Sealing the house
 

This past weekend was unofficially 'seal the house' weekend. I went outside and caulked almost all the upstairs windows. This week I'll probably finish up upstairs and start downstairs. Anyway, here is an example of what I found.

Before. That is about a 1/4" all together.
http://ecorenovator.org/pictures/house222.jpg


After. Still need practice caulking and making it pretty.
http://ecorenovator.org/pictures/house224.jpg


I also caulked between the wood and siding trim. There were some pretty huge gaps there too.



In addition to the windows, I was up working in the attic again sealing everything off and getting it ready for insulation. This is the kind of stuff I was running into and filling with expanding foam (Great Stuff).

http://ecorenovator.org/pictures/house208.jpg



When you peel up the insulation, you can literally see the dust that has been filtered out from the air moving through the gaps.

http://ecorenovator.org/pictures/house122.jpg



Next on the list was in the Kitchen. I have a roughly 6" hole in the chimney which leads right up to the attic where it is cut off (doesn't go through the roof). This needed plugging if I want to keep heat in there. When I was up there I could even feel a draft.

http://ecorenovator.org/pictures/house189.jpg



So, I took some foam insulation I had laying around, cut two circles, and used liquid nails to glue them into the hole.

http://ecorenovator.org/pictures/house186.jpg

http://ecorenovator.org/pictures/house197.jpg



I spray painted the second piece. That didn't work so well. Did you know spray paint eats away at foam? Well, I do now. However, it did kind of give it a nice textured look.

http://ecorenovator.org/pictures/house199.jpg



But, then I was bad and didn't wait for the glue to dry on the first piece. I pushed the new piece in and they both went in too far. This made a mess, and I'm not happy about it.

http://ecorenovator.org/pictures/house201.jpg



Thankfully, there is a plate that'll be going over all this and it'll hide my mess. I only painted the foam so there wasn't any blue behind the plate. Now, I just have to figure out how I'm going to hang it.

http://ecorenovator.org/pictures/house204.jpg

i did actually know that spray paint eats Styrofoam... kinda neat, huh. lol

good work. tomorrow is a trip to home depot for me to get about 10 more tubes of caulk... maybe some of that expanding foam too, cause I have a gapping hole above the drop ceiling in my top floor bedroom that I could just feel heat pouring out of when i was working up there on a hot day last week.

for 'neat' caulking, you basically need a crap load of paper towels (usually i'll take one and break it into 6 pieces) and just use your finger to smooth the caulk. it's so wasteful though... i was thinking the other day that I need a pastry bag or something to scrap the excess caulk into, then reuse it from there.

I'm sure most of you may know this.... a popscicle stick, or tongue depresser thingy (bigger stick) works great for caulking. a little less messy on the hands, and gives a nice, smooth and even joint. the gap you're trying to caulk dictates the size stick to use.

I've always used the handle end of a toothbrush or small nylon brush, great for cleaning cracks and crevasses before adding your caulk.

that's a great idea! I'll try that next time.

Well, still working on sealing things up this weekend. My cousin's father in law came over with his hammer drill and hung the plate for me. Looks a lot better than my melted foam. :)

http://ecorenovator.org/pictures/house266.jpg



The next thing on the list was my horrible outside access basement door. You can see from the picture that a little air was getting through it. It also likes to leak water in when it rains.

http://ecorenovator.org/pictures/house244.jpg



So, I had the recommendation to get a metal door replacement. I got a tip that you can get damaged doors from the home improvement stores super cheap. So, I went and checked it out. I ended up finding a nice grey door with two holes in it (lock and handle). There was a little damage on the top where the metal didn't fold over just right, but nothing that prevented normal operation. So, I picked it up for $3. The block off for the door cost more than the door itself at $5! So, along with those two things and weather stripping, this is my $20 fix.

I do still need a good way of sealing the bottom edge though. The door butts up against the side of the lowest step. Any ideas?

http://ecorenovator.org/pictures/house259.jpg

How about a piece of foam the size of the step?

i'm still working on my stuff. i did something dumb yesterday, but i really don't care. I caulked, entirely closed, 4 of my 5 basement windows. the 5th is in a room was sold to us as a 'bedroom' (now my game room), so i just stuffed cut up pipe insulation in the holes. but here yesterday was 80 degrees, and through those windows i still felt massive drafts. so yea, all sealed up now! lol.

As long as you don't need to get the windows open! I can't imagine caulk is easy to remove once dried.

Well, one more weekend of caulking. I finally got most of it done. Just need to finish up on the tops of some of the windows. I didn't have a short ladder to get the top strips. I did caulk enough to make my hand sore though! None of the windows on the entire house were caulked. The window trim had sizable gaps in some areas, and up to 1/4" between the window trip and siding. I'm glad I got it done before winter.

