I appreciate you saying a brand new house could still use more insulation. It's true! I bought a brand new house a little over a year ago& it needed insulation under the roof. I was so upset when I saw it. The home I saw originally had it insulated but when they built mine they didn't do it. Makes me worry there are other things in the house not done that I can't see. But I insulated the attic myself.
I was an insulator in Eastern Ontario Canada for 4 years 2014-2018.In my experience nobody cares about the insulators. Numerous times the HVAC guy would install the furnace and ducts too close to the walls preventing floor joists from being insulated and poly'd. Windows wouldn't have enough room around them to foam properly. Ceiling features (cathedral, step ups, coffer) not framed properly to batt. We would batt them then blow in afterwards to fill any gaps. No poly behind electrical panels. We caulked all double studs and floor joists before poly. Foamed all holes going into attic and exterior walls. Builders for the most part always had poly between top plates and cap plates for us to tie our ceiling poly into.
5:25 I hope the sheetrockers and trim carpenters don't shoot a fastener through that PEX or it's gonna be ugly. Should be centered in the plate at the very least. Nail plates wouldn't be a bad idea.
Doc, we need better energy codes for new home construction. Everything you have pointed out is so common because the construction codes are holdovers from the past. The #1 change that needs to be implemented is putting board type insulation on the outside of the walls. Adding 2 layers of 2" (staggered for 4" total) extruded polystyrene. This R-20 should be the absolute minimum. Forget the fiberglass batts and the house wrap. Exterior siding can be attached to the wood studs behind the 4" insulation with wood or metal battens screwed in place with extra long screws. Insulation should be continuous right down to the top of the footing. Window framing will need 4" architectural extensions to compensate for the thicker wall.
I can not understand why this is not mandatory for code. Other than it would wreck the current insulation Industry. But building homes like coolers completely wrapped in 4 inches of foam would be simple and cost effective if done on a national scale. The energy results would be dramatic, and homes would be more comfortable.
Hey Larry, have you guys ever considered using roxul comfort batt for the odd shaped areas? It's able to be cut to any shape or sizing and has a higher r value and more resistance to air, moisture, and also fireproof. I'm sure you have heard of it, figured I'd ask.
I recently signed a contract to build a house. Your videos are incredibly valuable. You better believe that I will be make sure my house is properly insulated and air tight before the sheet rock goes up. Unfortunately my builder uses fiberglass batts for the walls (r19), but uses cellulose for the attic (r35). I will be making sure all the windows, doors and any gaps are foam sealed before the batts and cellulose are put in. Would you recommend that I blow more insulation into the attic with a r35 rating for Charlotte, NC, which is rated as zone 3? I can't do anything about the exterior walls only being r19, they won't go any higher. I would have liked to have at least r21. Wish more builders offered full spray foam
Jason Chalanick I'm in Moore county. payback in our climate zone falls off rapidly after r40 ceiling and r20 walls. deminishing ROI. air tightness and radiant barries are beneficial but rarely used around here.
Jason, make sure your contractor leaves time between the insulating and sheet rocking so you can make sure things are right. Mine didn't and some major mistakes got rocked over.
you can install a R-21 in a 2x6 wall, also you can add cellulose or fiberglass on top of wht you already have in the attic, most importantly is to airseal your attic. most likely a homebuilder wont do. shouldnt pay no more than a 1.00-1.50 per sqft for airsealing, you could rake back the insulation and do it yourself foam it and rake it back then blow more.
It's not just the type of insulation but how much of it. Foam insulation really should be used sparingly due to it having a lot of GHG emissions both in production and after installed. If you use Blown in Insulation, this isn't an issue and it's more cost effective. You just have to ensure the cavity is large enough to get a decent insulation value. If you had 24" of insulation, that would be more than sufficient.
Closed cell spray foam for all hard to reach areas and external walls. 2in is all u need. Then add bat insulation if u want more r valve. Spray foam is 7x more expensive. Attic blown in cellulose cant be beat! Only need spray foam in attic if u r insulating the rafters vs the floor
I`m sure youve learned plenty enough about properly insulating ducts and such since this video was done 5 years ago; if not, I would say you have a lot to learn...
Compressed fiberglass is better than no fiberglass though (compressed batts also have higher R-value per inch, up to a point anyways, that's why 3.5" batt can be R-11, R-13, R-15, it's just denser) You still got to fill the cavity though. Not only are new houses not energy efficient as they could/should be, but they aren't as energy efficient as advertised =( those liers!
No 3.5" fiberglass batt is even R-11. It's the other wall components that make the R-11 wall The best fiberglass can do is R-4.5 per inch for high-density duct board.
I gave a thumbs down only BC the video had horrible lighting. Try doing videos with much better lighting or during the day, and not when the vehicles outside need there headlights on to see. Thanks.
I appreciate you saying a brand new house could still use more insulation. It's true! I bought a brand new house a little over a year ago& it needed insulation under the roof. I was so upset when I saw it. The home I saw originally had it insulated but when they built mine they didn't do it. Makes me worry there are other things in the house not done that I can't see. But I insulated the attic myself.
I was an insulator in Eastern Ontario Canada for 4 years 2014-2018.In my experience nobody cares about the insulators. Numerous times the HVAC guy would install the furnace and ducts too close to the walls preventing floor joists from being insulated and poly'd. Windows wouldn't have enough room around them to foam properly. Ceiling features (cathedral, step ups, coffer) not framed properly to batt. We would batt them then blow in afterwards to fill any gaps. No poly behind electrical panels. We caulked all double studs and floor joists before poly. Foamed all holes going into attic and exterior walls. Builders for the most part always had poly between top plates and cap plates for us to tie our ceiling poly into.
