Putting insulation in a wall that has none
Just moved into a new (to me) home in Southern California. A single family house, built 1965. I’m relatively new to DIY home improvements but fairly ambitious. I decided to work on upgrading a bathroom and started by tearing down the tub/shower wall in an upstairs bathroom. I got everything out to the bare studs and noticed there is no insulation. I see a thin black paper-like material that is breaking apart and behind that is (what I think) is concrete, then it must be the exterior stucco or something. So, before I build the wall back up, can/should I put insulation in this wall? Or is there a reason it has no insulation? Thanks for the feedback!
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Have you searched here, buildingscience.com, and diycahtroom.com? Tons of info there for you. Good job on thinking of saving energy, too.
N. Yen,
Yes, walls need to be insulated. Wall insulation is now required by building codes -- even in California.
There are many types of wall insulation; all of them can work well if they are installed carefully and detailed properly. If you are totally unfamiliar with this work, however, it may be time to call a contractor.
Here's some introductory information on insulation: Insulation Overview.