How does one insulate plaster and lathe walls?

[ive]

Hi everyone.

Is there a way to insulate plaster on lathe?

Our home has this on the brick and I’d like to try and lower my gas bill.

Here’s the inside and outside of one wall.

Thank you all for any suggestions. Merry Christmas.

 

[four.cycle]

^ when they did that to old houses here in the 1970s, they bored 2-inch diameter holes in the exterior walls and blew the insulation material in.
no idea how you'd do it with brick walls!

 

[acer66]

Maybe through the top plate but I guess they could also core drill through the brick.

 

[Zeke]

You can do it from the inside to. It's just messier.

 

[four.cycle]

^ you're going to wear out a couple shop vacs doing that.

 

[Wrench97]

How big is the space between the brick and the lath?
Less then 3" blown in will not do much and probably require a top and bottom hole in each cavity.

 

[lilredex]

Its a waste of time trying to inject anything into those walls, you only have the width of the strapping (3/4") to work with, the masonary portion is solid.

Last time with that wall construction, I built new walls inside, 2" stryrofoam boards and drywall over it Made a reall difference in the cost of heating.

 

[pcmeiners]

Did this on my parents home with lathe/plaster. You need a 3" not 2" hole, approx 12-18" from the top and 12-18" from the bottom of each stud. You need to pack each stud, you will know as the machine bogs down when each hole is done. For the holes , I used Milwaukee hole saws. Some times you need more than 2 holes per stud, with beam cross members.
Very messy, lot of dust, but the insulation saves a lot of money. Cellulose is the best, highest R value at all temperatures, also has fire retardant

 

[billconner]

I don't know if this is plaster on furring on brick - 1" between lath and 2 or 3 wythes of brick - or if there is a studded wall inside brick veneer. You've hy of good solutions above for either case above.

 

[Skinny_Blinky]

Inside framing and insulation as stated above. Works well if that be your preference and an option. Your finished interior would be the show-stopper.

I had a basement foundation wall (8') bored and filled with foam for insulation. I was not impressed with the results (ROI).

.

 

[The Cobbler]

have you determined that your house has no insulation,or are you assuming?

 

[dfiler2]

Show us a picture of a window or exterior door jamb.

 

[PoorUB]

Hi everyone.

Is there a way to insulate plaster on lathe?

Our home has this on the brick and I’d like to try and lower my gas bill.

Here’s the inside and outside of one wall.

Thank you all for any suggestions. Merry Christmas.

How old is the house? 1960's? Probably typical wood framed with a brick veneer. 100 years old? Proably lath nailed to furring strips.

If it is typical framing then the will bore a couple 2" or 3" holes on the inside walls in each stud bay and blow n insulation and leave you with a few hundred holes to repair.

100 year old brick house? Strip the walls, add foam board and sheetrock over. Extend all the window jams and new trim.

 

[mike93lx]

How is the attic insulation and air sealing? Improvements there will almost certainly net you much better results than wall insulation

 

[Metal-Marc]

How is the attic insulation and air sealing? Improvements there will almost certainly net you much better results than wall insulation

This.

 

[Uncle murph]

Show us a picture of a window or exterior door jamb.

This.All I see is pictures of walls,you need to determine the total thickness of the wall and to confirm that there is no insulation.Is there insulation in the ceiling?

 

[58Yeoman]

My last house was an English cottage style built in 1936, and had a very high roof with walk in attic. No insulation in the walls or ceiling. I had plenty of room in the attic to drill holes in the top plates and blow in insulation. I rented the machine and my brother loaded it and I shot it into the walls. I know I didn't get below the windows, etc., but it sure did help. After the walls, I blew it into the attic. That was around the year 2000.

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

Spray foam insulation may be an option but I would not DIY it.

 

[Norcal]

If the wiring is knob and tube, forget about insulating those walls until a rewire takes place.

 

[The Cobbler]

judging by the brick, it appears to be a late 60's/70's built house . it would have had r-12 in the walls .
and no knob & tube since the 40's

 

[73fxe]

My house was built in 1973 it has R7 in the exterior walls. This is in SW. Michigan.

 

[ive]

How big is the space between the brick and the lath?
Less then 3" blown in will not do much and probably require a top and bottom hole in each cavity.

It’s just a small gap. Maybe3/4

 

[ive]

Its a waste of time trying to inject anything into those walls, you only have the width of the strapping (3/4") to work with, the masonary portion is solid.

Last time with that wall construction, I built new walls inside, 2" stryrofoam boards and drywall over it Made a reall difference in the cost of heating.

Was that a huge job? Did you just do the exterior walls? What did you use for fasteners?

The more you want to tell me about this the more I’d like to listen.

 

[ive]

have you determined that your house has no insulation,or are you assuming?

No insulation on the main level walls. We did the basement and it’s insulated now

 

[cruzer75]

Good excuse to get an inspection camera! My BIL got me one for Xmas. Pretty fun looking inside stuff.

