Home Remodel: Do, Don'ts, Advice

[El Chupacabra]

Quick question for the collective.

Was there a question in there somewhere?

[Rontele]

Was there a question in there somewhere?

sort of? looking more for a gut check on the sheetrock against brick insulation question/statement.

[Timberridge]

We'd normally tell you to PM Rontele, but in this case...

So your question is...
Q: Can I just slap some dw on an uninsulated exterior brick wall?
A: Sure, do whatever you want, it is your house.

[old goat]

where do you live?

[Rontele]

We'd normally tell you to PM Rontele, but in this case your question is...
Q: Can I just slap some dw on an uninsulated exterior brick wall?
A: Sure, do whatever you want, it is your house.

There is prob 3/4 in. between sheetrock and brick so you have to think you'd never recoup your costs in energy savings if you just insulated that small space. But with the opportunity to push out 2in-3in, is that going to result in a meaningful difference?

[Rontele]

where do you live?

Austin, Massachusetts.

[Cruiser]

My in-laws had very good success with a combination of radiant and forced air in their place in Santa Fe. That said, this was a custom build that was well insulated. The radiant system (hot water not electric) was a little fiddly but performed quite well in that climate.

In my limited experience, adding extra heat isn't enough to overcome poor insulation because it's difficult to get the air to mix well enough (without having it feel breezy) in the house to eliminate hot and cold spots.

[Rontele]

The radiant system is a tried and true design my father in law has developed and refined over the past 20 years. He's pushing for the insulation for the reasons you noted above, Cruiser.

[Danno]

Can you punch holes in the wall and fill with insulation?

[Timberridge]

If you build out that wall with a 2x4 frame and add insulation you would certainly see a benefit, especially if that is an exterior brick wall. The downside is some extra work if you have windows, you would need to build out the casing, But that can provide a nice shelf for your battery powered Christmas candles.

Insulating any space much less than that won't do much.

How is the current sheetrock attached to the brick wall? Furring strips?

[Cruiser]

@ Danno: Doubt he'd see much benefit with <1" of space between the brick and drywall to work with...

[Rontele]

@ Danno: Doubt he'd see much benefit with <1" of space between the brick and drywall to work with...

That is right. Timberridge; yes, furring strips. I am starting to think that the insulation will make sense, but need to see how it works around the windows, etc.

[Timberridge]

That is right. Timberridge; yes, furring strips. I am starting to think that the insulation will make sense, but need to see how it works around the windows, etc.

If you try to force insulation in there as it exists, you will just end up bowing the drywall.
One other thing on a 2x4 wall. If the ceiling joists run perpendicular to that wall its an easy job to anchor that wall up top. If they are parallel and the wall sits in between joists, its just a bit more work.

[RootSkier]

@ Danno: Doubt he'd see much benefit with <1" of space between the brick and drywall to work with...

1" of polyurethane spray foam performs significantly better than a full wall's worth of fiberglass. If you were to furr it out even one more inch and fill the entire thing with poly spray foam, your insulation performance will exceed 99% of homes currently being built in the US.

Insulate it.

[Cruiser]

How big is this place? Might not be too bad if it's a fairly compact format, ya know? Get a good dual stage forced air unit and then leave the recirc setting on all the time to keep the air mixing in between heating cycles while the radiant chugs along. Sure would be a lot cheaper in the short term than replacing all the interior drywall, particularly if this is a house that you're not planning to stay in it forever...

[Rontele]

If you try to force insulation in there as it exists, you will just end up bowing the drywall.
One other thing on a 2x4 wall. If the ceiling joists run perpendicular to that wall its an easy job to anchor that wall up top. If they are parallel and the wall sits in between joists, its just a bit more work.

They do run perpendicular

[::: :::]

with the opportunity to push out 2in-3in, is that going to result in a meaningful difference?

YES

Don't fill 3/4" even if it's high density foam insul--- not worth the expense. The air space is probably better than filling a tiny cavity (for breathability & mold reasons). But, ultimately, it's a bad configuration and should be improved when you are able to do it correctly. I hope that drywall is at least damp-rated because it's likely wet that close to a masonry wall.

