#INSULATING PLASTER AND LATH WALLS HOW TO#
#INSULATING PLASTER AND LATH WALLS INSTALL#
#INSULATING PLASTER AND LATH WALLS WINDOWS#

#INSULATING PLASTER AND LATH WALLS INSTALL#

It is best to install a vapour open exterior insulation so you don’t trap moisture inside the walls, which is why we most often recommend installing some sort of Mineral Wool insulation like Rockwool (formerly Roxul) but there are other manufacturers as well now. That will only ad up to about R8, which is a lot better than you have, if you want to take that up a notch, you coule possibly blow dense packed cellulose insulation in empty wall cavities after you've stripped the walls and before you install a new weather barrier and insulation.īe sure to install exterior home siding so it can dry properly (read more here), and Choosing the right exterior rigid insulation (see here) is very important. Myself I would probably go with a peel and stick exterior air barrier membrane on the boards, followed by 2 inches of insulation, strapping and siding. If you have a total of 3 inches before you risk encroaching on a neighbouring property, you can still make that work, and it seems you have a pretty good plan already.

#INSULATING PLASTER AND LATH WALLS HOW TO#

How to Insulate Exterior Walls from the Outside There are a few places I’d start your research and renovation design, this page here Along with insulation I would propose an air barrier of some kind, either inside or out. Though you do in ‘effect’ likely have a makeshift vapour barrier as there is likely several coats of oil paint. i did spray-foam some walls, but only where i gutted to the studs/exterior sheathing and could do that properly.If you have on older home plaster lathe then it is a pretty safe assumption you don't have an incorporated air barrier or vapour barrier. To insulate your plaster walls, the contractor will blow or inject loose fill or foam insulation, and then install proper sealing and a water-resistant barrier. I'm aware of the breathability issues and the only potential solution I've seen mooted is to blow either cellulose fibre or EPS beads into the cavity behind the lath and plaster. imo, i’d let the walls breathe and focus on things that will deliver more savings and pose less/no risk. One of the things I'm struggling with is getting any insulation into the walls which are typical hard stone/lime mortar (600mm or so) with lath and plaster on the inside. and yes, as others have pointed out, adding insulation and moving the condensation point into the walls is a major concern. in southern california, i would think that wall insulation would be down the list. the boiler change was huge- about 30% reduction.

#INSULATING PLASTER AND LATH WALLS WINDOWS#

the insulation provided more comfort and the windows made it feel “tighter” but those things made pretty small incremental changes to the energy performance. i tracked energy use/degree days over years and did only one energy saving bit each year. i replaced all the windows (73, iirc), spray foamed the underside of the roof, blown-in fiberglass in attic floor, replaced a gravity-vent boiler with mod/con sealed combustion. I had a 1914 home in wisconsin, plaster/lathe on the inside, brick/stucco on outside.

Thanks.ĮDIT: I’m in Los Angeles, close to Culver City, in case my location is helpful~ While we don't get rains much in Southern California, this past winter saw a lot of rains in the area - definitely much more than the previous years, so water damage and mold are definitely my concern.Īny advice and thoughts would be really appreciated. Its sprayed between exposed studs and expands to 100 times its volume in mere seconds. I've read a few posts here mentioning that for old houses with lath and plaster walls, insulation can potentially trap moisture leading to mold problems down the line. Open-cell polyurethane, or polyicynene, is a low-density, spongy foam.

So this brings me to the question of whether I should insulate the exterior walls as well as what are some of the things I should be aware of. While it doesn't get as cold as the Midwest or New England in the winter, it does get to 40s or below from time to time, and obviously it does get hot in the summer - Though fortunately, the way the windows are positioned in my house really helps with ventilation in the summer in fact, this past summer, I had the AC on maybe for 2 weeks, and really only in the late afternoon, because thanks to the crosswind, the house remained very cool despite the high temperature outside. There is no insulation between the siding and the lath & plaster walls at all. I bought an old house last year (built in 1922) that has wood siding and lath and plaster walls.

Insulating plaster and lath walls