[Greenbuilding] Insulating 140 Year Old Wood Framed Brick Facade Building

[LarenCorie]

From: Sam Ewbank <g.l.ewbank at gmail.com>

> I am looking for advice and suggestions on  insulating and air sealing a 
> 3
> story 140 yr old (circa 1870) brick facade building. with wood balloon
> framing and was hoping list members would be willing to impart some of
> their wisdom and expertise.

> 2"x 5" wood studs 1' on center
>
> 1" sheathing (widths very from 6" to 30")
>
> vertical lath on top of the studs
>
> horizontal lath (spaced for plaster key ways)
>
> plaster which has been removed.
>
> There is no insulation currently in the building.

> The building is located in USA, Southwest Michigan zone 5, approximately
> 6,600 hdd, and 34" of precipitation per year.
>
> Walls are 14' tall
>
> As for insulating, the building owners would like to avoid the use of 
> spray
> foam as a personal choice.
>
> Some concerns: keeping the brick facade in tack, maintaining the air 
> space
> between framing and brick, finding the best solution that keeps the 
> budget
> from becoming astronomical (astronomical is subjective I know)

Hi Sam;

       If there is no active knob & tube wiring in those walls,
I recommend dense packed cellulose though having removed
the plaster, with the lath still in place, may demand interesting
leak/dust procedures during installation. You may do best to
install the interior finish first (if the inspector allows that) or
glue insulation netting over the face of the lath.     Talk to a
cellulose contractor, or call Applegate or Nu-Wool (both
Michigan cellulose manufacturers)  Your best strategy will
depend on the interior finish. If you are going to drywall it,
you will probably do best to take down more of the lath,
and use insulation netting. Might as well have most of that
plane filled with R3.7 cellulose, instead of R1.25 wood.

 -Laren Corie-
 Natural Solar Building Design and
 Solar Heating/Natural Cooling/Energy
 Efficiency Consultation Since 1975
 www.ThermalAttic.com  (many new
 photos and pages, coming soon)

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