Insulation in Older Homes - Worcerster, Boston

In the older homes around Worcester and Boston, many people wonder where to spend home rehabilitation money. Insulation is a great place to spend money if you want to save money.

The best place for insulation is in the attic floor, not in the walls. Also, if there's a drop stair or a door to the attic, make sure it's insulated and sealed too.

Once that's done, the attic should be properly ventilated. Insulation lets the attic stay near the outside temperature  in the wintertime. The ventilation and insulation let the attic space stay near the outside temperature of the summertime too.

If a historic house needs attic insulation, have a contractor put 1 to 2 inches of expanded foam sheeting down over the old floor, then put half-inch plywood flooring on it and use long screws to join the sandwich to the old attic floor.  The attic itself is then separated from the building envelope.

Around the sills, between floor joists, is another place where it's essential to insulate.  Batt insulation placed there with the shiny metal facing the inside of the basement also act as firebreaks, preventing a fire in the basement of an older balloon-framed house from spreading due to the chimney effect of the tall empty spaces between the studs.

For more information on adding insulation to older or historic homes, contact Custom Insulation.

Excerpts myeasternshoremd.com