I have a 100 year old cinder block home and my heating bills are sky high. Is there any way to insulate it?
Answers:
You can always do the insulaiton between drywall and cinder block. If you do not have drywall inside then spend some money on that and get the insulation. Also they have new product call liquid stucco, Its like paint and new exterior on concrete, will effect the heating and cooling.
Other answers:
Yeah I had an old home with no insulation and I paid about $300 a month in the winter. You could hire a company to spray insulation inside the walls and inside the roof in the attick. Other than a complete interior demolition and new interior walls with insulation behind them that is the only way.
Yeah I had an old home with no insulation and I paid about $300 a month in the winter. You could hire a company to spray insulation inside the walls and inside the roof in the attick. Other than a complete interior demolition and new interior walls with insulation behind them that is the only way.
Knowsitall has some good points. Try to use conventional insulation bats anywhere you can, i.e., the floor and ceiling. As an alternative to "inside" demolition, the outside of your home can be insulated with sheet insulation and a vapor barrier but that will require re-siding. If you go that route, you might want to consider just doing north facing walls to help with the budget. Make sure your home is "airtight". Caulking and weatherstripping are inexpensive and will help. Check door openings, electrical outlets, windows, etc. Consider replacing windows with double pane units if they are the old single pane type. Good luck.
umm, knowsitall doesn't relaly knows it all, me thinks. I too had the same problem - try a 7 unit rental property with a $1,200 a month heating bill for the while place! The walls were hollow, but I discovered through various estimates from contractors that they had glass, newspaper, cloth inside, doing nothing for insulative purposes. I was told I could pour vermiculie or polystyrene beads in there, but finally settled on insulating from the outside with tyvek house wra[ ist, then furring strips, then 3" thick styrene boards, then vinal siding. Cut my heart bills by 60-70%!
Now, the walls hold the heat given them by the cast iron radiators. If you insulate from inside, you rin the risk of freezing the walls from the outside in and reducing the lifespan of the building as a whole.
Tha's the way to go, me thinks.
Put rolled insulation in the attic. Hire a company or rent a machine to blow it in your walls. This is done by drilling small holes in the siding and blowing the stuff in. The holes are then filled with painters caulk.