are also books available on how to refurbish those original windows. I have a couple around here I bought on Amazon (and saw on This Old House). I haven’t gotten around to reading them.

You can refurbish old windows. An IR scan of the house might be helpful to see where the envelope is leaking the worst. Old houses are a lot of work. But if you enjoy these homes it can be a labor of love. For myself, I can’t see living in a tri-plex or ranch in Suburb, USA. It’s just not me.

3

Around here “older homes” means those built in the 1700’s or 1800’s. And yes, there are still plenty of them standing and in relatively good shape.

The windows can be replaced if necessary, lots of companies make replacements that will fit the building style. The attic and walls can be insulated if necessary, lots of alternatives available now with blown in foam or blown in fiberglass.

From what I understand the biggest problem is the interior of the structure. Moisture vapor migrates out from the warmer inside to the colder outside. And it then condenses in the walls on the interior side of the exterior sheathing. In new construction that’s why you see the plastic under the sheetrock and why fiberglass rolls have the vapor barrier installed on the inside.

If you can stop the moisture migration, the building will be nice and snug and stand for another hundred years.

Search carefully and you might be able to find a gem that’s already been restored.

4

We live in a 1922 four-square minus the third floor, and we did two things: we installed blown-in insulation ourselves (if you can at all afford it, pay someone else to do this, trust me), and we installed those aluminum sliding storm/screen windows where you can slide the storm up or down, which were the best investment we ever made, even if it did mean the Better Half spending an entire aggravating day up on a ladder screwing storm windows into frames. Every fall, when the weather turns Definitely Cold, usually in November, I go around the house and ceremonially close all the storms and add a little rope caulk, and when I’m done the house is suddenly measurably warmer, as in “The furnace stops kicking on every 15 minutes”.

Adding a Draft Stopper at both the front and back doors helps a lot, too. They’re just rolled-up-and-duct-taped old beach towels, but they work just fine.

5

My house was built before 1760. The windows were last replaced in the 1930’s before we bought it and they had to go. Our heating bill for one month the first winter was $1100. We replaced all the windows in period style for about 20K. The walls had insulation ranging from very old newspapers to horse hair and whatever else they could find. I won’t say the house isn’t drafty but it is perfectly acceptable with the original wall insulation. The windows were another story.

6

We bought a house built around 1875, and it had been updated by the previous owners. Many newer windows, and a nicely sealed basement. The wall insulation was there, and there was attic insulation.

Two big points to consider:

1- The house we bought had tons of charm, and had the new windows and updates. But, we traded off the structural good points for trouble with interior decor. The prior owner had removed all of the plaster (yea!) but replaced it with paneling, which was then painted and wallpapered over (boo!). The rooms all had sufficient outlets and lighting (yea!) but had never wired it properly, so we have 14 outlets on one side of the house going to one breaker (boo!) You get the idea. I still think it was a fair trade, since much of the updating can be done by my husband and I, and it’s less expensive than buying 20 new windows.

2 - GET AN ASBESTOS INSPECTION! We have a huge attic on the top of the house, and a small attic space on the rear. It was unfinished and filled with vermiculite insulation (looks like kitty litter). The insulation sucked, and it was impossible to work with it, since it would be too messy. This fall, while planning a bathroom remodel, we decide to clean out the old insulation and replace it. Turns out - it’s deadly vermiculite insulation, contaminated with tremolite asbestos. Swell…

It cost us $14,850.00 to clean out about 100 sq. feet of it. Turns out the previous owner had probably gotten a ton of it “free” (read: stolen) from the local steel mills.

Get the home inspectors to contact a good environmental company and get it tested.

7

I live in a rowhouse built between 1890 to 1900, (the city records are sparse). My house had no insulation in the attic until we had it blown in. We have double brick walls for the exterior walls so there was really no place to put in installation unless we gut the house and I really don’t want to do that. The windows were replaced by a previous owner so we don’t have the original windows although I would love to replace ours with something better for soundproofing.

