Old home insulation is a controversial topic among old house owners and restorers. What are the right materials to add and where can I use them? Will it cause unforeseen problems down the line? There are lots of questions and it seems fewer answers than needed, so, with this post, I hope to provide some much needed answers.
Insulation keeps you warm in the winter and cool in the summer. It makes our homes more comfortable than they would be without it, and whether you’re using something like mineral wool, blow-in, or good old fashioned fiberglass batts, adding insulation will surely improve the energy performance of any house.
So, you should add it to your old house as soon as possible, right? Not so fast. Used to be I was someone who promoted the retrofitting of just about any old house with new insulation, but looking back, that was naive of me. There are certain times (and places) where adding insulation will be immensely valuable and other times when it can prove catastrophic. So, you certainly need to know what you are doing before you take on the task of insulating an old house.
The Problems With Old Home Insulation
I’m not really talking about the problems with existing old home insulation, but rather the topic of how and where should you add insulation to an old home. Homes built before the mid-20th century were not built with the same techniques that we use today.
These older homes were largely built without insulation and just open cavities in the walls where the house could breathe. Builder’s knew that water was the #1 enemy of any house and the way they built may have allowed water to get into the walls in minute amounts, but due to the extraordinary looseness in the building envelope, the house could always dry out safely and quickly.
Then a few decades later, we come by and stuff those cavities full of fiberglass which acts like a sponge and we wonder why our old house is having so many problems. Adding insulation where it was never designed to go (mainly the walls of an old house) causes a host of problems all due to the moisture issues it creates. Here are just a few of the highlights.
Wood Rot
Wood can wet without issue, but keep it wet and then the problems arise. Anywhere that water gets trapped causes wood moisture levels to rise and once they get above 20% to 30% those are ideal conditions for wood rot. Installing any kind of insulation in an area that gets wet with any regularity will almost inevitably lead to wood rot even if you follow my tips to prevent it. You have to remove the continuous source of the water.
Peeling Paint
When paint is peeling down to bare wood, you may think it was a shoddy paint job, but the cause is usually moisture related. Once again, the moisture gets into the wall assembly and gets absorbed by the insulation where it sits like a dirty sponge soaking into the wood. When excess moisture builds up in the wood, it will try to escape through the wood surface and push the paint right off. Wondering where you have moisture issues? Look for the peeling paint and you’ll be in the right spot.
Mold
Black, green, brown, it really doesn’t matter what color it is, nobody wants it in their house for the health hazards it poses. What does mold need to thrive? Warmth, oxygen, wood, and (you guessed it!) moisture. Ever hear about the mold outbreaks in the desert? I didn’t think so. Dry houses are happy houses. Wet houses…not so happy. Want help getting rid of mold? Check out this post.
How to Insulate an Old Home?
Let’s start with the basics. I’ll show you where to insulate and where to leave it alone. I understand that you may disagree with me about the risk vs. payback when I tell you to NOT insulate an area, but trust me, I have your best interests at heart. I have seen insulation go sideways too often to not share what I have learn from my years in the industry.
Start in the Attic
The attic should always be the first place you add insulation whether you live in Florida or Fargo. It doesn’t matter the climate, just start with the safest place that provides the biggest bang for your buck and that is always the attic. I’ll say that one more time. ALWAYS the attic! I hope I wasn’t unclear.
How do you insulate the attic safely to avoid problems? Well, the attic floor is a great place to start because even if there is a roof leak there is air flow between the roof and the attic floor that allows things to dry out and avoid the problems we talked about earlier. Blown-in insulation is a great option here so check out this how to post about installing it yourself.
Stay away from the underside of the roof if you have an older roof or especially a wood shingle roof which is designed to get wet and needs to breathe to dry properly. If you have recently had your roof replaced and have adequate waterproofing, underlayment, and flashing applied, then I usually agree that insulating the underside of the roof is then an option as long as you keep a diligent eye on your roof to make sure it stays in good repair.
Leave the Walls Alone
Don’t insulate your walls. What?? But it’s cold? I know and it pains me to say this, but the number one danger area that causes problems with old house insulation is your walls. Wood siding is usually not replaced every couple decades like shingle roofs. It likely has the same 100 year old kraft paper behind it that provides virtually no water proofing support.
