In a message dated 3/23/2001 11:15:03 PM Eastern Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:



 The fieldstone is on the exterior and is original. Some exterior is clapboard
 - So I need to skip on over there to double check again which walls have
what.

OK, now we know we have sheathing and siding, which is good, and that the
EVIL IVY has been removed (hope it was FedEx collect to Sharpshooter), which
is also good.  The question is whether the foamy stuff will maintain
dimensional stability, cause if it shrinks away from the places you want it,
the owner's wasted his money, and I don't know the answer to that.  There
were problems some years ago with foam-in insulation shrinking after it set,
but I dunno whether this stuff in a little dinky can does that or not.  No
doubt it will SAY it doesn't; advise you read the label VERY
carefully for weasel words (like "Nothing is better for a headache than
Bayer.")

 The owner knew the previous owners pretty well and said the room was always
 cold. Two and 1/2 are exposed to outside - 1/2 of 3rd wall is next to a stone
 chimney which is exposed to the outside as well.  From the inside, I see
 studs behind which are the horizontal boards. There is very little daylight
 spots so as mentioned above - I've got to look closer.  The daylight by the
 way is where ivy roots crawled from the outside right through to the interior
 space between the studs (The house was covered with the stuff up til this
 past fall. - I remember all the complaints from a year or so ago on this list
 about ivy).

 I think the multiple exposure is part of the problem, but all you can do
about that is insulate it the best you can.  On the other hand, whoever
designs/installs the HVAC system needs to know to put extra heat into the
kitchen.  The condition and number of doors and windows will have a big
effect, too; he should make sure the door between the kitchen and rest of the
house is in place (unlike in my damn house) so the door can be shut to keep
the heat in the kitchen.

 The vinyl sheet is something he found on the web under "soundproofing" and
 may be similar to the stuff they put under the carpets of better cars to
 deaden road sound. Its very heavy - 40lbs / sq ft and is installed with
 roofing nails.

I don't like this idea at all. He's gonna get more noise through through the
doors and especially the windows than will come through the walls even if
they're only insulated (and I bet even if they weren't insulated at all, more
noise would come through the glass than through the wall.) and will have
spent a fortune on this sheet stuff  which has to act as another vapor
barrier.   Fuhgeddaboutit.

is this fieldstone fireplace sucking all the heated air out through the flue?

 Yup

 > have a damper?   Yup

He should seal up the chimney from the top and the bottom; that's where the
heat's going.  He's nuts if he thinks he's going to have a fire in the
kitchen fireplace anyway, which given the age of the house you're describing
was undoubtedly a niche for a coal- (or maybe wood-) burning range.  The cost
of lining the flue, redesigning the firebox so it will draw properly and all
that fooling around is not worth it for the once he'll try to have a fire in
it and decide it's not worth the trouble.

 Is there an occupied floor above the kitchen;   Yup

 Still might not be a bad idea to insulate the ceiling, and maybe use
foil-faced gypsum board (if it's still available, and in small enough
quantities for a ceiling) on the ceiling to get a little heat reflected back
down into the room.  As I think about it, you could use the foil-faced on the
walls, too (the foil is intended as a vapor barrier).  What say ye, Rev Jim?

 > You smart girl, ask good questions.  Tell boys to listen to you.

 Thanks

Tell Owner: Wise old man say, tell boys they listen to smart broomgirl,
otherwise boys go home to play by selves. Owner be happy, stay rich.
Otherwise, Owner be pissed and poor.  Family call Owner stupid, then freeze
to death in kitchen. Very bad.

 The foamy turns into something like styrofoam. I remember it was used as a
 filler along kitchen plumbing behind my kitchen cabinets (to block the mice
 hiking trail) and was kind of difficult to remove when we moved cabinets
 around. Had to take a chisel and hammer.  It was used as a masonry
 crackfiller as well.  Seems to me I saw something similar used as insulation
 sprayed on basement masonry walls on some TV fix it show a while back.

"Similar" is the problem; who knows what the one on TV was, and whether the
one you can get now is any good.  See comments above re shrinking foam.
Also, Rev Jim pls chime in.  Especially if you consider intrepid Broomgirl
being led down garden path by cranky humor czar.

  > Tell us more.

 > Will do.  Soon as I trot over there to look again-probably tomorrow.
 > Thanks a lot for the input!  I'll be baaaccck.

Await your forthcoming report. Over.

Ralph