Everything* you need to know about adding insulation to the outside of old homes with cold bones: climate zones 5, 6, and 7
October 11, 2024
Bringing an old house up to date energy-wise can improve comfort and energy performance.
Adding insulation over the walls and roof makes a continuous thermal barrier while burning your thermal bridges.
It includes replacing the siding and roofing and detailing the windows.
Wrapping a house in foam can also cause headaches if not done thoughtfully: make sure that the air, water, and thermal barriers are working together, not against each other.
Trapping moisture in a tight house means #BugsMoldRot
Videos about Innie Windows
Videos about Outie Windows
Animations about Continuous Exterior Insulation
Why Exterior Insulation Matters
Extra Credit Homework
Dive deep, but don't forget to come up for air
- Building America Solutions Center:
Guide to Cold and Very Cold Climates - Building Science Corporation:
Building Enclosures that Work in Cold and Very Cold Climates
*This collection of technical drawings and animations, how-to videos, articles, photos, downloads, and links may not be a complete encyclopedia on the topic, but it is a heck of a great place to begin.
