Oh wait, they're actually in our walls! Who's idea was it to restore this old house anyway?? Oh wait, it was ours..... what were we thinking?!!!!!!! In the end there will be approximately 400 of these lovely little insulation holes in my walls. Why so many, you wonder... well, because of the way that antique homes were framed the insulation has to be "drilled and filled" on different planes to get into each and every crevice. We are installing blown in cellulose (it's 'green')- they drill a hole in the plaster and then blow the cellulose in. As you could guess, it is much more expensive to retro-fit an old house than to put insulation into a new structure- this seemingly little project will cost us the price of a new car. Not some little economy car, but a nice full-size number! Considering that the house had zero insulation, and it can get a little "chilly" here in New Hampshire we thought it a good investment! I can't tell you how happy I will be to see the plaster-guy, not only is he only a third of the price of the insulation, but he will make my walls pretty again! Pretty... so hard to remember pretty at this point!
oh my goodness, i had no idea! what a crazy thing about insulation... did they have to remove the old insulation (was there old insulation?) and how do they get the new stuff in those holes- is it the new stuff that they spray in? what a learning curve, eh?
ReplyDeleteHi Julia,
ReplyDeleteYour question made me realize I didn't say it was 'blown in cellulose,' so I went back and edited that! Yes, the old 'learning curve'-- I think I'll have a Ph.D when it's all done!
Um. Maybe you could call it the new `fad`. Soon everyone will want them.
ReplyDeletehee.
AAAHHHHH - insulation. Gotta love it. I think that my foam insulation is what holds this place together...but you will be happy next winter when you live there. Stay warm, my friend.
ReplyDeleteI learn something new everyday... :) I love seeing all the progress...and I love seeing all the snow. How long till you think you will be sleeping in the house?
ReplyDeleteLinda (of the lime in the coconut variety) used to live in a beautiful old white house in NY...it was featured in Country Living I believe. I would imagine she is a wealth of information.
Ella's pics always make me smile!
Wow. What a job to get all the insulation in. My husband and I have been remodeling our old Dutch Colonial in coastal Rhode Island and thought about that type of insulation too, but then passed. I'm sure your house will be very cozy after that! What we did was double up windows, insulate around them, and doors too. We also have plaster walls.
ReplyDeleteLinda- Yes, I think polka-dot walls will be the next design rage! 'Country Living' magazine AND an antique house in NY??? I want details!!!! I think I still have every issue...so it's funny to know that I've looked at your house, but don't know which one! Date please!!!
ReplyDeleteMary- Ahhh, next winter... I see warm (and no packing boxes) in my future!
Sarah- I will only tell you when we are to sleep in the house if you promise NOT to roll your eyes and snicker as everyone in the last couple of days has done!!!Promise?? No, I can't tell you. Okay, three months.... Hey- I saw that! It will happen, it has to happen as we do not want to live with the snow-birds who's house we are renting when they return from Florida!! I keep hearing that we are out of the shoot now and things will really start moving fast. Stop laughing.....!!!
Oh, and thank you So MUCH for outing Linda! I had no idea!! She's got some "splain'n" to do!!
Hi Maya! We've never been to RI, I hear it is Gorgeous! I can't imagine doing the insulation while living in the house, we would probably have gone a different route too! It's great stuff, but what a mess.