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dobsco OP t1_j1fglwj wrote

Reply to comment by timesuck in $300 gas bill this month. What am I doing wrong? by dobsco

The room sizes are weird. My living room is extra large; house also has a large entryway. But it's a cape so it's technically 1.5 stories and the bedrooms are small upstairs.

Based on everyone's feedback, it's probably safe to assume the house doesn't have insulation. Like I said, it's my first winter here so I didn't know what to expect.

I didn't know that blasting foam insulation into plaster walls was something you could even do, but now I'm thinking I'll probably have to do it next year.

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Rx_EtOH t1_j1fru5l wrote

I used to live in a 1932 brick cape cod. I rented an insulation blower and purchased many bales of cellulose insulation (basically shredded newspaper treated with boric acid to make it fire/pest resistant). I blew 2 feet into the attic and then drilled hole through the lathe board plaster in every single stud bay and dense packed every wall cavity (interior and exterior facing). It pretty much sound-proofed my house and cut gas bills by almost half.

You have to be careful with how your exterior walls are constructed. If any insulation touches exterior brick it can wick moisture and create a mold problem.

Only do this after you've sealed any gaps. Air leaks are the lowest hanging fruit because of the chimney effect: air leaks on upper floors suck cold air in on the lower floors.

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619shepard t1_j1g1g8m wrote

Before you go ham with that make sure you know what sort of wiring you have.

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mmphoto412 t1_j1fqn3b wrote

If you have attic access, which you likely do. You can put in new insulation yourself.

Buy R-30 or better and get the “unfaced” stuff, that will let you place it right over top of whatever is already there

Buy some good masks too, you don’t want to breathe in all that dirt

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