[Greenbuilding] Insulating walls in (old) wood framed house without vapor barrier?

[Reuben Deumling]

I really enjoy everything by Joe Latiburek, and was thinking of him when I
asked the question. Thank you for those links. I will need to read them
more closely than I did just now.

On Monday, November 25, 2019, Joe Killian <kaa-ajk at sonic.net> wrote:

> Reuben,
>
>   Is the insulation type a vapor barrier?  Could make all the difference.
>
>   I think one of the best descriptions I've seen for wall construction is
> at buildingscience.com
> https://www.buildingscience.com/documents/insights/bsi-
> 001-the-perfect-wall
> https://www.buildingscience.com/documents/building-
> science-insights-newsletters/bsi-090-joseph-haydn-does-perfect-wall
>
>   Just adding insulation without considering the water & air & vapor
> issues could easily lead to the damage reported by the house restorers.
> Understanding and addressing the whole picture to arrive at a properly
> functioning wall would be the ticket. That could well mean doing more than
> just blowing insulation into the walls.
>
> Joe
> On 11/25/2019 8:03 PM, Reuben Deumling wrote:
>
> I realize this list has gone silent, but in the hope that some of you
> smart greenbuilding folks are still out there, receiving this email, I
> would like to pick your brains. A correspondent from Illinois has been
> cautioned by five(!) "very experienced people' not to insulate the walls in
> an old house:
>
> In the attic, yes. We are not going to put it in the walls. After talking
> to multiple old house restorers who have been in the trade 40 years or
> more, they all say one thing, that due to lack of a vapor barrier, it will
> trap moisture and rot the framing in the walls. They did a lot of
> insulating in the 1970's, and then a great deal of structural repairs in
> the 1990's on those houses.
>
> I suggested he try to find a second opinion. Please share your wisdom.
>
> Thanks very much
> Reuben Deumling (who joined this list almost twenty(!) years ago.)
>
>
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