8

I also live in a rowhouse built around 1890-1900. My husband has been doing a lot of renovation, and we have found virtually no insulation. There was a thin layer in the attic, which looked like finely shredded newspaper, but none at all in the walls, and the windows are very leaky. We’ve been trying hard to insulate wherever we can…we laid it down in the attic, and every time my husband has to open a wall to do electrical, plumbing, or just to fix the plaster, we put it in between the studs. We have also been restoring the windows…stripping paint, etc., and when we have the windows out, we stuff insulation in there. So, it’s a patchy job, but even the amount that we have done has helped bring the heating bills down a bit. The house is not that cold, though…maybe due to it’s being a rowhouse, I don’t know. We don’t tend to run the heat really high, because we are cheap. :slight_smile:

9

You don’t have to spend your years in a cold, drafty house!
You can:
Spend all your money on heating costs for a warm, drafty house or
Spend all your money insulating an old drafty house
Spend all your money on an old house that someone else has already insulated.

Either way, factor insulation or additional heating costs into any purchase of an old house. Only you can decide if it’s worth it to you.

This is from a person living in a house built in 1810 with no insulation. I lurve old houses. I would not have bought this house had the owners not installed a brand new very expensive high efficiency boiler last year. This place has old (leaky) windows and the only insulation is in the attic above one of the four bedrooms. We’re basically paying to heat a wooden tent this winter. Add to that the fact that the radiator is missing from one of the bedrooms. (we’re working on that this week - it’s going to be in the low four figures to get that mess straightened out) The house is eating our life and all our money. We will finish insulating the attic (fiberglass) and after rewiring to eliminate remaining knob and tube, will have insulation blown into the walls. We will do something about the windows (still trying to decide what, exactly). This will all be expensive. However, when we’re done with all the renovations to this money pit (they go far beyond insulation) it will be worth 3x what we paid for it. And we will be 40 years older.

You’ve got to love old houses. Otherwise they will break you.

10

Thanks, all.

Really trying to figure out what all of our options will be.

Our fave would be a craftsman bungalow, but after our current place we are going to want a lot on a quieter street with at least a little more space between us and our neighbors. So I’m also thinking of some ranches/cape cods thinking if we can get one cheap, we can put some $ into it for a pretty major remodel.

Hopefully we should be able to pull a decent amount of equity from our present house (provided we can sell the damn thing!) and are downsizing, which should increase our flexibility. In some ways, it seems it might be better to buy a house that is more of a wreck, as you might feel freer in replacing the siding/windows/etc. and doing all the necessary updating.

11

I live in a Tudour-style house built in 1932. The walls have no insulation.

Here are the issues I face:

  1. The original leaded glass windows are in bad shape, they are a major source of heat loss.

  2. The interior walls are covered with gumwood panelling. I don’t want to disturb them.

  3. The exterior walls apparently are not built in such a manner that it is easy to blow in insulation.

Here’s what I am doing about it:

  1. For a couple of hundred dollars I hired a firm to do an energy audit.

  2. Right now, I’m getting the windows refurbished - not replaced. A local firm is making the original leaded glass into tripple-paned. Looks the same (much nicer than exterior storms) - costs a lot, around $10,000

  3. I’ll get additional insulation in the attic.

  4. Weatherstripping is a cheap and easy way to cut down on heat loss.

  5. The only solution I can see to insulating the walls is to add it on the outside and stucco. Not sure I want to do that though, as it is a major procedure.

12

Many years ago (mid 1970s), my father remodelled a house that had been built as a guards’ quarters for the Texas prison system in the late 1800’s. The walls, even the interior ones, had been filled with sawdust as insulation. The outer surfaces were lathe and plaster.

It was quiet messy.

13

Mine was built in 1928, and the windows are the worst part. I don’t want to replace them, because they’re original and have wavy glass and all, but I’m afraid that refurbishing will be a) expensive, and b) probably break them anyway. I added a lot of insulation to the attic and under the house, and I really think the windows are the big bad.

14

Disclaimer: I grew up in old houses and love them. I’ve lived in a few newer houses (say, 1970s +) and hated it.

Old houses have their…quirks, shall we say. But if you like them, it’s all worth it. I’ve recently moved back into an older house (1932). I don’t believe there’s a true square nor a level floor anywhere in the place. It’s terrific!

