120 Year Old house get Air-Tight with Spray Foam Insulation

This house holds all the charm and style of houses that were built 120 years ago.  However, it also created insulation challenges that conventional insulation just could not provide the total comfort and benefits that Spray foam insulation does.  The logs shown below in the kitchen / dining area are unique in the fact that you can still see that each one was cut by hand.  The original chinking that came out from between these logs had horse hair in them, which is how Mr. Van Hout was able to date the house.
With 2 fireplaces and only cold water coming in, this made for a better Spring, Summer and Early Fall house than it did in the winter.  There was no way to keep heat in this house with all the opens and gaps that were there.
To insulate this house, there were several challenges...
  • Access to the underside was only available to the other section of the house
  • Insulating between the logs
  • Metal Roof on slats
  • True 4" deep 2x4's for the outside framing.
  • "Modern" addition for laundry room was added off back side of house
To properly insulate this house we used Spray Foam - 2lb density at  2 1/2"  closed cell foam sprayed from the underside.  The last attempt to insulate was destroyed b/c of critters.  The kitchen floor was foamed from the top side over board that was installed b/w each joist b/c there was no access from below.  Gaps in the walls/floor were filled with foam to insulate and eliminate bugs from being able to easily get in.  Using 2 lb density closed cell foam in the 4" stud walls allowed for plenty of R-Value because closed cell has a 6.3 R-Value per inch.  With the metal roof, small holes and sweating is an issue so we opted to install 1 1/2" of closed cell to seal off the ceiling first, then to finish up with  open cell foam to get the full R-Value.  In the dining room, installation was tough so we opted to just install enough closed cell foam to fully insulate the ceiling.  The laundry room had plywood sheathing and 2x4 stud walls so we used closed cell on the walls and open cell foam in the ceiling.  The bathroom was finished already, but they still needed to do some work with plumbing so walls were installed around the underside of the bathroom and those were foamed in to create a conditioned space and also allow for the plumbers to keep working without messing up the insulation.
With some creativity, incredible products and the ability to modify as needed - this 120 year old house is extremely energy efficient now and will be a wonderful home to live in once completed.

Call now to benefit from Spray Foam Insulation or Click Request a Quote.
(540) 432-1245

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