These last few weeks have been all a-go here. The insulator people came and pumped lordy knows what into the walls. Here we build, since the 70s or so with two skins of block or brick. Back when the house was built insulating was a seen by the builders as a nuisance and so they never were all that great at it. Plus the inch or two of polystyrene was only slightly better than useless.
Once the walls were done they proceeded to the attic and put another 8 inches of rock wool on top of the glass fiber already there.
I also got two fans installed, one in the kitchen and the other in the bathroom.
Also a path to the tank in the attic. So no more balancing on joists when I check it and clean it.
I'm doing the Kelby One World Wide Photo Walk in Clonmel. And had a big write up in the local paper. A far far faaaar more impressive achievement than getting into the national papers, (chuckle).
Once the walls were done they proceeded to the attic and put another 8 inches of rock wool on top of the glass fiber already there.
I also got two fans installed, one in the kitchen and the other in the bathroom.
Also a path to the tank in the attic. So no more balancing on joists when I check it and clean it.
I'm doing the Kelby One World Wide Photo Walk in Clonmel. And had a big write up in the local paper. A far far faaaar more impressive achievement than getting into the national papers, (chuckle).
Back when I was in school, insulation was stressed. (as well as things like double or triple-glazed panes, window placement, berming, and other energy saving ideas) When we built our house thirty years ago, we went above and beyond the standards. We've never regretted it.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you're set for winter. (and don't let your fame go to your head) ;)
Ohh, I'm all for it too. And the more the better. But things tend to a pattern and other things impinge. We have the sorta 180 of your reasons for insulation. You see we don't get below about 10 degrees in winter and rarely above 25 in summer. But it is always damp to some extent. And the bane of Irish and UK houses is mold growing where the warmth of the house air condenses on cold spots where the double wall joins.
DeleteI will never forget one damp summer when I was at University and opened the closet door in my apartment only to see a bright green film growing on all my shoes!
DeleteIt's kind of funny (or maybe not), that we've gotten so good at insulating our homes that many folks have more upper respiratory problems than in the past. Our houses can no longer "breathe" properly now that they're sealed up so well. House dust/dander is trapped inside with us.
That was exactly my reasoning for the fans. I'm eventually going to have passive air exchange so the warm house air exchanges it's heat with the fresh air.
DeleteOh you've been busy! We need the insulation here, for opposite reasons, of course. I was working in my garage the other day and sweating to death, wondering if it would be beneficial to do the same in there. All that kind of work on the house is the no fun kind though, the behind the scenes as it were, but still necessary. I hope it serves you well this winter.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the write up!!
I expect with you it's a toss up whether to install the new solar panels to run the air conditioning system. I expect that's the big cost in your house.
DeleteThey were in and out pretty rapidly. Faster than I thought quite frankly.
Yes sounds as if you have made some smart investments in your home. There's a saying here in the U.S.: Pay now or pay later. With home ownership, it seems we are always paying!
ReplyDeleteHoping your faithful blog readers will benefit from your participation in the photo walk!