There are a couple creative yet expensive ways I would consider retroactively insulating the walls of an old house if you are in a far northern climate where it might make financial sense. For anyone living below the Mason Dixon line it is never worth the expense to retrofit an old house with wall insulation.
One situation where it is okay to insulate the walls is if you remove all the siding and apply a new housewrap and then go over that with a rain screen before reinstalling your old siding. This may seem like a massive undertaking and it is. Full energy retrofits like this are expensive, but it really is the only safe way.
If you end up adding insulation without doing a full retrofit then you run the risk of developing Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) which saw a major spike in the 1970s after the energy crisis motivated people to stuff their walls with insulation indiscriminately.
What About the Crawlspace?
Insulating under floors is a great way to keep warm with very little potential issues. Sure it’s dirty and difficult to do, but you wont run into issues like with the walls. My preferred material for crawlspace insulation is Mineral Wool since it’s not rodent friendly.
Installing Mineral Wool between the floor joists takes a lot of work due to all the plumbing and electrical penetrations but it is very effective. Using a material like fiberglass batts works nearly as well, but fiberglass is a favorite nesting place for critters in the winter so I prefer Mineral Wool which is far less hospitable.
The Bottom Line
Now you know. Start in the attic, leave the walls alone, and attack the crawlspace if you’re up for it. There are lots of other ways to increase your energy efficiency that don’t have to do with insulation like caulking trim and baseboards which are notoriously drafty, weatherstripping doors and windows, adding storm windows, and even using thick drapes. These are all very effective at keeping your old house warmer and that is the name of the game.
Founder & Editor-in-Chief
I love old houses, working with my hands, and teaching others the excitment of doing it yourself! Everything is teachable if you only give it the chance.
What if your house has siding on top of the original wood siding on the outside?
Siding is the mortar/veneer rock siding.
Would that be enough to prevent water from getting in and allow you to insulate?
Hi Scott;
What about insulating a by with an inch or two clearance on either side of the batt? for example, taking an 18″ wide stud bay and putting a 16″ strip down the middle? Would it balance out the need for airflow and some insulative power? Just thinking. May be in a Victorian very close to the Canadian border in the next year or two, and it’s still heated with oil.
My house is 90 years old with plaster walls, I had this pink color insulation underneath the house I had to remove it because it holds moisture. Now I don’t have any insulation underneath my house. Should I put insulation underneath my house if so what kind. We have serious moisture and some mold in the house now. I don’t have insulation in the attic and I don’t have gutters. Could this be the reason why I have this problem? Please help. Thanks
As you’ve said Scott, moisture is the enemy of buildings whether in liquid form or in vapor. The absence of moisture can cause problems too (though not nearly so destructive as too much moisture!) Heating systems dry out the air in our homes. The hotter the heat source the more it will reduce the interior relative humidity. I’ve observed the RH in steam-heated buildings down in the low teens. That’s not healthy for us or for our homes. And we only exacerbate the problem when we stuff insulation in. Stop the air leaks around windows, doors and fireplaces and your old house will reward you for it.
Radiant has less impact on RH because the heating surface is much larger and can therefore be cooler.
Thank you for this post. We live in a 1940 1.5 story brick Tudor. The previous homeowners finished the attic space and did not install an exhaust vent for the shower. They also did not insulate behind the existing closets so yo ucan imagine all that hot steaky air getting trapped where it doesn’t belong. They cut a lot of corners and now we are going to deal with it and by it, I mean mold. The roof was asbestos tiles and has since been replaced with asphalt shingles, but there is no venting at all. When we rip everything out should we add a ridge vent? And if we do that should we still stay away from insulating the roof with the use of baffles and only insulate the floors and knee walls? Sorry, I have a lot of questions. I just cannot find the specific answers I am looking for and I want to be sure this is done right so we don’t get another episode of reoccurring mold from the attic. I am terrified at what we will find when start ripping it out. Also we live in Nebraska, very cold winters and very hot summers. So I am concerned about vapor barrier or no vapor barrier.
Thank you Scott! You confirmed my theory! We had to have all the north side outside window sills replaced on our 1860 brick farmhouse. The contractor was adamant about spraying foam insulation into the space which was about a half brick in size on either side under the interior sill.
These spaces were consistent in each window assembly.
