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Old 10-21-08, 05:49 AM   #1
insaneintenti0n
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Default Warming & Insulating Brian's Kitchen

So i've definitely complained enough about this on here, but for those that don't know the details, here they are...

My Kitchen was extended about 2 years before I bought my house. Inside, it really added a lot of space to what was already there. But, the extension is hanging over air, not over my basement like the rest of my house.

Every winter the kitchen, which has real tile flooring, is probably a good 10 degrees cooler than the rest of my house. To make matters work, the floor on the extension part is probably a good 10 degrees cooler than the rest of the kitchen itself.

Probably a year an a half ago, i went into the crawl space under the kitchen and noticed it looked like there was no insulation. WOW. So, I added a layer of insulation, and enclosed it with 2x4s (not a lot of room to work, this seemed easiest.

Next winter that didn't seem to help at ALL. I went around w/ expanding foam and another layer of insulation, and added all that. Still no luck.

So that brings us up to the last month or so.
So far I've closed off everywhere inside that looks like it could be letting air in, and then yesterday I began prep work to add a moisture barrier over the last layer of insulation I added under the kitchen. Today I will hopefully get all of that up.

Anyway, here's some pictures of the work...

Caulking




Under my kitchen



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Old 10-21-08, 02:36 PM   #2
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Looks good! It's too bad you can just throw in baseboard heating...I've only been in one house with that kind of system but it was heavenly in the winter.
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Old 10-21-08, 05:29 PM   #3
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What do you think you have for R-value there? You might need to add more insulation. Other than that, I'd try to block the holes in the brick so there is no breeze going through there (but leave it vented). Fiberglass is known to let drafts through it. The vapor barrier will help that too.

Its gonna be hard to get the floor (low, cold air) warm, especially when its hanging over something even colder.
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Old 10-22-08, 05:45 AM   #4
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Well, i started yesterday. It is taking longer than i expected, of course, but i'm happy w/ the progress. and nothing looked like it fell down during the night. I used liquid nail EVERYWHERE, but where there was wood, i used a staple gun to at least hold everything in place, then liquid nailed it shut. I need to pick up a few more tubes of LN, and some spray foam that i'm going to double check everything being sealed.

How do I seal off the bricks but still leave it vented? that i'm not sure on.... but yes, there is a LOT of open area in the bricks that allow to much wind to pass through.

I wanna say I used two layers of R19 insulation... BUT, i think most of it is compressed, which of course hurts it's R value.

I would TOTALLY throw a baseboard heater there if possible. Hell, i wish my whole house was electric baseboard, lol. that's what my parents house was, and i was never cold... except, that i never saw their bills, lol.

i'm planning on sticking one of THESE on the wall on the over hang, and since it's a concentrated heat, it'll point straight down and warm up the floor, i can throw it on a timer to come on w/ my main heating system in the morning. Though, my wife keeps telling me NO... but i'm gonna do it anyway.
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Old 10-22-08, 10:32 AM   #5
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Come winter, I close off my foundation vents. They're concrete blocks like yours, but not nearly so open. Humidity is not an issue during the heating season. I use that foam board with the shiny outer layer, cut to size and wedged into place on the inside.
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Old 10-22-08, 10:52 AM   #6
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hmm, sounds like an idea
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Old 10-22-08, 11:37 AM   #7
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Yeah, I was going to say something like that, or just a plastic put up against the brick. Maybe poke a few holes in it so it can breathe.

Good point on moisture not being an issue in winter though PaleMelanesian. What do you do during spring then, just take them out? Are there any issues with snow melting?
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Old 10-22-08, 02:54 PM   #8
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what about using straw bails under that area? I don't have any experience with them, just came to mind.
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Old 10-22-08, 04:58 PM   #9
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I just take it out when it it gets warm enough to start doing yard work again.

Snow's not an issue here in Texas. Sorry, I can't advise on that.
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Old 10-22-08, 06:15 PM   #10
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Ok, 95% done. will probably just stick some wood panels in front of the holes, and there are a lot of em.

Here's the outside, so you can see what it looks like.




And now underneath.






Tomorrow i'll go back around with some spray foam and make sure everything is air tight. And then we wait and see!
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