Insulating Plaster Walls

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Dalmus

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Hey everyone,

I have a cape cod in Wisconsin built in 1947. Block walls with a brick veneer from the basement to the rafters.

The walls are cold all winter long, and I finally decided that I really need to do something about it as the house quickly cools after the furnace shuts down. Having a concrete floor under the carpeting doesn't help matters!

I made a couple of exploratory holes, found that I have no insulation (not a surprise given the year) in the exterior walls.

I would love to blow in some insulation, however, being plaster walls from 1947, there is no vapor barrier.

With Wisconsin being a rather humid area, I assume anything I blow in would potentially become a mold trap rather quickly.

Is there anything I can do, short of ripping down the plaster walls, insulating, and replacing with drywall?

Thanks for any ideas!
 
Your old walls have oil base paint on them which has a pretty good rating for vapour bearier and there are paints on the market that will do that too.
 
Your old walls have oil base paint on them which has a pretty good rating for vapour bearier and there are paints on the market that will do that too.

That's a good point that I never really considered - Paint-on barriers.

I'll have to do some research and check permeability ratings... But do you have any suggestions? I would think any of the paints meant to trap odors and such (such as KILZ or BIN) would have to be very low perm?
 
Look for an insulation that can work in the walls.
I use this product for our remodeling jobs, it seals the air, and disipates any vapor over time. www.nationalfiber.com
I use it instead of spray foam, and it is easy to drill holes to install.
 

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