[AC_Hacker]

So if you're going to begin an insulation crusade, consider the idea that "heat rises". The truth is that heat does not rise, it radiates in all directions. But heated air does rise. So the temp of the air upstairs is warmer than the floor downstairs, but the floor is still warmer than the air outside and you are radiating heat out of the house there, too. Don't neglect the floor.

Regarding insulation, cellulose is generally regarded as the best bang for the buck.

But styrofoam peanuts (not the corn-starch ones) are excellent but they don't pack together very tightly and air can still move between them.

So, if you can find a really big supply of free styrofoam peanuts and mix that with fluffed-up cellulose, the air migration would be stopped and you'll have just about the best possible loose-fill insulation at the lowest possible price.

Also I tested the flammability of the peanuts, and they will not suppost combustion alone, but if they are on somethng like wood that is already burning, they will burn along with the wood. If the peanuts were mixed in with cellulose (which is treated with fire-retardant) fire risk would be very low.

When I was going through a lean-patch, I used this kind of mix in the weather-side walls of my house, which had no insulation and it worked very well.

There's another approach you might consider, and that is asymetric insulation (I just made that up)... Most people consider that all walls should be insulated the same, but I think that idea should be reconsidered.

I don't know how the weather is where you live, but where I live, the really cold weather comes from the same direction. So the side that recieves the brunt of the cold winds will lose more BTUs/sq ft than other sides, and should have better insulation.

Just a thought...

-AC_Hacker