DIY Insulating

[dave1949]

Right now we're working on the hottest June ever. Ever! It has been over 90 for 13 days in a row, no end in sight either. Near 100 yesterday. In August we'll need fire suits.

I've lived in a lot of hot places in the South including Florida. So far, none compares to Columbia, SC. Lou Holtz described Columbia as a screen door away from ****. Combine 96 degrees and 96% humidity and you just can't get cool. You sweat profusely but the sweat does not evaporate because of the high humidity. When sweat does not evaporate it does little or nothing to cool you and you end up wearing wet heavy cloths and getting dehydrated. When i played high school football in Columbia we took water breaks every 10 to 15 minutes and at the end of the 2 hour practice some of the bigger linemen would have lost 15 pounds! We weighed before and after practice. If you'd lost weight it meant you did not drink enough.

.

Years ago we took a July trip to the Carolinas, Outer Banks. My wife's cousin was living near Columbia at the time and we visited them of course. That trip cured me Even coming from NW Ohio, which can be a sticky place most of Jun-Jul-Aug. A local fellow told me they were having a 'wet hot', it was like getting hammered. I came away wondering how people survive there

I think hiring a professional insulation installer is not a bad idea. Not because of the heat, but because if they are good at at, it will come out better than doing it yourself. It's not a fun job no matter how you do it. I used a cellulose blower once, it came 'free' from the lumber yard if you purchased a lot of cellulose. It was junk, made the job harder. The chopper blades would get clogged up, the motor ran too hot, the air blower was on the weak side.
Dave.

 

[IslandTractor]

Air leaks? Guys, this is a cabin I built myself. It is mostly air leaks.

Well, think of it as keeping the mosquitos and other varmints out then. No need to be meticulous for air conditioning I suppose. As stated it is more of an issue for heating.

 

[Redbug]

George...Don't forget to use your tax credits for insulation! 30% of your cost up to $1500. I put in a new gas pack last year and got the credit...$1500...for a more energy efficient one. It was cheaper than a less efficient one using the credits. Save your receipts and file Form 5695. TurboTax includes it in their software, also.

Here...
Insulate Now with Owens Corning Insulation and Double Your Savings!
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f5695.pdf

At least you will save a little money...

 

[smstonypoint]

George...Don't forget to use your tax credits for insulation! 30% of your cost up to $1500. I put in a new gas pack last year and got the credit...$1500...for a more energy efficient one. It was cheaper than a less efficient one using the credits. Save your receipts and file Form 5695. TurboTax includes it in their software, also.

Here...
Insulate Now with Owens Corning Insulation and Double Your Savings!
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f5695.pdf

At least you will save a little money...

The way I understand it, the improvements have to be to the filer's main residence in order to claim the credit. I thought the OP's question applied to a second home.

Steve

 

[IslandTractor]

The way I understand it, the improvements have to be the filer's main residence in order to claim the credit. I thought the OP's question applied to a second home.

Steve

Get your wife to kick you out then claim the cabin as your main residence.

 

[smstonypoint]

Get your wife to kick you out then claim the cabin as your main residence.

And be penny wise and pound foolish.

Steve

 

[IslandTractor]

And be penny wise and pound foolish.

Steve

Nah, get her a nice bouquet of flowers and have her let you come back home after Dec 31. :thumbsup:

 

[/pine]

"Dead Air" in horizontal areas offers decent insulation values...

If your cabin is built up off the ground "underpinning" will help immensely...

I used foam (Dow board) to underpin my cabin and it makes a huge difference in the winter (keeping the cabin warm)...

...to avoid condensation I used foundation vents that automatically close when the tempature drops...(they use a brass coil thermostats) I think they were about $15 each...

 

[RadarTech]

"Dead Air" in horizontal areas offers decent insulation values...

If your cabin is built up off the ground "underpinning" will help immensely...

I used foam (Dow board) to underpin my cabin and it makes a huge difference in the winter (keeping the cabin warm)...

...to avoid condensation I used foundation vents that automatically close when the tempature drops...(they use a brass coil thermostats) I think they were about $15 each...

where did you find those?

J

 

[smstonypoint]

where did you find those?

J

I bought mine at Lowes if memory serves.

Steve

 

[RadarTech]

I bought mine at Lowes if memory serves.

Steve

dang and I was just there!!!!


J

 

[N80]

Here is the followup. I priced fiberglass rolls and batting to do the whole job myself. Then I got an estimate for professional blown in in the attic and batting underneath and the price was almost identical. No brainer as far as I am concerned. I might could have saved some if I'd blown it in myself but probably not enough to make it worth doing in this heat.

