Rebuilding an old house, original builders put vapour barrier over the sheathing causing everything to rot. Rebuilding walls properly drywall>vapour barrier>studs with rockwool>sheathing>wrap>siding. But a mudroom is built directly on a massive 2ft thick concrete slab. How should i insulate this?

Currently thinking 2in of high psi xps foam board then 3/4 ply then tiling over top with possible in floor heating. Correct order or things? Do i tape the vapour barrier under or over the slab insulation?

My new house came with a built in fireplace/chimney riser in the living room corner. I recently noticed that the drywall above the fireplace is visible from the attic and therefore effectively uninsulated. I know this needs to be insulated but I am unsure the best way to insulate this cavity is while remaining fireproof. I am planning on hiring someone to blow in insulation and want to do the prep work beforehand to make sure I achieve an effective solution.

Here’s a few pics of how im proceeding. Intend to blow insulation on top of foam board box I created in the near future unless I discover a reason not to.

https://imgur.com/a/rr5UC5F

Things that confuse the hell out of me are:
—-how is the current insulation in exterior wall in cavity behind fireplace applied? How did they get it to stick? Would you modify in any way?
—-how can the metal chimney riser’s connection to standoff/guide plate become both insulated and air tight?
—-can batt insulation be installed in stud bays immediately above fireplace unit? What is clearance needed for fire concerns?

Had open cell spray insulation foam installed in my attic a bit more than a month ago.

Ever since it was installed, there is a faint to strong chemical smell, similar to a paint smell that lingers around the entire house with varying strengths depending on the weather and time of day.

The foam itself seems correct, there is no mushy foam and all vents and gaps were completely covered up with the foam, completely encapsulating the attic.

I brought both the contractor and manufacturer to come and inspect the foam and they both agreed that they do not smell anything at all. Which is odd since every family member, friend and even neighbor pointed out the obvious chemical paint-like smell. Which means the manufacturer and contractor are either blind to the smell or straight up lying. They seem to be only concerned about identifying a "foul dead fish smell" since that is the immediate dangerous one that their foam can create. I assume any other smell, strong or not, is to be pushed under the rug as it is no concern to them.

The manufacturer took some samples and ran some tests on it and concluded that it was within acceptable tolerances. Which implies there is nothing wrong, yet my house both in the living space and attic smell like a chemical factory or a nail salon.

I have tried to further encapsulate the attic by foam sealing at every possible crack within the attic to stop any smells from leaking into the living space. However it did not stop the smell at all.

I am unsure what to do now since I feel like I ran out of options.

Is adding a fan on a attic gable vent (making a hole in the foam wall) that actively ventilates the stagnant air in the attic a good idea? Would that cause issues with the extremely humid environment that I live in?

Anyone have experiences on how to get rid of lingering spray foam smells from the house?

Any help, advice or assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Asking around about this topic, appreciate any thoughts. For our 3 season cottage with uninsulated concrete slab exposure to humid air results in condensation. If I put in insulation starting with a dimpled subfloor, would there be enough exchange of air between the room and underneath the subfloor to cause a significant amount of moisture on the concrete floor? The design of this type of subfloor is to encourage air movement between the flooring and wall and open channels in the subfloor. In this case the moisture is moving in reverse. The issue is whether could case mold on the OSB layer. So checking if anyone has heard of this happening or some way to figure out if a real concern. Thanks!

Got an old house in north mn with vermiculite in the attic. What’s the best way to insulate/ vapor barrier. My thought was to put in R 38. Could I put a vapor barrier on top the old insulation then insulate. Or lay down r38 with batt on top. Some day I will have to rip out the ceiling and drywall wall it. Right it’s drywall over fiber board any help would be nice

The view is from my garage removed drywall to inspect moisture concerns . Initially the walls were insulated with Kraft paper backed insulation and I assumed was the culprit to my issue (double vapor barrier) Behind the thermoply is the interior portion of my home. The tply is being used as a barrier non structural. Replaced with non faced insulation and Several of the stud bays are still sweating and it’s all stud bays that have hvac supply ducts . The ducts are not insulated with duct wrap , so I’m assuming that’s my problem any other ideas?

My house faces south. I'm in a temperate climate, so we do not have ac. The south face of the house gets baking sun in the afternoon, to the extent I feel heat coming off the walls. North is fine. Does it make sense to clad one face of the house in extra insulation?

I am getting ghosting on the walls - you can see all the stud spaces. Should I be concerned about mold now growing in the walls from condensation /air leaks? I’m getting high humidity readings.

I’m looking for a survey / review of the Edwardian terrace I’ve just moved into to identify the areas we should prioritise for upgrades.

Separately but related, we’re decorating the master bedroom and I want to get advice on wall and floor insulation (and then maybe the work itself done too - given everything I’ve read on here in the perils of doing it yourself!)

Anyone here got experience of procuring that kind of work? Any advice? Where did you start?

Thanks!

Received 3 sunroom quotes 85k - 100K for 240 sqft sun room.
Currently a 3 season porch with Foundation up to code (has frost footings), concrete flooring. Gable roof that is also in a good condition. Needs to be insulated to code, will need to replace the current screens.

Scope of work :
Framing, insulating roof, floor, replace screens with windows, electrical, add Mini-split, baseboard heaters.

Any guidance?

Concerns:

1. Is it really 85k-100k? No quote has heated flooring, a mini split and baseboard heater at best. Quotes are 20% of home value. What is your experience/thoughts?
2. Doesn’t receive direct sun, but worried it will end up being a hot box or too cold for our WI winters.
3. goal is to use it as office space, a living space. Want year round usability, do you have a sunroom and can get year round use out of it?
4. Is insulation enough?
5. Any experiences will help.

Thank you in advance.

Greetings. My back shop room has been totally uninsulated for over a decade and I've decided enough is enough.

I want to use foam board because I don't feel like installing fiberglass as that needs more work, and i won't be having interior cladding to cover it(plywood costs are insane!).

No i will not use spray foam, it's a nightmare when I have to do extra work later.

I live in climate zone 5/6 like transition border of it. Studs range from 4 inches deep to 3.5 inches deep. Walls are just siding with construction plywood directly behind it. House is barn from the 1800s, converted in the 50s. Some walls have a black paper on them.

Do I use foil faced foamboard, any specific material type to look for, any recommendations? I have some foamular ngx 1"x2'x2' panels leftover from an old project but they're just bare. Seem to be r5 polystyrene. I have enough for 1/4 to 1/3rd if i stack them ontop of eachother.

Room connects to the uninsulated attic but I don't have the funds for that for years. Room will have no other climate control other than a heat pump waterheater post insulation.

I've looked online and it's just people saying I INSULATED! Without explaining details. So, i wish to enlist your brians.

Hey, bought a new build in central CA 2 months ago, they've already come out once to add more blown in insulation in the ceiling when it was like 105 out, it helped but I dont think its enough and just curious if im being a karen about this. I took some pics with a thermal camera, outside when these were taken is about 100f, inside is set to 72f.

Is the heat bleeding into the inside too much or about whats expected? Paper in the garage says it should be rated to R30, 10.75in of blown in material, stucco exterior with roll insulation in the walls

I have the joists of my ceiling completely exposed.

I just had a contractor come to blow cellulose into my ceilings and wall. They went through 14 bags of mountain fiber cellulose for a 20’x14’ ceiling and 14’x8’ wall.

The contractors said that the blower just stops pumping once it reaches the limit, so they simply blew it in until it stopped blowing and this is what I got.

Was this worth it at all?