msmity29
05-15-2006, 12:11 PM
We are having a new home built and I am trying to figure out ways to make it more energy efficient. The builder is in the middle of the framing stage and I am trying to prepare for when he are finished.
First, I should probably provide some background on the house itself. It is being built in the suburbs of Chicago. It is a 2-story with an unfinished basement. The square footage is approximately 2,600 ft. We upgraded to 2x6 exterior walls with R19 insulation. The ceiling will be insulated with total R-38 (batts with blown insulation over top). The wall construction goes from exterior to interior like this: vinyl siding (about third of front house will be stone), Menard's brand upgraded Tyvak, 7/16" OSB, 2x6 walls with R-19 with poly-vapor barrier, drywall. There was no foam placed around foundation (was told builder didn't do that). We upgraded to a Carrier 91% effieciency furnace and a dual zone Honeywell system. The air conditioner is a Carrier 10SEER (may be upgraded to 13SEER at no cost if builder runs out of 10SEER). The windows are from Crestline with low-e glass and Argon filled.
We already know we want to insulate the two exterior walls in the garage that aren't. And we would like to insulate a couple of interior walls between rooms such as Master Bedroon/Laundry Room etc for sound damping. In both cases we will probably just use R13 batt insulation, but any other recommendations/advice would be greatly appreciated. We are on a pretty tight budget so we need to keep the prices on these two projects relatively low.
I would also appreciate any advice on sealing critical places on the house. For example, a thin (maybe 1/8") foam gasket was placed between the sill plate and foundation. However, it looks like there are gaps between some of the lengths of foam. Should I seal these gaps with caulk etc? If so, should I do it from the exterior or interior? Also, should I caulk between gaps in the OSB? What should I look for on the tyvek to make sure it is sealed correctly? Any and all helped will be greatly appreciated as this is our first house and we are pretty naive in most building processes. Thanks in advance!
First, I should probably provide some background on the house itself. It is being built in the suburbs of Chicago. It is a 2-story with an unfinished basement. The square footage is approximately 2,600 ft. We upgraded to 2x6 exterior walls with R19 insulation. The ceiling will be insulated with total R-38 (batts with blown insulation over top). The wall construction goes from exterior to interior like this: vinyl siding (about third of front house will be stone), Menard's brand upgraded Tyvak, 7/16" OSB, 2x6 walls with R-19 with poly-vapor barrier, drywall. There was no foam placed around foundation (was told builder didn't do that). We upgraded to a Carrier 91% effieciency furnace and a dual zone Honeywell system. The air conditioner is a Carrier 10SEER (may be upgraded to 13SEER at no cost if builder runs out of 10SEER). The windows are from Crestline with low-e glass and Argon filled.
We already know we want to insulate the two exterior walls in the garage that aren't. And we would like to insulate a couple of interior walls between rooms such as Master Bedroon/Laundry Room etc for sound damping. In both cases we will probably just use R13 batt insulation, but any other recommendations/advice would be greatly appreciated. We are on a pretty tight budget so we need to keep the prices on these two projects relatively low.
I would also appreciate any advice on sealing critical places on the house. For example, a thin (maybe 1/8") foam gasket was placed between the sill plate and foundation. However, it looks like there are gaps between some of the lengths of foam. Should I seal these gaps with caulk etc? If so, should I do it from the exterior or interior? Also, should I caulk between gaps in the OSB? What should I look for on the tyvek to make sure it is sealed correctly? Any and all helped will be greatly appreciated as this is our first house and we are pretty naive in most building processes. Thanks in advance!