Pellet Stove install Part 2

[Albiemanmike]

Well I finished the demo of the room that we are putting the pellet stove into today. I removed all the tongue and groove paneling to expose the framing and much to my dismay the framing isn't exactly what you would expect to see. This house is old built in 1850 but this front room was added on well after the main brick structure was built. The framing of this room which is the first floor of 2 stories added onto the front of the house is all over the map measurement wise. I think I measured one cavity that was 16.5" on center and all of the remaining cavities are different widths. We need to reinsulate this room as the insulation that was in the wall was basically useless and the wife is freaking out about the framing not being 16" on center because the insulation comes in specific widths. I tried to tell her we could just trim the insulation to the width of the cavities and call it a day. But she thinks we need to re-frame the whole damn room. That is going to turn this little project into a much larger and painstaking one as I would have to remove all of the outer siding so that I could re-attach it to the new framing members.

That just sounds like a really stupid move and I don't see why you cannot just cut the insulation to fit the widths of the cavities that are in the walls now? This came after I had pulled up all of the laminate flooring only to find asbestos tiling hidden underneath it which wasn't disclosed when we purchased the house.....big surprise HUH? Anyway I am not messing with the tiling just gonna leave it in place and put the laminate back down over it when the rest of the room is done.

So please someone save me from the marauding SWMBO and tell me I can just trim the insulation to size so I can move on with this PIA project and finish so that I can start on another PIA project that the SWMBO has lined up........

 

[daveroy]

Compromise and foam it.. Might be more than trimming fiberglass, but less than reframe, and better seal.

 

[Kev442]

Trimming is so easy. All you do is kneel on a 2x4 and run a knife down it. Tell the wife to chill.

 

[Erampu]

Yeah, have it foamed. In the long run it'll be a heck of a lot cheaper, when time and trouble are considered, than reframing.

 

[Albiemanmike]

Trimming is so easy. All you do is kneel on a 2x4 and run a knife down it. Tell the wife to chill.

Thanks Kev that is what I was thinking but wanted to confirm that there was no technical reason why you couldn't/wouldn't just trim the insulation to fit the cavity.

 

[drmarkr]

Trimming is so easy. All you do is kneel on a 2x4 and run a knife down it. Tell the wife to chill.

Spot on. Zero reason to reframe....none. Assuming you're structurally sound otherwise. Get some 24" wide and trim to fit....or foam if you want to spend some extra coin?

Does she just not like the way it looks, or what??

Re: asbestos tile. No biggie there, either. Leave it be and it'll leave you be. Maybe the previous owners didn't even know it was there ??

 

[Lippyp]

If this is the fibreglass/rockwool type insulation that comes compresssed in a roll you can usually cut it to width when it's still tightly rolled with a fine toothed handsaw. Ideally do it whilst it's still wrapped in the bag.

 

[bazzateer]

Regarding the tiles. Just to be extra safe and sure I'd paint over it with a sealer before replacing the flooring.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Cut the insulation to fit the studs. If you have the money, spray foam it like the others have said. The price of it seems to be coming down (atleast around here) as more people are using it.