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Rocket
Member
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# Posted: 28 Jun 2016 07:31pm
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Hi all, I hope you can help me with a problem I'm having. Here's a little background.
My parents bought this cabin back in 73 and it already had some history --- 123 years worth from what I've been told. The size is about a 21 foot by 31 foot. My dad had renovated it back then to have interior 2 x 4 walls with (from what I remember) about 1/2 inch thick panels of styrofoam. Not sure what the total thickness came out to. It stayed that way with no outside covering, just the bare log, til around the late 90's. Dad had long passed away and my mom was looking to get the heating bills down, so she hired a guy that had built his own log home to come by and fix up this place a little more. So he just went right over the panelling inside with a very nice t and g pine board. Made a world of difference visually but thats about it. The original logs were covered over with a 2x4 false wall and then spray foamed in each cavity with about 2 inch thickness, then covered over with a 1/8 log siding to keep the look. The cement chinking that was there was not replaced or removed, and no vapor barrier of any kind was added. So now comes my turn. I'm buying up the homestead and am faced with (still) a hot living room in the summer and a cold living room in the winter. Bedroom is tolerable in summer but needs an extra kick from a small heater come winter. So I'm trying to figure out how to make this old gal more efficient. Should I be looking at removing the log siding and adding plywood with a house wrap. Then re-attaching the log siding. Should I be looking inside and re-doing the styrofoam panels with a proper insulation and vapor barrier and drywall? Looking for some advice on what will heat or cool this place more properly in the right season. Thanks all!
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DaveBell
Moderator
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# Posted: 28 Jun 2016 07:39pm
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How much insulation is in the attic and under the floors?
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Rocket
Member
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# Posted: 28 Jun 2016 07:46pm
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in the attic space I believe there is a double roll of pink insulation from the 80's covering the ceiling joists. There is second floor bedrooms however. Dad had raised the house and put in a foundation wall all around in the early 80's to get it up off the ground. Still bare dirt under there with no insulation. He had added a "modern' 2000 sq ft extension on the north side back in the early 80's as well, all the newer duct work went over there and the old stuff left alone in the older cabin. Hooked in but i'm sure it's sub-par.
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bldginsp
Member
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# Posted: 28 Jun 2016 09:41pm
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Styrofoam is cheap but doesn't have much insulating value. I think your first priority should be more insulation and making sure you have as little air leakage as possible. Pics would help
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DaveBell
Moderator
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# Posted: 28 Jun 2016 09:49pm
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Rent a heat gun from:
http://www.flir.com/homedepot/
and do a summer survey and a winter survey.
No insulation under the floor is definitely a problem that can be started on. Recommend foam panels sealed with spray foam around edges. The fiberglass rolls retain moisture and make great mouse and bug housing.
Does the living room get baked by the afternoon sun? (Ours does, planting trees - Willow Oaks.)
During winter on windy day, feel around doors, windows, electrical outlets, ducts to feel for leaks.
We like pictures.
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Rocket
Member
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# Posted: 28 Jun 2016 10:21pm
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I'll have to see about digging some up of what it looked like back then and during some of the very early renos that dad did, and get some pics of what is here now. Yes this place bakes really bad, doesn't even take til afternoon sun, start feeling it warm up around 10 in the morning on the hotter days. I guess that always made me wonder about the air infiltration, but I got stuck, and still do, about how air gets in thru 2 inch thick spray foam that looks pretty sealed, and thru a 12 inch thick log. Should I be looking at air only or would some of this be from the thermal induction of the logs themselves? I plan on doing the heat gun thing and recording the whole interior. I had to re-do the bathroom here and start with fresh floor joists and plywood,put up an interior stud wall ahead of the logs with fresh green bat insulation. Best room in the house so far for appropriate temperature. But the rest of the house is nicely finished and I'd hate to remove the nice finish if I can do more outside and get the same result. Just not sure if that is possible at this point.
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Don_P
Member
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# Posted: 28 Jun 2016 11:25pm
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I'd approach it from the outside. If you insulate and airseal the outside, the thermal mass of the logs is inside that envelope.
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MtnDon
Member
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# Posted: 28 Jun 2016 11:33pm
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Keep in mind the thermal mass of a log building works against you at times such as when the building is only part time use. Case in point we stayed in a log cabin one winter weekend. It took a couple of days to warm up the cold logs. Monday it was nice and cozy but we had to go home.
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Rocket
Member
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# Posted: 29 Jun 2016 10:40am
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We are here full time. The AC cools the rest of the house very nicely, it's mainly just this south facing living room that is giving the problems. It seems like the AC is in a direct battle with the warmth of the sun and or warmer outside air. vice versa for the winter. So would a plywood sheathing and house wrap help a little or a lot more considering what I've already got ? I know that I've got to do work around my outside door as it is in rough shape. Right now it's covered over in plastic and I know it is a source of air infiltration when uncovered, but I can't see that being the only reason it's so hot in here?
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