Challenge
This house was "brutally" drafty. A turn-of-the-century historic colonial with beautiful trim and woodwork, hardwood floors, a cobblestone basement, wide-board knotty pine paneling was very visually beautiful in every way but cold and drafty all winter long. In the attic was just a few inches of some very-old fiberglass batting covered in very-old bat guano. In the middle of the attic was a great big stone chimney with a two-inch wide gap all the way around it -- leading all the way down, past the paneling in the family room, to the basement. To make matters worse, a poorly vented bath fan was pumping humidity almost directly into the attic.
Underneath the kitchen, a dirt-floor crawl-space kept the tile floors remarkably cold all winter EXCEPT when the dryer was running. Unbeknownst to the homeowners, the clothes-dryer was vented right into the crawlspace. That's not only a humidity problem, but with a gas-dryer it becomes a serious safety concern as the flue-gasses are sucked right up into the living-space.
Solution
We used a blower-door to confirm the source of the drafts, sealing them off with caulk, spray-foam, and flashing as necessary. We removed the dirty insulation, and added fresh, clean blown-in cellulose insulation. We vented the dryer to outdoors, and insulated properly under the kitchen.
Project Summary
Home Expert: Mike Swanson
Problem: Drafts
Problem: Gas Leak
Problem: Cold Floors
Problem: Dryer Venting
Solution: Attic air-sealing
Solution: Basement air-sealing
Solution: Tru-Soft Cellulose
Solution: Re-vent dryer
