Insulate Old House Floors

The insulation materials used in older houses are not as effective in keeping heat in as the new ones.

Insulate old house floors.

Knowing how to insulate walls in an old house may not be as important as knowing whether to insulate them. As mentioned most heat loss is typically through the roof. Adding insulation mitigates the problem but there are some considerations to keep in mind. In the quest to make our homes warmer and more efficient floor insulation is often overlooked.

The evolution of our family business from historic property renovators to residential energy efficiency experts began with our home a 1915 farmhouse in the heart of central north carolina. According to the 2012 irc the minimum r value for floor assemblies is r 13 in zones 1 and 2 r 19 in zones 3 and 4 r 30 in zones 5 and 6 and r 38 in zones 7 and 9. The answer to making an old house inhabitable is insulation. An uninsulated floor allows heat to escape making the house less energy efficient.

By insulating an old house we preserve its beauty and historical significance as well as its energy costs. Multiply the total inches of insulation by 3 2 to estimate the existing r value of your floor. The insulation must meet doe standards. This answer will vary from old house to old house.

Since warm air has a tendency to rise and cool air to fall insulating the attic is the place to start. Unfortunately in old homes this is a common place for heat to escape so it s worth thinking about how insulation can make them more thermally efficient hold heat for longer and protect your home from damp. Chances are good that if your house was built before the 1960 s there is little to no insulation. If you have 2 inches of insulation your floor has an r value of 6 4.

If you want to insulate a floor assembly by leaving the joist bays empty and installing rigid foam on the underside of the joists here are a few things to keep in mind. Most homes require at least r. I get asked a lot about insulating old houses especially in the wintertime. Insulation on this old house.

Many homeowners have made the. Original floors represent a precious link with the past their wonderful undulations. For extra protection add batt insulation to floor joists. A pier and beam home built on top of sturdy supports typically has an open crawl space between the floor of the house and the earth.

Even if you bought the house with insulation already installed into it it s best to double check. If you are insulating a crawl space be sure that entry points are appropriately covered to keep rodents out how to insulate walls in an old house.