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Old 09-05-13, 11:27 PM   #22
MN Renovator
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I'm a little confused though, I though code for pretty much everywhere as far north as Michigan would have codes that dictated at least R13(..or maybe R11?) cavity insulation for above ground walls in the 80s. Seems a little weird that this house doesn't seem to have any or at least that it isn't easy to find. My house was built in 1985 with 2x4 construction with cavity insulation that I assume is R13 and 3/4" XPS wrapped over the sheathing to help with thermal bridging. My house was part of a cookie cutter 'moderately low cost for what you get' high volume construction project. I'm halfway considering talking to the dozen plus neighbors who have the same exact house design and telling them how they can relatively easily remove the major thermal bypasses in the vertical wall section of the knee wall, sealing top plates, sill plates, penetrations, and to beef the 12" of insulation that they were told they were getting when the houses were built yet I only measure 7" in my house and that's well beyond the realm of settling.

I guess I'm trying to say is that I have a hard time with the idea that a house built in the 80s would not be insulated or that the codes didn't exist in Michigan for them to be insulated.
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