I didn’t let him. It made perfect sense to me that windows which were often left open might need a way to dry out in those corners after a rain shower. For insulation we have used 100%. sheep’s wool in the attic- it is marvelous stuff since any water evaporates actually producing a little heat, retains its shape, and you can stuff it around all the nooks and pipes. Comes in big rolls but also batts. Also inflammable.
Hiya! I had a mid 1800s home in Philly that i just sold.. And looking to buy another. One of the suggestions made to me regarding insulation in my old home was to add another layer of wall basically ON TOP OF existing plaster and lathe walls. So.. reframe the exterior walls with 1\4″ wood then insulate and drywall. I was against that 100% because I did not want to take even that little amount of space out of some rooms that I already felt were small. Going into my next home, after reading this article, I wonder if the contractor was craftier than i realized and if that really is a good solution… Thoughts?
Hi, we have a 1925 Craftsman that had to be gutted due to damage by Hurricane Michael in Florida. We want to have blow in insulation throughout the house when they start the rebuild, but after reading this article I have some concerns. The siding on the exterior was not damaged, so adding a house wrap with a rain screen would not be in the budget as far as my insurance claim is concerned. Please advise. Thank you.
What is your suggestion for adding insulation to the attic if you have knob and tube wiring that is still active?
You shouldn’t not add insulation that is in direct contact with knob and tube wiring.
Any suggestions for insulating a 1920s flat roof on a Philly row house? The second floor gets really warm in the summer in spite of the light color of the roof.
Blowing insulation into the cavities between each rafter if you have any access works well.
Such helpful information throughout your site – we recently purchased a 1908 Foursquare that has had some “updates” (vinyl windows, aluminum siding, laminate flooring over the original hardwoods, etc) and we have been working to make the place our own. One of the projects on the long-term list is finishing out the walk-up attic. It is currently insulated under the floorboards with what appears to be blown in or vermiculite insulation – we aren’t planning to disturb it. Upon moving in, we also discovered a family of bats that had taken up residence for the winter. In the short-term, we are going to have a pest manager bat-proof the attic to prevent further issues and then plan to insulate. Wondering if there are specific concerns about the breathability of the attic we should be aware of before diving in.
I love your blog, it’s helped immensely with rebuilding every stinking window on my 1893 shack here in San Antonio. Do you have an opinion on closed cell spray foam in the crawlspace?
My biggest concern with this house is adding something that is hard to reverse in 50 years. I’ve spent the past 2 years fixing previous stupid/cheap choices and would like to not “be that guy” but the benefits appear it might be worth it in this case.
Thanks for blogging about this.
Just stumbled across this article….we had insulation blown into the walls of our circa 1890 Ohio home & now we have mold in the bathroom & cedar room. What can we do to correct this mistake?
Gotta find where the water is getting into the wall cavity and resolve it. It may be vapor drive from the inside or leaky siding on the outside. Make sure the bathroom has an exhaust fan too!
Super appreciate this article, am flagging it as a major resource. The prior owners of my home did the best they could, but the roof is asphalt shingle with no underlayment, vinyl siding, aluminum sheathing on the exterior window frames, and vinyl windows. I’m looking at reroofing with davinci, residing with Hardie board, and replacing the vinyl windows (only, there are still a few original that are being cleaned up but not replaced) with fiberglass. I’m still a little squirrelly about the fiberglass but I’m not 100% that all-wood from someone like Pella is going to be overly better. What is your experience with fiberglass for windows? I’ll be adding in the mineral wool as I go, not disturbing the plaster as much as possible.
Morning Scott,
I have a technical question on the insulation on walls. I have a 1935 Craftsman that we are getting ready to do a to the studs renovation on and install insulation in the bays. We have previously used the following method that we came across from Fine Home building for insulating the home while also making sure the walls could dry out in case of moisture getting in which one o the senior city inspectors approved of.
“Here’s another approach: Nail or screw narrow pieces of vertical blocking in the corners of each stud bay up against the back of the siding. Install rigid foam in each stud bay against the blocking. Tape any seams between pieces of foam, and seal the perimeter with caulk, tape, or canned spray foam. This layer is your air barrier and your water-resistive barrier. Fill the rest of the stud bay with the insulation of your choice. The layer of rigid foam should either be somewhat vapor-permeable (for example, unfaced EPS), or thick enough to keep the interior side of the rigid foam above the dew point during winter. That depends on your climate zone and wall thickness. For 2×4 walls, the foam’s R-value must be at least R-2.5 in marine zone 4”
What are your thoughts on this as we will not be removing the siding and there is no water / vapor barrier behind the original poplar siding.
