Curious what the best way is to retrofit (air/vapor seal) my home to make it more durable & energy efficient
SpencerShemwell
| Posted in General Questions on
I have a ranch style home with a walk-out basement on a poured concrete foundation. It is framed with 2×4 walls, fiberglass batt insulation, OSB exterior sheathing, standard housewrap, floor/roof trusses, tar paper on roof and shingles. The basement is finished. It’s a pretty standard house. I want to get the most bang for my buck without tearing down and rebuilding. I am in Virginia, climate zone 4. What would be the best way to go about doing this?
GBA Detail Library
A collection of one thousand construction details organized by climate and house part
Search and download construction details
Replies
Martin has summarized a lot in a previous article:
https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/energy-upgrades-beginners
Even if you want to poke around and/or do the work yourself, if you've got the money a good energy audit (with blower door test and infrared camera) is money well-spent, IMO. And it may be a prerequisite for getting credit from utility companies for energy upgrades.
Can't emphasize enough that air-sealing comes before insulation.
And the Energy Efficiency Pyramid also helps prioritize:
https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/energy-efficiency-pyramid
Spencer,
You've gotten good advice. Start with an energy audit -- that usually means a blower-door test and an infrared scan. You may even want to see if the blower-door test can be combined with a longer session that includes blower-door-directed air sealing.
You may want to read this article:
Air Sealing an Attic
-- Martin Holladay