c-c-c-cold remedy

[DeeVeeEight]

Last night we had a low temp. of about 9*F. I looked at the digital thermostat on the wall and it said 42*F. I said to myself "no way" and put my hand on the wall - it was like ice to the touch. Now this is an interior wall, the house is fairly warm and my exterior walls are not cold to the touch, they are insulated. So I figure I must have cold air dropping down from the attic inside the uninsulated interior walls. Standing next to these walls you can feel how they are sucking the warmth from the room. After a little investigating I found a large ceiling cavity that was letting cold air into the walls. I went to Home Depot and rented a blown in insulation rig, only $75.00 for the day, and bought a few packages of blow in type insulation, about another $120.00. A few hours later and my walls and attic space are full of insulation. Now my thermostat is reading normally at 71*F and all I have to do is patch the holes in the walls. Here's a few pics.

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[GT6Steve]

Wow! Goodonya!

When I built my house here in the Mojave desert I was lookin' to keep heat OUT and went to a lot of effort to seal and insulate the walls.

That said, a workmate of my wife bought a new home and had to get a plumber under the new home warranty. He came and fixed the minor leak but shared with her that her home had NO insulation in the exterior walls. Apparently the drywallers arrived before the insulators and since their schedule was more important to them they went ahead. The whole block must've been that way but she settled with the builders for blow in insulation and a Corian kitchen upgrade. Then sold the house.

I often wonder about the utility bills in that neighborhood...:surrender:

 

[DeeVeeEight]

We have separate heat and A/C systems in this house. We have baseboard heat and an attic mounted A/C system. The A/C system is pulling some of it's return air from this same ceiling cavity, which must be super heated in the summer. By blocking off the cavity I hope to pull close to 100% of my return air from my living space and increase the efficiency of my A/C system.

 

[68L71]

Why did you not use a jigsaw set at an angle so you could use the cutouts as self supporting patches?

 

[DeeVeeEight]

Why did you not use a jigsaw set at an angle so you could use the cutouts as self supporting patches?

Because I don't have all the answers I guess..... you learn something new every day!

The big hole saw is fast and easy. A piece of wood bridging the inside of the hole will hold the plug securely, spackle, sand.....hoto:

 

[mrvette]

For summer a/c efficiency....paint your roof WHITE NO heat loading then....

for winter, I just got a 290 buck electric bill.....cold as shit here for 2 months....
highest bill ever.....went back to the water/air in the HVAC system....now the heat pump never hits a defrost cycle.....well water from years ago here, now back in action as the heat/cool sink on the unwanted side of the equation....

should make about 20 SEER rating, and certainly MUCH quieter operation....
just got done doing the 'waste water' discharge lines in the back yard....

will see how it does, but that annoying reverse cycle defrost bullshit is now gone...

this is a slab house, so interior walls are not open to the air, maybe I should spray in some foam....and I do intend to blow in extra insulation to the attic in the future......money, ass usual....

:waxer::crap:

 

[68L71]

Why did you not use a jigsaw set at an angle so you could use the cutouts as self supporting patches?

Because I don't have all the answers I guess..... you learn something new every day!

The big hole saw is fast and easy. A piece of wood bridging the inside of the hole will hold the plug securely, spackle, sand.....hoto:

I didn't mean to be a dick sorry...

 

[010752]

Why did you not use a jigsaw set at an angle so you could use the cutouts as self supporting patches?

Someone's done this before.:clap::bounce:
And use hot mud.

Don't have any insulation anywhere here, but have only had the heat on two nites so far.

 

[mrvette]

Why did you not use a jigsaw set at an angle so you could use the cutouts as self supporting patches?

Someone's done this before.:clap::bounce:
And use hot mud.

Don't have any insulation anywhere here, but have only had the heat on two nites so far.

Lucky fucker, but if I had gone further south, I wouldn't have met Linda....and who in hell knows at that point....so I settle it out....

:bounce::bounce::bump:

 

[big2bird]

Okay, I think this story needs a little more thought.
I highly suggest you find the airflow source, and seal it up with wood, vapor barrier ,something.
If the insulation is fiberglass, such as used in fish tank and furnace filters, although it will cause a pressure drop, it will still allow air movement. Take a wll apart, and dirty insulation indicates an air leak.
If it is cellulose, think shredded newspaper and boric acid as a fire retardent. Newsprint ink is vegetable oil. Condensation plus food equals mold.
There may also be a complete path top to bottom. Just take a moment when you have time, and look above and below, and map out the path. Seal it up best you can. Just my humble opinion.