Thanks in advance,
Darin W Maroni Design Lab
Hmmm. Thank you for this information Scott. We gutted the bathroom of our 1928 bungalow and the building inspector told us to insulate the exterior walls with R-15 fiberglass batts. I’m now wondering if I should question this (we haven’t yet closed the walls up). I assumed that it was code, but if what you’re saying is true, then I think perhaps we should remove the batts.
Colette, I run into this all the time. They require the walls to be insulated and while I wouldn’t recommend it I can only tell you what I have done in the past. I will insulate to pass my inspection and then remove the insulation before closing up the walls. Not exactly up to code, but I’m more concerned with the long term good of the building.
Thank you!
Would rockwool insulation be an option here? It doesn’t hold onto moisture like fiberglass does and fulfills the inspection requirement.
Luckily I have masonry walls which can’t easily be insulated but provide good thermal mass. I do have attic insulation on my list (there is some blown in but only behind the kneewalls) and might insulate parts of the basement/crawlspace someday.
We have completely gutted an old house; removing the plaster and blown in insulation. We plan to use spray foam insulation on the underside of the roof which is new metal. We also plan to spray the outside walls. Any concerns with spray foam? The house has original siding from 1920’s. We plan to paint, caulk the outside this summer.
No issues from me about spraying the underside of a new metal roof, but I would caution against doing the backside of the siding. Wood Siding is definitely not designed for spray foam.
Good article Scott. My son and I insulated our attic two years ago. Some of the best money spent on our home built in 1925. Used blown in insulation with a air machine. Did not cost that much and boy you could tell the difference.
Also did weather stripping on the original windows that have storm windows. Weather stripped all the doors.
Just went through a winter here in Iowa with -55 below wind chills. I must say we did stay comfortable in this big home .
Our wall do not have insulation in them and after reading your article they will stay that way. Makes total sense that the walls must breathe. We have original Cedar siding on this beauty.
Keep up the good work. Always read your articles.
Thank you,
Laurence Sanford
So great hearing your story Laurence! And glad you guys made it thru the polar vortex!
Does anyone have a source/supplier for retroactively weatherstripping old windows and doors? I assume this is done by routing the edges and then pushing in the weatherstripping? How hard is this to do? I cannot material for this work anywhere! Thank you
Lots of options for weatherstripping windows. My store sells spring bronze and StopGap which works great and are fairly DIY friendly.
Never rout the window and door frames in an old house. There are plenty of ways to protect the house without damaging the historic windows and doors. Various kinds of strip materials incorporating neoprene, brushes, or interlocking metal plates are the right choice for weatherstripping doors. Storm windows are the best choice protecting historic windows. There are some interior versions ow storm windows now on the market.
Where cost is of extreme concern, there are kits which contain plastic sheets and sticks which nail the plastic sheet to four sides of the window frame. A hairdryer applied to the plastic tightens up the plastic to make it perfectly smooth and nearly invisible. Make sure the caulk between glass and sash is complete. Temporary weatherstripping is available to install seasonally to close the gap between window sash and frame. Types include foam and putty.
Great post and thanks for the advice! Being in the northern part of the hemisphere, it makes since for us to insulate the walls but will attack it from the exterior. Also, it’s a great time to replace the wiring as well!
Very true!
Thank you for addressing these issues! As I begin restoration of our little 1910 bungalow, I am continuing a long exploration into what it means to avoid the assumptions of conventional construction in pursuit of a true restoration. I have a childhood memory of the interior of an old ski lodge in Sweden in the depths of winter… with no understanding of the ”whys”… the air being quite cold while feeling comfortably warm. I explain it like sitting on a sun warmed outcropping on a cool evening. I’m still trying to recreate that sensation. Radiant heat. As soon as we started mixing up the equasion with installing HVAC systems to heat the air in our old structures, we started down a slippery path.I find far more evolved solutions in what is called ”natural architecture” than what currently is regarded as ”green”. The LEED certified green metodology is simply evolved convention, and just doesn’t coexist successfully with old structures. So not only do I need to restore the original part of my house true to it’s purpose, but to understand the principles as I design an addition onto it. These two directions aren’t just a difference in style, but quite opposite in approach from foundation up… My journey continues.
Well said!