Home Remodel: Do, Don'ts, Advice

[Buster Highmen]

Is this stuff really R-18?SEALTECH Heavy Duty 16 in. x 100 ft. 10mm Thick Reflective Insulation Roll .

Anyone ever use it?

bump

[BCMtnHound]

Interesting, would love to hear the difference between a polystyrene (rigid insulation at 2” is R10?) and this polyethylene with an R18 with only a cm. But if it’s that good, would make excellent trailer/camper/van insulation.

[Buster Highmen]

The highest R value rigid foam I can find is R13.3.

So, I'm suspicious of this stuff at 10mm (edit) thickness that is supposedly R-18. Surely some more experienced person out there would have some input.

[BCMtnHound]

The highest R value rigid foam I can find is R13.3.

So, I'm suspicious of this stuff at 10cm thickness that is supposedly R-18. Surely some more experienced person out there would have some input.

10mm, not 10cm, from the page. 2/5”. For a 1/3 the price for of 2” polystyrene.

Me thinks the metric got tractor supply got confused and is trying to unload a container of very good reflectex. R7-10 maybe?

[Flounder]

Those reflective insulators juice their numbers by using the reflective properties to claim additional R values. By reflecting a large percentage of solar gain, they claim an “effective” R value. The theory is bouncing the heat off is the same as stopping it from penetrating. It’s by no means what you would think of as a traditional R value. It’s gimmicky but can serve a purpose.

I used a similar product, basically reflective bubble wrap, under a stapled up, retrofit, heated floor system. It was better than nothing and made a noticeable difference. After I few years I went back and added 6” of rock wool batt and that made a big difference. Basement used to maintain a comfortable temp from the excess heat but now it gets pretty cold.

[Buster Highmen]

Yes 10 mm, not cm.
Here's where they put the R value of 18 on the 10mm stuff: https://media.tractorsupply.com/is/c...03240_Man1.pdf

So, either they're lying and exposing themselves to false advertising or there is no "R" standard? wtf

Damn, it cuts costs by 1/2.

I've got 2x8 rafters to insulate, so I could do 3 layers of the 2" R13 rigid foam in for R-39, but the walls are 2x6, so could only get R-32 with an extra 1" of rigid foam. That's within code here, but the cost would be around $2000 for rigid foam instead of $1000 for the SEALTEC reflective insulation which by their numbers would give me R-54 in the ceiling and walls.

Seems awfully suspect.

[zion zig zag]

I used a similar product, basically reflective bubble wrap, under a stapled up, retrofit, heated floor system. It was better than nothing and made a noticeable difference. After I few years I went back and added 6” of rock wool batt and that made a big difference. Basement used to maintain a comfortable temp from the excess heat but now it gets pretty cold.

Similar situation, except crawlspace and I'm getting ready to take out all of the batt insulation and replace it with the reflective bubble wrap. The batt insulation is a perfect place for mice to nest and hide so it needs to go.

Long version; house is next to a creek and surrounded by trees and sage fields and I have been fighting mice in the crawlspace for 5 years. It seems like I've excluded them from the living space fairly well because I haven't seen or trapped one up there in a long time. Last fall I went through the crawlspace and stuffed steel wool and expanding foam into every tiny hole I could find inside and out, and then I had someone come spray 4 inches of closed cell foam from floor to bottom of joists. I checked throughout the winter and spring and didn't see sign of a mouse and had no activity on the glue traps. Last weekend I go down there to change a water filter and there are 4 mice stuck to a glue trap. The floor in the crawlspace is 90% concrete, but one corner is dirt, and that one corner had freshly turned over soil that they must have dug through (36"-48" deep from outside?!?). So...now I'm going to hardware cloth that corner, then taped vapor barrier and then take out that batt insulation. Maybe I'm just fighting a losing battle.

[Buster Highmen]

Can you affix metal mesh to the floor in the corner that lacks concrete? I've read that the anti rodent frequency generators work, maybe put one down in that corner as well?

[zion zig zag]

Can you affix metal mesh to the floor in the corner that lacks concrete? I've read that the anti rodent frequency generators work, maybe put one down in that corner as well?

Yeah the metal mesh is the plan, then vapor barrier. I thought about the rodent frequency things, I've read hit and miss reviews.

[singlesline]

Those reflective insulators juice their numbers by using the reflective properties to claim additional R values. By reflecting a large percentage of solar gain, they claim an “effective” R value. The theory is bouncing the heat off is the same as stopping it from penetrating. It’s by no means what you would think of as a traditional R value. It’s gimmicky but can serve a purpose.

I used a similar product, basically reflective bubble wrap, under a stapled up, retrofit, heated floor system. It was better than nothing and made a noticeable difference. After I few years I went back and added 6” of rock wool batt and that made a big difference. Basement used to maintain a comfortable temp from the excess heat but now it gets pretty cold.

Presumably that means the juiced R value is only really valid for one-direction use?

Good if you're trying to keep house cool in the summer, but loses most of the value if you're trying to keep out the cold in the winter.

[skaredshtles]

Yeah the metal mesh is the plan, then vapor barrier. I thought about the rodent frequency things, I've read hit and miss reviews.

Maybe put a cat down there for awhile...

[old goat]

By definition R value is a function of thermal conductivity, so a reflective surface shouldn't affect it. That doesn't mean reflectivity--which blocks radiant heat transfer--isn't useful. The semitransparent sunscreens on my big south facing windows reduce inside temperature by 10 degrees or more on sunny days when the sun is below the roof overhang.

I guess it comes down to who tests your company's insulation.

[Buster Highmen]

Presumably that means the juiced R value is only really valid for one-direction use?

Good if you're trying to keep house cool in the summer, but loses most of the value if you're trying to keep out the cold in the winter.