I have a question about caulking. What happens after you caulk around the edge of your windows, and then you want to paint the wall later? Isn't it kind of hard to paint edging when there is caulking there? I'd like to caulk some of my windows, but I'm hesitant about the painting afterwards.

I'd imagine its a bit harder to paint since there isn't as much of a sharp corner. However, its done all the time.

paintable caulk. the end. :)

oh, maybe i read that wrong.

it's not hard. it's just not a 90 degree edge, just pick your spot for the line, tape it, or free hand it.

It was time to revisit the work I did last year and do some improvements. I noticed that the door stop/trim had come up or was just not nailed down well enough. Turns out, it just doesn't match up all that great. So, time to stop more leaks and caulk it!

Once again, every time I came downstairs, I saw light through the crack by the door. Not as bad this time, but worth looking into.

http://ecorenovator.org/pictures/house306.JPG



Sure enough, theres some pretty gaping cracks here.

http://ecorenovator.org/pictures/house307.JPG



I also took some time to make sure my weather stripping was all still tight. Some had loosened. I blame it on the tiny nails they provide. Anyway, I hammered them back in and caulked everything up. I also noticed some buckling between the weather stripping and the wood, so I caulked that too!

http://ecorenovator.org/pictures/house308.JPG




Here is the inside. Again, some pretty big cracks.

http://ecorenovator.org/pictures/house309.JPG



So, I made sure and loaded it up with caulk sealing all around the inside door jam.

http://ecorenovator.org/pictures/house310.JPG



Also, just thought I'd share. I've had these guys walking through my yard almost every day for a few weeks now.

http://ecorenovator.org/pictures/house311.JPG

RE- "Slicking" caulk:
Keep a spray bottle of water with you - once you've sealed the joint, spray the caulk with some water, then finger slick it. It won't stick to anything wet, so your finger won't get nearly as messy.

DON'T follow the 30% rule - you don't need to over fill the joint to properly seal it. If you don't know what this is, don't worry about it. If you were ever told that you have to over fill a joint to seal it, this only applies to joints more than 1" in width, where expansion is an issue. When the depth of the gap is more than 1/4", back fill the gap with either foam or wadded paper. This will prevent the caulk from getting too thick, causing it to not cure properly.

The properly filled joint will slick down almost flush, but slightly concave, if on a flat surface. If in an angle, the caulk line's edges will be visually uniform, and taper from the middle concavity to the surface material until the caulk line is nearly undetectable. There should not be a ridge between the surface of the caulk and the adhesion surface.

Slicking your sealants will provide up to 35% greater seal and longevity in your sealant material.

Go to Wally World, and get a set of Cake Spats. You'll never need to use your fingers again.

If that won't work, often times, flea markets will have professional caulking tools, including bulk guns and slick-sticks (spatulas). I have a 2 foot bulk gun, some Albion cone tips, and a full set (almost doubled, if I can find the others) of spats, because as a Mason Apprentice, I had to learn to caulk. Once you really get used to the job and your tools, you can do nearly 70 ft/min, and make it look good while you're doing it. I'm not that good yet, but I can caulk just about anything and make it look like it's supposed to be there.

RE - Painting caulk - just use Acrylic or Latex caulk. If you already have silicone installed, wipe it with vinegar before painting.

RE - Poly foam and spray paint: Water based paints won't melt the foam, not that it was an important piece or anything. Oil and solvent based paints will give the foam texture, and thinning the paint will help that effect. It's not the paint itself that melts the foam, but the solvents and petroleum based chemicals in the paint, including Xylene (Xylol) and Toluene, Mineral Spirits, and other chemical thinners.

on sealing
I have found that the spiders in the house know where the drafts are. If you see a spider web, then there is probably air movement through that place.

Thats what Higgy told me one time too. My response was that if that is the case, my entire basement just be leaking cause they're everywhere lol. Sadly, that might actually be the case too!

Caulking from the Inside...
 

Daox,

Thought you'd appreciate my caulking/insulation project, it's been going on for about 15 years now...


Here's a shot of an adjoining wall showing three stages of the layering process.

The house had the old style rough-cut 2x4, when they were actually 2 inches by 4 inches. I built up the 2x4 so they were finally 2x6. Then I put the foam in.

As you can see, I will need to build up the window opening.

When I started this project, I had never heard of "thermal bridging", which refers to the fact that heat loss can occur through the 2x4 (or 2x6 in my case), lowering the R-value of your insulated wall by 15%. On the walls left to do, I'll work out some way to stagger the 2-inch build-out so that there's a break in the thermal bridge.