Now, here is a follow-on problem. We had the central AC/heat installed. I think it is a '1 ton' unit. Maybe 2. I have no idea what that means. (Cabin is 3 rooms + small bath, about 1000 sq ft. total with cathedral ceiling in great room.) But, last week when it was hot (95) it did not get the temp below 80 until it got below 80 that night. It had run all day, non stop.

The AC guy said it was because we did not have insulation. He might be right and I'm getting the insulation in next week. But, the two window units we have work nearly as well and that's with no insulation too. There is cold air coming from the vents but it just won't do the job. I think either the unit is too small (it looks huge!) or something is wrong with it.

We'll give it a try with the insulation in but I'm doubtful. What do you guys think?

 

[IslandTractor]

I don't know exactly what a "ton" of A/C is but I recall it is about 20,000BTU or so. That's about the same as two big window units if I have my figure right. IMO a one ton unit in a 1000 sq ft cabin with poor/no insulation in the South then that unit is not likely to get you more than a 10-12 degree delta in indoor/outdoor temperature. Insulation should certainly help though, especially in the attic.

We have an old Victorian home about 3800sq ft with blown cellulose in the attic. Last week for several days it was in the mid 90s in Boston and our 4 ton A/C was running constantly starting mid morning to get the temp down to 78. Our A/C to sq ft ratio is about the same as yours but we have about two feet of attic insulation. The delta for us was about 15-16 degrees. Like your experience, it didn't get lower than 78 until the evening temperature dropped to the low 80s. We don't live in the south so purposely "undersized" our A/C a little to maximize dehumidification and knowing that we get less than a dozen 90 degree days a year. We also find a dehumidified 78 degrees to be quite comfortable.

 

[Redbug]

George,

You may want to have your AC unit checked out. It may be low on freon. It will run and run when low and never cool things down.

I'm not an AC man, but by putting a thermometer in one of your cold air vents you can read the air temperature coming out and see if it is too warm caused by low freon or something else.

Hopefully, one of the TBN folks, (that knows more than I), can tell us about what temperature the cold air from the unit should be at whatever the outside temp is when the unit is operating. That is, if it's 95 degrees outside and the AC unit is putting out 73 degrees of cold air into your house, (22 or so degree difference)...the unit itself is OK. I am curious to know myself...anyone know what the normal difference should be for a fairly efficient unit?

I think Island pointed out how to figure the correct tonnage. If you don't mind Island or George...can you elaborate a little more on the sizing since I am curious and don't know much about this, also.

 

[IslandTractor]

Correction. One ton of A/C is only 12,000 BTU. That is the equivalent of only two small window units. Certainly would not expect that to keep a 1000sqft home without attic insulation cool in 90+ degree heat.

From Wikianswers:
Air conditioners are rated in three ways, by B.T.U.'s, Tons of Refrigeration, or by Horsepower. One Ton of Refrigeration removes the amount of heat needed to melt one ton of ice in 24 hours. One Ton of Refrigeration can remove 12,000 B.T.U.'s of heat in one hour. The B.T.U. is the amount of heat needed to raise 1 lb. of pure water 1 deg F.

 

[N80]

Just checked, its a 2 ton unit. But a lot of good that will do me, we never get 2 tons of ice around here in the summer.

Anyway, we get insulation in next week. If the AC is still lame then they'll have to bring in a bigger unit. I don't need the dang thing when its 80 outside, I need it when its 95! And when its humid and 95 out I want to walk into a dry 75 when I've been working outdoors all day.

I'm also wondering if the logs have anything to do with it. I can't prove anything but watching the thermometer in the summer, the inside temp continues to climb for several hours after the outside temp has started falling. This leads me to believe that these logs hold a lot of heat, but this may be true in any structure for all I know.

 

[dave1949]

I'm also wondering if the logs have anything to do with it. I can't prove anything but watching the thermometer in the summer, the inside temp continues to climb for several hours after the outside temp has started falling. This leads me to believe that these logs hold a lot of heat, but this may be true in any structure for all I know.

It's possible the sun is striking more directly on the side walls than the roof in late afternoon/early evening. The outside temp is going down, but you are getting more direct sun on the walls too. That heat can then be radiated into your interior space.

I have no experience with logs, there are claims that a log wall has a higher 'effective' R-value than it's rated R-value.

I was happy to hear you found a good solution on the insulation, that is one nasty job in hot weather.
Dave.