[muted]

Trim was laid down on our new wood floor last week. There is a small gap for long parts of the wall, between the bottom of the trim and the new floors. My guess this is normal as getting floors perfect in our 70 year old house would be insanely hard to do.

My question is, what do we do to fill in these gaps before painting, if anything at all? Caulk seems like a bad idea since it will bond to the new nice floor, but what do I know. So do I just ignore it and stop looking at the floors constantly?

[::: :::]

Trim was laid down on our new wood floor last week. There is a small gap for long parts of the wall, between the bottom of the trim and the new floors. My guess this is normal as getting floors perfect in our 70 year old house would be insanely hard to do.

My question is, what do we do to fill in these gaps before painting, if anything at all? Caulk seems like a bad idea since it will bond to the new nice floor, but what do I know. So do I just ignore it and stop looking at the floors constantly?

In many older homes, the floor is not flat, so trying to set tall pieces of base against a curved surface isn't going to turn out that great. Gaps are inevitable. Typically, a quarter round (or "base shoe") is added to cover the final gap to the floor. It is small enough that it can flex and follow the floor surface.

there are different shapes availabl. this is just one type:


[and the reason they don't set the flooring tight to the wall is that it needs room to expand and contract with temp/humidity changes thru the seasons]

[grskier]

That is right. Timberridge; yes, furring strips. I am starting to think that the insulation will make sense, but need to see how it works around the windows, etc.

You're on the right track... insulation almost always pays for itself when starting with none.

[RootSkier]

ITypically, a quarter round (or "base shoe") is added to cover the final gap to the floor. It is small enough that it can flex and follow the floor surface.

This. But please for the love of all that is holy buy shoe molding rather than quarter round. Quarter round is never the right answer for anything. Did you have a trim carpenter install the base? Did he discuss this issue with you first?

Also, depending on the size of the gaps, it's not the end of the world to leave it in an older house. It's likely that no one will ever notice.

[Rontele]

How big is this place? Might not be too bad if it's a fairly compact format, ya know? Get a good dual stage forced air unit and then leave the recirc setting on all the time to keep the air mixing in between heating cycles while the radiant chugs along. Sure would be a lot cheaper in the short term than replacing all the interior drywall, particularly if this is a house that you're not planning to stay in it forever...

Not a big house, but one we are committed to living in for a long time (A+ location and lot) and given the scope of the other work I think we are going to head down the insulation path, esp since I don't think the drywall is damp rated, etc.

[muted]

it's not the end of the world to leave it in an older house. It's likely that no one will ever notice.

Thanks RootSkier and acinpdx, I'm just going to leave it and try to look at the ceiling more often. Good to know what my options are if I change my mind many years down the road.

[Nobody Famous]

This. But please for the love of all that is holy buy shoe molding rather than quarter round. Quarter round is never the right answer for anything. Did you have a trim carpenter install the base? Did he discuss this issue with you first?

Also, depending on the size of the gaps, it's not the end of the world to leave it in an older house. It's likely that no one will ever notice.

Two points where I'll offer a different opinion.

Quarter round looks better that shoe molding. Never figured out why exactly, maybe it's the symmetry. Maybe it's the way light reflects off the finishes, you have to get the matte/sheen level right in relation to the wall.

IMO lots of people will notice the gap. If you live in a place you'll take it for granted (either gap or no gap) but if you go from a room or a whole home with a gap to one with no gap it becomes very obvious. Although many people can't explicitly say why.

[muted]

Any advice on gate construction? I have to build a new one ASAP, my dog finally ruined my first attempt after years of me doing quick fixes every few months as he tested me and the gate every day. He leans against it with all his weight, so I need to build a strong one. Whatever wood I used before does not hold the screws after a couple years, they slowly pull out. What type of Home Depot/Lowes wood should I buy? My concern is if I overbuild it with heavy wood that holds a screw, it will sag too much from being too heavy. Lose-lose, I think.

I'll try to post pics tonight of exactly what I have to rebuild. Wood glue for the screws will be mandatory this time around, any other quick tips for me? Gate is about chest high and maybe 4 feet wide.

Any advice is appreciated, unfortunately I don't have a lot of time to slowly think this through.