I'm figuring the R-value of the foam to be R-4.5 per inch, so a 6-inch ceiling/wall is R-27. When I started this project, R-27 roofs were over code, and R-27 walls were considered to be insanely extravagant. Now, code for new construction is R-40 in the roof and R-21 in the walls. If I add 2 inches of isocyanate foam to the roof, I'll be at code.

I've been using Expanded Poly Styrene (AKA: EPS) because it is closed cell and non-hydroscopic, and is cheaper. So R-4.5 per inch, will be R-4.5 20 years from now.. Isocyanate foam is hydroscopic and will gradually absorb so moisture and will gradually reduce in R-value.

The price of insulating board has risen substantially since I started this project, but the cost of heating fuel has risen much faster.

Best Regards,

-AC_Hacker

I certainly can appreciate that! I will be doing something similar with my upstairs sometime in the future as it currently has no insulation in the walls. I haven't decided exactly how I want to do it, but I actually am aiming to have R40 walls or as close to that as I can get. This will probably eventually come from residing the house and adding rigid foam to the outside.

If you have any tips or ideas lemme know!

Rennovation & Passivhaus
 

There was a push in the 1970s for 'Superinsulation'. The ideas were tried in Germany, where they didn't work out as expected (Germany is diffferent from California). The Germans picked up the idea and ran with it and now the idea is called "Passivhaus" or "Passive House" in the UK & , USA. It should not be confused with Passiver Solar although it uses some of the ideas contained in Passive Solar.

If I were you, I'd learn all I could about Passive House construction techniques and Passive House rennovation. Unless you start from scratch,you'll never be able to achive full Passive House standards (Rennovations may hit 50% Passivhaus standards, but you'll certainly be working a lot smarter.

The 'Thermal Bridging' concept came from the Passivhaus initiative.

There's a design spreadsheet that the Passive House folks sell called Passive House Planning Package (AKA: PHPP). I've been trying to get it on the cheap for some time now. No luck yet. The PHPP would not be required to proceed with your insulating project, but by successive applying 'what-if' ideas, you'd quickly gain a very astute intuition.

LINKS:

• Thermal Bridges - how to avoid them
  
• Renovation using Passive House Technology
  
• PHPP

Best Regards,

-AC_Hacker

That is exactly where I got the idea from. It is an amazing concept and should be MUCH wider used IMO. The additional cost of the setup is so small when considering the life of a house.

While pondering it, I think I can get the walls to R40, but thats about as far as I can go.

We did have someone start a thread with passive house info in it.

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/ecoren...ve-houses.html

I think the most interesting thing about Passivhaus is that it is defined by the allowable heat loss (or gain) per square meter:

This means that for each region, the R-value required will be different, so a Passivhaus in N. California may require R-30 (a guess), but one in N. Dakota may require R-80 (again, a guess).

Regards,

-AC_Hacker

If you follow the blog, you know I did some leak testing (DIY Home Pressure Test Results | EcoRenovator.org) and found some disturbing things. The first thing is there are HUGE gaps around my window trim upstairs. Combine that with the hollow walls and we're talking pretty crazy air infiltration. I don't know how I didn't catch this sooner.

http://ecorenovator.org/wp-content/u.../house-032.JPG



Anyway, I've started sealing them all up and then some. I'm also adding additional stick on weather stripping to the bottom of the windows. A few of them are not perfectly square and don't seal well against the sill at all.

http://ecorenovator.org/wp-content/u...09/house04.JPG

Tim, I wonder if you shouldn't maybe pull those window trim panels down and re-seal behind them before tacking them back up?

Seems to me that caulking the gaps is more like putting a band-aid over a bullet hole?

It really is like putting a band-aid over a bullet hole lol.

I did pull off one of the trim panels to take a look at what there is behind it. This is what was there.

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1254395889




I think I'll just be bumping up the priority of gutting the upstairs to get insulation into the walls. At that point, I'll take care of the windows and the walls.

Last night I mostly finished up sealing the windows. I just have to move some furniture to get at a few more places in my bedroom.

I also went back and put gaskets on all of the upstairs power outlets and switches. With the hollow walls I can get a ton of air infiltration through them.

After its all sealed up, I'll be doing another DIY home pressure test to make sure I didn't miss anything.

Fixed... Jeez, man.

This whole last week I don't think it has gotten above 65 during the day. So, I have been playing around a bit. I can ABSOLUTELY tell that the caulking and sealing I've been doing upstairs has made a difference. Its still not getting really cold outside at night, maybe high 30s, but I'm only loosing about 2 degrees upstairs at night. I can't say what I was loosing before sealing things up, but I can definitely tell a difference when I wake up in the morning. This is the best 1 tube of caulk I ever spent. :)

Oh yeah, in addition to the window and outlet sealing I've been doing, I also have been fixing the attic access. First, I put stick on weather stripping around the base of the access. Now, I am in the middle of making a rigid foam cover to form a dead air space between the hatch itself and the platform that is above the insulation. I'll have pics soon.