Attic: definitely check and insulate as needed. This is the most likely upgrade to have already been done, but may need a booster depending on the age of the insulation.

Windows: original windows will leak like sieves. Storm windows will help, how much depends on their age and condition. Replacing the windows with modern units is probably the easiest and most effective solution. If you don’t want or can’t afford to do that, then get the best storm windows you can. Also pull apart the window frames and insulate inside them - the frames leak horrendously and the storm windows don’t cover that part. Don’t forget heavy drapes, insulated are best. That alone can help quite a bit. Exterior shutters may be a good option, depending on your location and the house.

Walls: original walls probably have little or no insulation. If you’re doing tearout repairs on the walls, you can usually add bat or board insulation as you do that. If not, you can often have insulation blown in through small holes. I believe the newest is the expanding foam insulation. It’s more expensive than blown but is supposed to work better (improved fill into gaps and crevices, and maybe a higher r-value).

Be warned - if you’re used to carpet, wood/tile floors are cold. I hate carpet with a passion, except when I think of it wistfully in the dead of winter as I get out of bed. If you have to redo heating, consider radiant floor heating (depending on your floor style and materials). Otherwise, stock up on warm socks!

Around here, buying an already-restored home can take quite a while (not that much turnover) and be very expensive, but would be a great option if you can afford it. Actually, it’s getting difficult to buy a reasonably priced fixer-upper, because most of them have already been bought.

I’d second the recommendation to get an expert in to see what’s needed and make recommendations. Many gas/electric companies will do energy audits, or you can hire your own expert. The IR scanning is pretty cool - it will tell you specifically where in the walls more insulation is needed.

hey, raindog, what books do you have? We’ve got original windows and I don’t want to replace them. I’m still trying to find some reasonably priced, well built storm windows, which seem to be much less available now due to the complete-replacement windows.

15

One “well now, why didn’t I think of that?” thing you can do to really help is to put up heavy, multilayered curtains over those windows. Turns out those silly Victorians weren’t just interested in things looking pretty, it’s practical! Keeps the place not only warmer in the winter, but cooler in the summer, because you can darken the rooms you’re not using and not turn the place into a greenhouse.

However, our landlord did have vinyl windows, doublepaned, installed in July, and it has made a huge difference. Then again, since we had snow blowing into our daughter’s bedroom last year, through the cracks in the window’s frame, anything would have helped!

16

A few years back, I bought a home that was built in 1940. No insulation at all.

In the winter it was miserable. Always cold, even though the heat ran 24/7. A 900 square foot house and a $700/mo heat bill, and still cold and drafty.

I laid attic insulation, and rented a blown in machine and bought the insulation from Lowes. A miserable hard job, but did it myself with the help of a few friends. It made a world of difference, and the heat bill dropped to $110/ month.

These old houses didn’t need insulation. Coal and natural gas was cheap and plentiful. Those old heaters made the house so hot that you actually had to open windows at times in the winter…

17

Something I haven’t seen mentioned yet – maybe because it doesn’t help all that much – is caulking around the windows, baseboards, mouldings, and electrical outlets. It was a clear caulk – I didn’t even notice it until the realtor pointed it out.

This was done in an 1890’s house I owned for a couple of years. Nothing else had been done to the house as far as insulation, except for combo storm windows and some fiberglass in the attic. It was never drafty.

I can’t imagine that it helped that much, but maybe it helped some.

18

Caulking is definitely good. It can actually make quite a difference in some houses, but usually not as much as windows and insulation.

19

Back in the late 50’s, I bought an old home (1880’s) in New Hampshire. I had to put a new steam furnace in, then I had to repair the foundation which had a lot of leakage of cold air coming in. Then, I added insulation to all of the outside walls (did it myself.) I made cuts in the outside walls, but at the top of each wall inside of the rooms. And filled the walls with blow in type insulation that comes in bags. I also put aluminum frame storm windows on all the windows. After all that work, my home was snug and warm in the winter.

20

Something that made a difference for us was pointing the brick outside and fixing a spot where the brick had collapsed under the back stoop. It was definitely a weak stop and it has made a difference in the house’s temperature and our heating bills.