This will be our second winter in a new home. We purchased an existing "model" home from a builder. I know the quality of wok is not what I want, expect, but this is what I have to work with right now. My main complaints are draftiness and temperature swings from floor to floor and room to room. I have investigated having someone come in for an energy audit (FLIR cameras, blower test, etc.) but my main concern is not what he will find, but how I can fix or have fixed the identified problems. As an example... the exterior walls are 2X4 with what appears to be blown in fiberglass. The walls are 'cold' to the touch. Short of vacuuming out all of the fiberglass and retrofitting with spray in foam for existing structures is there much that can be done? Basement is finished so attacking the rim joist will be difficult in 75% of the wall footage. If the windows were poorly installed I guess we remove trim and seal properly. There are probably not any easy solutions, but I think it is worth asking. Ian.

ian_upton, I hope that some of our resident "insulation scientists" will be able to help you. However, at this point, your post should serve as a red flag for potential first time home buyers, who are perusing this site for information. Perhaps some of these folks will be motivated to look beyond the "frills" (granite countertops, high end appliances, jacuzzi tubs, complicated floorplan and elevation designs, etc. etc.) and consider what's really important in the design and construction of a home (That is IF comfort, and "real" long term costs of ownership are of any concern)

In the meantime, good luck with your search for a solution to your concerns as outlined in your post, I'll defer to the experts, rather than try to offer up any suggestions, since the field of retrofit energy upgrades is not my area of expertise.

Depending on the exterior siding, if the insulation in the walls is that bad , cellulose insulation can be added.

I would encourage you to have the energy audit.  Air infiltration is likely a bigger problem for you than R value.  Some problems will clearly be easier to fix than others, but at least you will know what/where/how big the problems are and can then formulate a plan accordingly.

Even if you do actually have a lot of insulation, lack of attention to detail can cause terrible problems.

Good luck,

Bruce

I agree with Bruce. Air infiltration is a much bigger cause of uncomforable houses than we all have realized. I strongly suspect your main problems are due to air infiltration rather than type or amount of insulation. To be clear, more insulation may make the house more comfortable and easier to heat, but if you have insulated walls that are cold, they probably have air moving through them which is carrying off the heat. Likewise uneven temperature swings and especially draftiness are hallmarks of air infiltration. In terms of the energy audit, the blower door test where the auditor goes around the house to identify leakage spots will get you more bang for your buck than the infa-red, although those photographs are fascinating.

One of the most common places for air infiltration is the sill/rim joist area so I would strongly suggest you cut the sheetrock so you can access & foam the sill area. It is likely that air from that area is getting into the stud bays & contributing to the problems.

I was at a friends this weekend - in a remodleing project he has ripped out an upstairs closet in his 1840s cape and exposed the wall and roof sheathing, plus opened up a small hole into the attic. The first night they froze in their adjoining bedroom. Next day he realized that the attic hole was sucking a tremdous amount of heated air out of the upstairs & out through the attic vents - in other words he had made an opening where a tremendous amount of air infilttration (exfiltration in this case) could happen, so he closed up & sealed the attic hole. Now there are still places where you can see the exterior sheathing - both walls & roof, and the attic hole is just covered by a piece of plywood foamed at the edges, but the heat loss has been cut dramatically from the first night and the house is pretty comfortable. Obviously he needs to reinuslate, but it was a good example of the role infiltration plays in the overall picture.

Thanks for the replies. I peeked into the attic last night. Fiberglass batt insulation with fiberglass loose fill on top. I could see the 'depth markers' that were used to show insulation to an R30 depth. I found a certificate stapled on a rafter. I thought min code would have been more than R30 in the ceiling. I was suprised that when I was standing on the ladder in the attic access hole the amount of warm air that was rushing by me. The access to the attic was simply a piece of drywall that you push out of the way. No insulation on top of it. I will look further into the energy audit. Any suggestion for south east Michigan? Ian.

Ian,

Where about in south east Michigan are you? I'm in Ray Twp which is near Mt. Clemens.

For an energy audit, contact Dave Moran their website is www.michiganheat.com his email and phone # is on the website.

I believe the min. insulation you want in your attic is R38... R49 is ideal. You can buy bags of cellulose insulation at Home Depot and rent a machine. If you buy a certain # of bags (I believe around 20) the rental is no charge. Put a gasket around your attic access and get some insulation on top of the drywall piece.

Jere

Jere -

I am in Grand Blanc. R30 is code for Genessee county. Nothing better than min code that's for sure...

I'll keep everyone posted if I get the energy audit scheduled.

Ian.

Several years ago I experienced the same problem you've described, Ian. The house was cold and drafty in mid-winter and our heating bills were up around $300 a month. About that time, I also noticed that the snow on the roof melted in certain areas faster than in others. It was common to see strips of snow marking where the rafters were located. The temperature of the air in the attic was several degrees higher than the outside air. The "hot spots" on the roof pointed to potential problem areas that needed investigation. I climbed into the attic and pulled back the fiberglass insulation and found numerous places where air was passing through the ceiling into the attic. I could actually feel the warm air escaping into the attic space. Later, a smoke stick made it easy to find these air leaks. It became clear that the insulation contractor did a terrible job installing the insulation. I found many gaps in the kraft paper facing and no indication that seams were taped. In some places even staples were missing. The biggest leaks were found over soffited areas in the ceiling below and anywhere a duct, pipe or wire entered the attic. Electrical junction boxes in the ceiling (for light fixtures) were another source of air leaks. I spent two long uncomfortable weeks up in the attic finding and repairing these holes in the ceiling insulation vapor barrier with tape and urethane foam. It was impossible to plug every air leak, but once the work was done we noticed an improvement in comfort and a big drop in our heating bill. I didn't bother with an energy audit. It was an extra cost I didn't want to incur. A little knowledge of how a house is constructed and some close inspection revealed the biggest sources of heat loss. Although the job was uncomfortable and took some time, my out of pocket cost was negligible. You may have other problems as well, but I would check out the ceiling insulation first. It doesn't require ripping into your drywall and might solve your problem enough to where you won't have to take more expensive measures. Good luck!

Clark -

Thanks fo the reply. One thing that has suprised me was that I have not seen any telltale melting of snow on the roof.

We are in a pretty windy area, so some areas that I think are being blown clear might have some melting going on, but I'll definately take a closer look.

Ian.