5inch Borescope Inspection Camera NIDAGE 5.5mm HD Endoscope Camera with Light IP67 Waterproof Sewer Snake Camera with 6 LEDs, Video Scope Camera for Automotive Drain Pipe, 32GB, Tool Box,11.5FT https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B3MZ2WCP/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[ive]

How old is the house? 1960's? Probably typical wood framed with a brick veneer. 100 years old? Proably lath nailed to furring strips.

If it is typical framing then the will bore a couple 2" or 3" holes on the inside walls in each stud bay and blow n insulation and leave you with a few hundred holes to repair.

100 year old brick house? Strip the walls, add foam board and sheetrock over. Extend all the window jams and new trim.

House was built in 1955

 

[ive]

How is the attic insulation and air sealing? Improvements there will almost certainly net you much better results than wall insulation

I plan to add more insulation in the attic this weekend. I’m starting with the easiest options first

 

[ive]

This.All I see is pictures of walls,you need to determine the total thickness of the wall and to confirm that there is no insulation.Is there insulation in the ceiling?

There’s insulation in the attic and the floor between the basement and main floor. It’s a bungalow

 

[ive]

Good excuse to get an inspection camera! My BIL got me one for Xmas. Pretty fun looking inside stuff.

5inch Borescope Inspection Camera NIDAGE 5.5mm HD Endoscope Camera with Light IP67 Waterproof Sewer Snake Camera with 6 LEDs, Video Scope Camera for Automotive Drain Pipe, 32GB, Tool Box,11.5FT https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B3MZ2WCP/?tag=atomicindus08-20

This is good

 

[PoorUB]

House was built in 1955

I t is probably stick framed with a brick veneer. A insulation company can come and blow in the stud bays, but it will leave a couple hundred holes to repair.

I had the attic in our house blown in with fiberglass years ago. It had a huge difference in the comfort of the home.

 

[Wrench97]

It’s just a small gap. Maybe3/4

I t is probably stick framed with a brick veneer. A insulation company can come and blow in the stud bays, but it will leave a couple hundred holes to repair.

I had the attic in our house blown in with fiberglass years ago. It had a huge difference in the comfort of the home.

3/4" is too small for blow in to effectively make any difference.

 

[The Cobbler]

when was your house built ?

 

[mike93lx]

I plan to add more insulation in the attic this weekend. I’m starting with the easiest options first

Air seal before you add any more insulation. It's more effective, plus doing it after is a lot harder

 

[lilredex]

Was that a huge job? Did you just do the exterior walls? What did you use for fasteners?

The more you want to tell me about this the more I’d like to listen.

When I look at your pictures......that could be my house., right down to the brick colour (mine was built in '58). If you look at the outside and see every fifth or sixth brick installed crossways you know you have a solid masonary wall. That brick ties in the blocks next to the bricks. If you have a brick garage too you'll see the other end of that brick in the (inside) concrete block wall. Solid masonary was standard untill the sixties, when they switched to 2 X 4 framework with a brick veneer on the outside.

We left that insulated house behind thity years ago, but here's what we did. All the outside walls were insulated, flat steel studs were secured to the walls rigidly holding the insulation boards on., drywall was screwed to those studs. Long screws and inserts held the studs on. And yes it was a big job.

The studs....

Bailey Metal WB-747 Wind Brace - Galvanized Steel - 20-Gauge - 11.25-ft L

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www.rona.ca

You have three choices. Insulate inside, insulate outside (and stucco over it) or leave it as is.


Just went outside to take a picture of my crossways bricks.

 

[PoorUB]

3/4" is too small for blow in to effectively make any difference.

I doubt a house built in 1955 is all brick. I would suspect it is typical stick framed, 2x4 walls with a brick veneer. At least that is what I have seen with houses of that era. It should have 3-1/2" wall cavities.

 

[JunkBonds]

judging by the brick, it appears to be a late 60's/70's built house . it would have had r-12 in the walls .
and no knob & tube since the 40's

Close. It is likely closer to 1960 with R8 insulation.

Wiring should have a ground. No ground then a bit earlier than 1960.

 

[lilredex]

A good indicator on attic insulation.... next time it snows and you are the last one with snow on the roof, you're probably OK.

 

[lilredex]

I doubt a house built in 1955 is all brick. I would suspect it is typical stick framed, 2x4 walls with a brick veneer. At least that is what I have seen with houses of that era. It should have 3-1/2" wall cavities.

This isn't ND solid masonary was standard. Just check the bricks as in my response above.

 

[Wrench97]

I doubt a house built in 1955 is all brick. I would suspect it is typical stick framed, 2x4 walls with a brick veneer. At least that is what I have seen with houses of that era. It should have 3-1/2" wall cavities.

I agree normally it would be studs with veneer brick in that era, but perhaps this was a room converted from unheated space?
Measuring 3/4" space sounds like furring strips and drywall over a 8" brick wall.

 

[frankd]

I think your only option would be to drill holes on the inside and outside of the walls and blow in insulation.
We did that in our previous house but it didn't really help. Ended up tearing down the plaster and what I noticed is that the blow in insulation would get caught up the cement behind the lath and wouldn't go all the way down the wall cavity. And in some cases there was a 2x4 going across the studs blocking the way. I'd probably hire a pro as they should (hopefully) be able to do a better job.