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

[Reuben Deumling]

On Tuesday, November 26, 2019, John Straube <jfstraube at uwaterloo.ca> wrote:

> too simple to say “can be” or “cant be”
> It depends.  on the wall assembly, materials, interior climate, exterior
> climate and exposure.
> Lots and lots of “old" homes have been insulated, the vast majority
> successfully.
>
> So what is the wall made of? How old? What is the interior RH in the
> winter? Rain exposure?



1912 bungalow in Kampsville, Illinois. Wood 2x4 studs, tightly spaced
horizontal wood siding (clapboard), double hung windows. It has a deep
wraparound porch oriented S and W, but not a lot of trees right near the
house and flat country so I assume some of the walls are plenty exposed.
Interior RH in winter I would have to make an uneducated guess so I won"t.
I don't know the interior wall surfaces but am assuming lath and plaster.



> In most cases down in cellulose combined with a good air sealing job on
> the inside works very well with low low risk


That was my gut feeling but I have not thought of authoritative ways of
making this case so am turning to you folks. Thanks for all the points so
far.

>
> > On Nov 25, 2019, at 23:03, Reuben Deumling <9watts at gmail.com> 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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> Dr John F Straube, P.Eng.
> jfstraube at uwaterloo.ca
> www.JohnStraube.com
>
>
>
>
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