joe.ami
Veteran Member
Posts:4377
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| 07 Feb 2009 09:31 AM |
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Has anyone heard of (or better yet know the R value of) a block employed around the 1950's which (H/O believes) had a sort of tongue and groove assembly, has an air pocket for insulation value and would have drywall interior or masonry exterior attached directly to it. H/O thinks it was used more commonly in commercial applications.
Trying to get rid of a $600 gas bill in a 1500 sf house, but don't know how to get a heat loss calc without an exterior wall R value.
Thanks,
Joe |
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Joe Hardin
www.amicontracting.com
We Dig Comfort!
www.doityourselfgeothermal.com
Dig Your Own Comfort! |
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Jelly
Veteran Member
Posts:1017
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| 07 Feb 2009 11:23 AM |
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Sounds like concrete block. |
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joe.ami
Veteran Member
Posts:4377
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| 07 Feb 2009 11:40 AM |
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Is that similar to a cinder block (sorry, just a dumb heating guy)? Is there any R value to it?
Are we talking 4 ish inches thick with air gaps?
J |
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Joe Hardin
www.amicontracting.com
We Dig Comfort!
www.doityourselfgeothermal.com
Dig Your Own Comfort! |
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Jelly
Veteran Member
Posts:1017
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| 09 Feb 2009 07:02 AM |
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Concrete block, cinder block, CMU (concrete masonry unit), all different names people use to refer to those rectangular hollow grey concrete blocks which usually measure 16 inches long by 8 inches high by 8 inches thick. If that's what you've got they have almost no insulative value by themselves. They do make a 4 inch thick one. |
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joe.ami
Veteran Member
Posts:4377
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| 09 Feb 2009 08:25 AM |
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Found this on ask the builder ".....During the 1950's in many parts of the nation, four inch hollow block was used as the back-up masonry material for brick homes......plaster or drywall was then applied as the interior surface."
This is exactly the construction of the home I was looking at.
Thanks for your help.
J |
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Joe Hardin
www.amicontracting.com
We Dig Comfort!
www.doityourselfgeothermal.com
Dig Your Own Comfort! |
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Farmboy
Basic Member
Posts:356
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| 09 Feb 2009 10:56 PM |
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In Spain, we rented a summer vacation home owned by someone who lived in Madrid. The exterior walls consisted of a reddish clay hollow core block about 4" thick with ceramic tile or plaster on the interior and stucco on the outside. No insulation anywhere. Let me tell you it can get cold in central Spain as it sits at about a mile altitude! Some of the heat from the hot water (propane heated) radiators did actually heat the inside some, but I now visualize the btu's flying throught the walls. What I would've given for a couple of inches of EPS on at least one side of those walls!! Don't think the air spaces had much R-value. |
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Jelly
Veteran Member
Posts:1017
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| 10 Feb 2009 07:11 AM |
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Farmboy, that red clay hollow core block is what the majority of houses in Germany are made of. They routinely apply 4 inches or more of rigid EPS boards on the exterior to insulate it. |
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Farmboy
Basic Member
Posts:356
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| 10 Feb 2009 08:14 AM |
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Roger that, Jelly. Lived near Kaiserslautern for 7 jahren. Only the German block was thicker, seemed like on the order of 8". I recall seeing 3 different types of block on the same home, 1. a gray cinder block with styrofoam beads for below grade walls, 2. redi clay block for above grade and 3. a white thinner block for interior walls. Although you don't see homes popping up everywhere like here, the ones under construction seemed to be done DIY and it wasn't uncommon to see beer bottles neatly placed here and there! |
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dmaceld
Veteran Member
Posts:1465
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| 10 Feb 2009 08:41 AM |
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Posted By Farmboy on 02/09/2009 10:56 PM
In Spain, we rented a summer vacation home owned by someone who lived in Madrid. The exterior walls consisted of a reddish clay hollow core block about 4" thick with ceramic tile or plaster on the interior and stucco on the outside. No insulation anywhere. Let me tell you it can get cold in central Spain as it sits at about a mile altitude! Some of the heat from the hot water (propane heated) radiators did actually heat the inside some, but I now visualize the btu's flying throught the walls. What I would've given for a couple of inches of EPS on at least one side of those walls!! Don't think the air spaces had much R-value. Thirty-five years ago, south of Pittsburgh, we lived in a house with the same construction for first floor, frame for second floor. Talk about cold walls in the winter time! Hot water heat with cast iron radiators. About the best heat system there is. The boiler was a 200,000 Btuh natural gas. One cold winter weekend, about -10F I think, I heard the gas valve open about 2 PM on Friday and it didn't close until about 2 PM Sunday!! Forty plus hours at 200,000 Btuh. Next gas bill was a doozy, as I recall.
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| Even a retired engineer can build a house successfully w/ GBT help! |
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Farmboy
Basic Member
Posts:356
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| 10 Feb 2009 10:09 PM |
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Imagine how cold the walls get when the propano runs out. Happened over a weekend and we had to borrow a cylinder from a neighbor. Tuesday here come the Spanish propano truck. The driver jumps out, cigarette clenched between his teeth, drops cylinder after cylinder (6 total) of propane to the driveway, kicks and rolls them over the gravel driveway to the outdoor storage room, disconnects empty, attaches full one and opens supply valves to house. With a lit Marlboro the whole time!! I ssssshake when I think about it. |
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joe.ami
Veteran Member
Posts:4377
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| 12 Feb 2009 09:17 AM |
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Propane driver's trying for a darwin award. |
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Joe Hardin
www.amicontracting.com
We Dig Comfort!
www.doityourselfgeothermal.com
Dig Your Own Comfort! |
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Donnerwetter
Basic Member
Posts:100
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| 12 Feb 2009 10:44 AM |
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Joe.ami
The system as was described in the thread Internal Wall Temperatures might be applicable to your situation. PM me for more detailed info |
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