Alternating sides with 3 or 4 layers?

By definition R value is a function of thermal conductivity, so a reflective surface shouldn't affect it. That doesn't mean reflectivity--which blocks radiant heat transfer--isn't useful. The semitransparent sunscreens on my big south facing windows reduce inside temperature by 10 degrees or more on sunny days when the sun is below the roof overhang.

I guess it comes down to who tests your company's insulation.

Yay!! Standards!!! Yay!!!

[spanky]

Not sure if this should go here, the real estate crash thread or the Zillow gems thread…

https://www.reddit.com/r/Homebuildin..._designed_the/



I figured this falls under a home remodel “don’t”

[dan_pdx]

Not sure if this should go here, the real estate crash thread or the Zillow gems thread…

https://www.reddit.com/r/Homebuildin..._designed_the/

I figured this falls under a home remodel “don’t”

Gotta applaud the bold vision needed to hang the cabinets over the doorway like that. Love the cat staircase too

[Name Redacted]

Hey, they got all the zebra stripes going the same direction at least!

[tuowtraws]

Have a hardwood floor conundrum that I'm curious to hear the collective's thoughts on.

We bought our house last year, flooring is about 1000 sq. ft. of prefinished 3/4" x 2 1/4" solid hickory from Home Depot (still available in the same size/color) in the common areas of the house. We know it's less than 10 years old, think it's at least 5 years old, weren't able to get super precise information from the previous owners. We're in the PNW and don't have AC, so the relative humidity swings are pretty big in the summer when we're opening all the windows at night to cool the house down.

In mid-August the floor buckled in the middle of the living room overnight. No signs of cupping or other water damage, just buckled up one night. The crawlspace below is well sealed and the subfloor is perfectly clean/dry underneath.

Turns out the floor was installed by a "friend" of the previous owner, and they used ~1" nails that are super thin. Definitely nowhere close to flooring nails, and they're even smaller than what the baseboards are installed with. Doesn't make any sense. They also installed them tight to the drywall, no expansion gap.

The only buckle is in the living room, but looking at the vent registers in the other rooms you can see that the floor is not flush with the subfloor there, seems like it just hasn't reach the point of enough force to buckle yet.

We've had 3 people out to look at it so far. All 3 have been unanimous on "nails too small, improperly installed, humidity changes over the years caused what little purchase the nails had to work loose and the whole floor needs to come up". But they've had divergent opinions on what to do from there. One's opinion was that finished on-site is far superior to pre-finished, another preferred engineered, and another told us that he puts LVP in "multi-million dollar houses" (which ours is not even a single million house FWIW) and that we should really consider that.

Replacing the entire floor instead of reusing the existing flooring would increase the cost dramatically, so that doesn't seem to make much sense to me and I'm definitely leaning towards just pulling the whole floor up and having it reinstalled. Any thoughts or other things I should consider on before fixing this?

[climberevan]

I'd be surprised if you find someone willing to pull up the floor, pull the nails or whatever and put it back down. The work to pull the nails would be tremendous, and would more than eat the savings of not buying new material. Some of it would also not survive the demo, which of course would take 50% more time vs just ripping it up without care.

My opinion is that finished in place white oak is quite nice, but even if it's installed correctly (3/8 gaps on the edges, 15ga staples), it's going to move and cracks will form. Unless someone is really in love with wood and has a large budget I have a hard time recommending it these days. LVT is very good, and so easy to install that you can DIY with pretty basic tools. Even the $3/sqft ones are not bad.

[Djongo Unchained]

What percentage of the floor looks/is fucked up and what % is okay?

If most of its fine, I'd spot repair it and call it good.

[tuowtraws]

Ah, I should have mentioned that two of the people we talked to were willing to reinstall the original floor, and quoted that separate from a new install. One quote was an extra $2k for demo+installation on the original floor compared to new, and wanted us to buy 200 sq ft of extra. So that's about the cost of 500 sq ft of the original floor (it's like 5.xx per square foot from HD). Second quote was fairly similar in comparing the reinstall vs all new. So overall maybe a 25% reduction on total price to use the original floor vs new (assuming similar price hardwood if going new).

[tuowtraws]

What percentage of the floor looks/is fucked up and what % is okay?

If most of its fine, I'd spot repair it and call it good.

Depends how you define fucked up. Seems the whole floor is installed with these tiny nails, and the vast majority has some uneveness. But there's only maybe 10% of it that's truly buckled to where we cannot live with it.

What are you envisioning as a spot repair? The main concern I'd have is if we repair one section now that next summer will just get a new buckle in another section, and be playing whack-a-mole for the foreseeable future.

[nickwm21]

Can you live with exposed nails?


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[Djongo Unchained]

Yeah well those are the gray areas for sure. If it was something that falls within a 6 foot diameter or maybe one long line, those can be resecured. If it's looking likely that it's gonna continue buckle, then spot fixing is futile. Your humidity and temp swings will lend a lot to movement. Short fasteners are an issue but sometimes those little fuckers won't release for all the money, they'll break first. Taking nails or staples out of oak is a bitch.

[adrenalated]

Wood moves. Fact.

If they installed it with no expansion gap my money is you're gonna be playing whackamole until you fix that. Doesn't really matter what nails are used. It's gonna expand and contract and expand and probably buckle.

I would absolutely not pay someone to patch fix. If you are capable of patch fixing yourself and willing to keep doing it as problems arise, that's your cheapest option. If you're gonna pay someone anyway, rip it out and replace with whatever you like. Ain't worth the additional labor to try to save it. Or if you're willing to DIY and want a permanent fix, most flooring isn't particularly complicated to install.

[Core Shot]

Can you live with exposed nails?


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

I would. If you can get it flat, then top nail and putty the holes.

Wait for heating season. Humidity drop. Nail that bitch.