I am currently working on a house that was bricked up in the early 1900s; the house is in Zone 5A. So far, all the plaster and wood lathe has been removed from the interior. The house has balloon framing I am in the process of reinforcing the studs. My current condition is an exterior layer of brick, 3/4” spacing between the exterior sheeting and the brick, and open studs. I am trying to go about this construction in the greenest and most effective way possible.
I have complete access to the walls from the inside. I was thinking about these two options for insulation:
I can drill holes into the exterior wood siding (from before the house was bricked up) and spray foam between the brick and the siding… but I am worried that closed cell foam might push out the exterior brick when it expands. Do you have any advice for what type of foam should I go about using for this?
or
I could put a thin layer of foam from the inside against the sheeting and studs and then insulate with regular insulation followed by drywall with no vapor barrier on the inside.
What do you guys think? I have attached two pictures (one of a wall I still have to reinforce and another wall I just finished reinforcing). Is there another foam insulation option or a more advanced method that I should consider? I would really appreciate any ideas, thanks!