5:25 I hope the sheetrockers and trim carpenters don't shoot a fastener through that PEX or it's gonna be ugly. Should be centered in the plate at the very least. Nail plates wouldn't be a bad idea.
Doc, we need better energy codes for new home construction. Everything you have pointed out is so common because the construction codes are holdovers from the past. The #1 change that needs to be implemented is putting board type insulation on the outside of the walls. Adding 2 layers of 2" (staggered for 4" total) extruded polystyrene. This R-20 should be the absolute minimum. Forget the fiberglass batts and the house wrap. Exterior siding can be attached to the wood studs behind the 4" insulation with wood or metal battens screwed in place with extra long screws. Insulation should be continuous right down to the top of the footing. Window framing will need 4" architectural extensions to compensate for the thicker wall.
I can not understand why this is not mandatory for code. Other than it would wreck the current insulation Industry. But building homes like coolers completely wrapped in 4 inches of foam would be simple and cost effective if done on a national scale. The energy results would be dramatic, and homes would be more comfortable.
I would love to be in this guy's house, even in the winter he probably doesn't need to turn on the heat with all the right insulation
The peso inside the house is not in center of 2by4. A sheet rock screw will hit the pex.
Hey Larry, have you guys ever considered using roxul comfort batt for the odd shaped areas? It's able to be cut to any shape or sizing and has a higher r value and more resistance to air, moisture, and also fireproof. I'm sure you have heard of it, figured I'd ask.
Why not just use spray foam for odd shaped places and Roxul everywhere else? A combination of techniques.
I recently signed a contract to build a house. Your videos are incredibly valuable. You better believe that I will be make sure my house is properly insulated and air tight before the sheet rock goes up. Unfortunately my builder uses fiberglass batts for the walls (r19), but uses cellulose for the attic (r35). I will be making sure all the windows, doors and any gaps are foam sealed before the batts and cellulose are put in. Would you recommend that I blow more insulation into the attic with a r35 rating for Charlotte, NC, which is rated as zone 3? I can't do anything about the exterior walls only being r19, they won't go any higher. I would have liked to have at least r21. Wish more builders offered full spray foam
Jason Chalanick I'm in Moore county. payback in our climate zone falls off rapidly after r40 ceiling and r20 walls. deminishing ROI. air tightness and radiant barries are beneficial but rarely used around here.
Jason, make sure your contractor leaves time between the insulating and sheet rocking so you can make sure things are right. Mine didn't and some major mistakes got rocked over.
you can install a R-21 in a 2x6 wall, also you can add cellulose or fiberglass on top of wht you already have in the attic, most importantly is to airseal your attic. most likely a homebuilder wont do. shouldnt pay no more than a 1.00-1.50 per sqft for airsealing, you could rake back the insulation and do it yourself foam it and rake it back then blow more.
I love timber houses, but so many holes here and there! better is my brick and stone one.
Last 2 holes you pointed out that were for electricity. Well those are for the hot and cold lines coming to that fixture. Lol
At 4:45 is it not required to have a backing block at the horizontal seams of the exterior sheathing.
bryon weatherford Yeah this is a total joke!!
Should've been at least two jack studs on each side under a 6' wide header under IRC. I In what state does one jack under a 6' header meet code?
Why is the attic not part of the conditioned space? Bad practice.
Conditioned attics are not very common unless it's habitable. It's possible, but I never see it.
Do you recommend foam insulation or Blown in insulation? The house will be located in Central Texas. Hot summers (100+F) and cold winters(20-50F).
It's not just the type of insulation but how much of it. Foam insulation really should be used sparingly due to it having a lot of GHG emissions both in production and after installed. If you use Blown in Insulation, this isn't an issue and it's more cost effective. You just have to ensure the cavity is large enough to get a decent insulation value. If you had 24" of insulation, that would be more than sufficient.
Closed cell spray foam for all hard to reach areas and external walls. 2in is all u need. Then add bat insulation if u want more r valve. Spray foam is 7x more expensive. Attic blown in cellulose cant be beat! Only need spray foam in attic if u r insulating the rafters vs the floor
I'm pretty sure 75% of these problems can be fixed with Foam Boards and Spray foam
I`m sure youve learned plenty enough about properly insulating ducts and such since this video was done 5 years ago; if not, I would say you have a lot to learn...
Someone forgot to insulate the ducts behind the wall and the cavity behind the ducts themselves.
Thanks for sharing these very informative videos!
Thank you for these great videos
Compressed fiberglass is better than no fiberglass though (compressed batts also have higher R-value per inch, up to a point anyways, that's why 3.5" batt can be R-11, R-13, R-15, it's just denser) You still got to fill the cavity though.
Not only are new houses not energy efficient as they could/should be, but they aren't as energy efficient as advertised =( those liers!
No 3.5" fiberglass batt is even R-11. It's the other wall components that make the R-11 wall The best fiberglass can do is R-4.5 per inch for high-density duct board.
Lacking fall protection in attic, accident waiting to happen.
Duct work in basement is to close to out side wall
Builders that put their ductwork in the attic are fools. Should’ve been more for thought into all of this. This is coming from another builder.
The plumber drilled the holes
Need to reframe tub of pipe will freez
Do you think energy waste is just an #oldhouse problem? Think again. How #Newhomes waste energy! #video buff.ly/1DX6KWg
I gave a thumbs down only BC the video had horrible lighting. Try doing videos with much better lighting or during the day, and not when the vehicles outside need there headlights on to see. Thanks.