How to Insulate an Old House in Woodstock

If you own an old house in Woodstock, you probably love its unique charm and sensibility. However, you might not like just how drafty your home can get on cold days. Heat loss is a big problem for Woodstock’s older homes, as they weren’t built using modern insulation material.

Anthem Insulation & Home, Woodstock’s reliable spray foam insulation experts, are here to explain how to insulate an old house. 

Consider an Energy Audit

If you’re asking how to insulate an old house, you should know that many old homes don’t have any insulation at all! Homes built before WWII are especially likely to lack insulation. It’s worth checking your home’s walls to see if there’s any insulation material present.

You can use an infrared camera or work with a professional energy auditor to determine if your home has any insulation. This advanced technology works by detecting heat loss, discovering insulation located in hard-to-find or inaccessible spaces. If your auditor does find old insulation, they can make precise cuts to pull it out and replace it with foam insulation.

Check Your Wall’s Studs

If you’ve determined that your home has little or no insulation at all, you’re probably eager to fix that. Before you do, however, you should have a professional learn more about your wall’s studs. More specifically, you need to determine whether or not you have double or triple studs.

This stud ratio inside your walls determines the number of wall cavities present that need filling with insulation. Moreover, older homes’ walls tend to contain countless amounts of nails. When you try to remove wood panels from your wall, you might end up damaging or destroying drill bits on rusty or broken nails. There are a couple of ways to avoid these issues: by contacting a professional insulation company or insulating your home from the outside.

Insulate Walls from the Outside

Wall insulation is one of the most important yet misunderstood aspects of knowing how to insulate an old house. It’s all too common for homeowners to dive right into fixing their home’s walls, only to end up damaging their antique home’s structure.

You’ll want to start by focusing on your home’s outside. Place a vapor barrier on the wall, then place around an inch or so of foam insulation. Next, have your local home improvement experts install fresh siding on top. 

Be extremely careful if you go ahead with drilling into your home’s walls. Begin by removing any cladding or weather barriers, then drill holes into your home’s walls. To ensure proper moisture levels, add water-resistant flashing, then install your preferred insulation material.

Once you’ve finished, seal up the wall cavity you made to guard against heat loss.

Expert Home Insulation Services

Even if you understand how to insulate an old house, you might not feel comfortable doing so. If that’s the case, Anthem Insulation & Home understands the benefits of attic insulation and can get your Woodstock home to be more energy efficient in no time. Contact Anthem Insulation & Home to discuss insulating your old house today.