Renovation / Discussions

I have 1920's house in Minneapolis, I'm thinking about tearing the siding off and adding 12" deep Larsen trusses with dense packed cellulose. The guides I've see in Fine HomeBuiding magazine suuggest the best route is apply poly barrier on the outside as the R 40 gain from the trusses would stop any moisure from conden...

...renovations –  The easiest way to insulate walls from the exterior in older homes Here are our top 10 energy-saving home improvement tips with the greatest return. If you are insulating a home from the exterior and installing an air barrier, you may get to the point where you need a heat recovery ventilation (HRV) or...

Where can I buy hemp insulation in Durham Region area of Ontario, Canada?   You can find out more about hemp insulation at Ecohome for Canada or the US, And by going to the Hemp products directory on Ecohome, and hitting that Contact this company button and letting the supplier know the quantity you need (square foot t...

 I've recently purschased a house in Montreal Canada. We get -20C in Winter and we can get +30C in Summer.  I have a split level home built in 1961 that is pretty drafty. I would like to start with a basement remodel. The walls are currently made up of mineral wool insulation with studs on 16oc all the way until Joist ...

...renovations The biggest problem, as you would read about in that page, is the fact that standard basement construction techniques usually involve an interior vapor barrier, which will cause more harm than good. And a part of that problem is that Building inspectors often insist on a vapor barrier, despite the harm it c...

There is no space between bricks so we would like to add R20 to the exterior of the house also providing a vapour barrier. A previous owner had taking down the lath and plaster and installed two by twos with a bit of fiberglass insulation but no effective vapour barrier. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Insulating...

Since the recent cold snap our double glazed windows are running with water, every morning it's all over the window sills, running down the wall - in the bathroom it's even making a puddle on the floor tiles. Now I noticed the seals at the bottom of our windows are starting to get what looks like a black mold - should ...

I'm installing basement drain system and the contractor wants to install vents through the concrete floor at the wall junction to drain moisture condensate from basement walls through the floor to the drain tiles. He claims this prevents mold from forming behind finished walls.  Does this work or is it only a path for ...

We have a cabin in the Bershires of Massachusetts ceilings and floor have been insulated, dense pack celluose in ceilings 4 in Amivic graphite EPS under floors. Walls have no insulation, siding is T-1-11 from the sixties would like to put 1 inch EPS under vinyl siding. the building is pretty well built. no sagging part...

Hi, I have an open beam house (no attic access) built in 1962. I live in cold, dry Edmonton Alberta. My low slope roof doesn't leak, however about once a year in the spring when we have a big temperature increase, I get water dripping from my interior open beam. Only lasts a few hours, I understand that my vapour barri...

...renovations should be carried out. Having to remove all the poly is probably not the news you were hoping for but you are at least fortunate in the sense that there is no drywall on at this point. Most people only find out their basements are rotting many years after they've been finished.  We can help you with whateve...

...renovation and have been doing some reading on your website only recently. I'm realizing that I may have made some mistakes and would like your advice as to what direction to take in order to minimize future problems. The basement was partially finished when it flooded after a 100mm Ottawa area rain event in October 20...

After reading about vapor retarding primers on ecohome I am sold on using this technique to air-seal my 50's house after doing renovation work. The missing part is how do I deal with recessed lighting and electrical boxes that penetrate the walls and ceiling. Any tips on this?  The short answer is that you can’t, the v...

We live in an old 2x4 wall home that I’m told by the previous owners originally had no insulation, then it had loose fill cellulose insulation added decades ago between the studs, but as per usual the cellulose has settled and there are big gaps at the top. As part of an extensive home renovation we have decided to str...

I live in Southern Alberta and will be replacing my exterior vinyl siding with wood, I also want to add insulation at the same time. It's a 2x4 wall with pink insulation and a vapour barrier behind the drywall,  and only vinyl on the outside. There are a lot of different kinds of rigid foam panel and I don't want to ch...