Higgy was bothering me the other day for more pics, so here they are.


Here is the caulked up windows. As I mentioned, this helped enormously so far. Very noticeable difference.
http://ecorenovator.org/pictures/house314.JPG


To make the attic hatch cover, I didn't want to have to go buy materials, so I gathered up the scraps of insulation I had laying around.
http://ecorenovator.org/pictures/house315.JPG



I decided to start out with the largest piece I had which was normal 2" polystyrene foam and trimmed it to length. It wasn't quite wide enough to cover completely though.
http://ecorenovator.org/pictures/house316.JPG



So, I gathered up the pieces of 1" thick polyiso I had, cut them to length, and glued them to the polystyrene. I put the shiny side down to act as a radiant barrier. I also went back and caulked all the gaps between the polyiso sheets to minimize air leakage.
http://ecorenovator.org/pictures/house317.JPG



Next, I fitted it to the hatch area. It fit pretty good with a little trimming here and there. But, it really needs to have a handle attached to the bottom so I can pull it down tightly.
http://ecorenovator.org/pictures/house318.JPG



I'm also going to put some expanding foam around the edges of the pink foam, put some newspaper over it, and then put the cover on it to create a better seal. There are still some fairly large gaps since the pink foam isn't all exactly the same height. As you can see, I still have to fill in the gaps around the pink foam too.
http://ecorenovator.org/pictures/house319.JPG

Here is one more of the hatch cover from the top.

http://ecorenovator.org/pictures/house320.JPG

There seems to be all kinds of little spheres floating around up there..
Hope you were wearing a dust mask! ;)

Small update. I caulked around the opening, so it is now sealed. I was hoping to getting around to sealing the new hatch, but I want the caulk to dry before doing that so the rigid boards don't shift at all.

http://ecorenovator.org/pictures/house321.JPG

I think the best bang for your buck would be new double pane vinal windows. You loose more heat through the old windows than the walls. You can check with the big box stores to see if they have returns that will fit. Or you can check with the manufactures here in Wisconsin to see if they have factory seconds.

Well, the single pane windows do have storms on them, so that helps some. Also, my walls upstairs don't have insulation in them, so I wouldn't necessarily consider one a whole lot worse than the other. There are plans to address both of these issues at the same time. I just haven't gotten that far yet. :)

Calculate Heat Loss...
 

Daox,

Do you know how to calculate heat loss through walls & windows?

Regards,

-AC_Hacker

I know how to use U-values to calculate heat loss. How do you do it?

Well, its been a few years since I posted in this thread. Since then I've continued sealing things here and there, but again this weekend I focused on sealing the house up further. I got an email from my energy auditor that I needed to have a follow up audit since its been a year since he came. So, in a little under a month I have the energy auditor coming back and I'd like to seal it up as much as I can before that.

I know my basement is pretty leaky, so I decided to try and seal it from the upstairs (at least for now). So, I started with the basement door. I noticed that when the furnace is on large amounts of air are being pulled through the door into the basement. So, first I mounted a door sweep on the bottom of the door.

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1329665479



I also noticed dust around the door jam area no doubt from air passing through that area. The area was quite tight though (less than 1/8") so I needed something very thin to seal the area. While picking out the door sweep I found some plastic sealing strip. Its V shaped and the door compresses when the door closes. I put this around the rest of the door. I checked once the furnace turned back on and it is sealed up pretty well now.

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1329665550




Next up was the kitchen windows. The auditor's had said that I had air leakage around window frames, not through the windows themselves. So, I took the trim off, trimmed the drywall back to see what was there. They did foam the window cavity, but for some reason I am still having leakage.

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1329665768



So, I decided to fill the rest of the cavity with foam. My guess is that the air leakage is coming through the wall from behind the drywall. Filling the cavity full of foam will seal this gap and take care of the problem. A serrated knife works great for trimming off any excess foam.

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1329665861




After doing the windows in the kitchen I moved onto the front door. I had worked on it in fall (some hinge problems), but leak tested it and noticed a lot of air leakage around the trim just like the windows. This is what I found. A good air filter up top, but absolutely nothing on the sides of the door. So, ripped out the fiberglass and filled it up with foam too.

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1329666018

How is your furnace getting the make-up air now that you've just cut it off? You might be adding hazard here considering your basement goes into negative pressure when the furnace is running. Do you have an air inlet into your basement?

No air inlet. When the auditor comes by he will check that the furnace isn't pulling too much pressure on the basement. I honestly would be shocked if it was.