 

[DeeVeeEight]

Okay, I think this story needs a little more thought.
I highly suggest you find the airflow source, and seal it up with wood, vapor barrier ,something.
If the insulation is fiberglass, such as used in fish tank and furnace filters, although it will cause a pressure drop, it will still allow air movement. Take a wll apart, and dirty insulation indicates an air leak.
If it is cellulose, think shredded newspaper and boric acid as a fire retardent. Newsprint ink is vegetable oil. Condensation plus food equals mold.
There may also be a complete path top to bottom. Just take a moment when you have time, and look above and below, and map out the path. Seal it up best you can. Just my humble opinion.

Thanks for the info! I am going back in to the cavity today to do just that, seal with plywood and sheet metal to separate the A/C return from the dead cold air cavity.

 

[big2bird]

No problem. Now where exactly is this return air ? It sucks from the house, not the attic, correct?:amazed:

 

[010752]

Okay, I think this story needs a little more thought.
I highly suggest you find the airflow source, and seal it up with wood, vapor barrier ,something.
If the insulation is fiberglass, such as used in fish tank and furnace filters, although it will cause a pressure drop, it will still allow air movement. Take a wll apart, and dirty insulation indicates an air leak.
If it is cellulose, think shredded newspaper and boric acid as a fire retardent. Newsprint ink is vegetable oil. Condensation plus food equals mold.
There may also be a complete path top to bottom. Just take a moment when you have time, and look above and below, and map out the path. Seal it up best you can. Just my humble opinion.

You're right on Bird.
Insulation works when there is a dead air space.
The newspaper is supposed to be treated against decomposition, but but I have my doubts.
In tough access spots and with penetrations, the expanding foam in a can is well worth it, I used it around all my electrical boxes too after the rock is up.

 

[DeeVeeEight]

Why did you not use a jigsaw set at an angle so you could use the cutouts as self supporting patches?

Because I don't have all the answers I guess..... you learn something new every day!

The big hole saw is fast and easy. A piece of wood bridging the inside of the hole will hold the plug securely, spackle, sand.....hoto:

I didn't mean to be a dick sorry...

??????

No offense was ever taken!

I have nice jig saw somewhere but rarely have cause to use it anymore....

 

[DeeVeeEight]

No problem. Now where exactly is this return air ? It sucks from the house, not the attic, correct?:amazed:

I am in this house less than 1 year and have found all sorts of bullshit. Apparently some inspectors got paid off instead of inspecting the house.

The return air was being pulled mainly from the attic space. Like most attics this space is loaded with fiberglass. We have fashioned a box to isolate the return air from the insulated attic space. Now 100% of the return air will be recycled from the living space, not the attic.

 

[big2bird]

The return air was being pulled mainly from the attic space.

:crap:

 

[mrvette]

The return air was being pulled mainly from the attic space.

:crap:

YEH, you ain't kiddin'.....tell you what though, the typical winter shituation it's a good idea to run a 4" dryer pipe to the suction side of the furnace, from outside, with a screen over the intake of course.....this allows a slight positive air pressure to the house when furnace is running, that keeps drafts down.....

comfort factor increased....did it to two houses up north....worked well even on old systems...

:bounce:

 

[mrvette]

OH, another trick for you guys, NEVER NEVER NEVER FUCKING NEVER allow the fuel supply company to maintain your furnace....quite often it is deliberately mis adjusted to run rich and burn much fuel as possible......

My old commercial HVAC guy up in the DC region, started out in the trade as a kid doing household work, he had as much knowledge on that field as the engineers the designed it.....site super for major buildings, portable chillers, all that shit....they never called him for anyting less than 250 tons capacity....seriously....

so anyway, he fixed my house and 3 other friends houses, and my mothers...cutting our fuel bills by some 50% MINIMUM, one guys was burning like 3 tanks of oil per season....Mike got it down to ONE tank...a 2/3 reduction....they even had mom's furnace all messed up, and to boot when they built the house....they didn't size the ducts correctly....

:cussing::cussing::surrender:

 

[BBShark]

Does the blowing in process cause a lot of dust in the house?

 

[010752]

The return air was being pulled mainly from the attic space.

:crap:

YEH, you ain't kiddin'.....tell you what though, the typical winter shituation it's a good idea to run a 4" dryer pipe to the suction side of the furnace, from outside, with a screen over the intake of course.....this allows a slight positive air pressure to the house when furnace is running, that keeps drafts down.....

comfort factor increased....did it to two houses up north....worked well even on old systems...

:bounce:

That's a code requirement in Florida now.