Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Is this a California thing?

I was going to post this as a Wordless Wednesday, but I don't know if anyone would understand what it is without an explanation. 


This polka dot house has been insulated by drilling holes in the outside walls and blowing in loose insulation.   After about a week the painters come and repaint the exterior.  I had it done to our house seven or eight years ago and am amazed at how much difference there is in heat retention and how much less the A/C runs in the hot weather.  An added benefit that I had not expected is the deadening of sound.  I know the multi layered windows help with that, but the insulation does more.  I think that houses here are now built with sidewall insulation, but forty years ago they were not.  It was an expensive deal, but the gas company offered a rebate and I probably have saved in utility bills over the years.
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6 comments:

Paula, the quilter said...

I asked my DH who retired from the construction industry here in Colorado and he said that it is a common practice on older homes around here too.

Unknown said...

When we had it done to our 1950's home it looked like we were the "victim of a drive by shooting". I was very happy to have the house painted the next week!

Suzanne Kistler said...

I think it's a SoCal thing...I've never seen it before...

Or maybe just an older house thing, as Paula, the quilter says. :)

Mary Ann said...

They do it in Ohio also. Sometimes they do it from the inside as you would have to drill through siding that would be hard to repair the holes.

Unknown said...

Yep, my dad did this in a house we lived in in Michigan (c. 1870) but like Mary Ann said, it was blown in from the inside.

I have been wondering about this house (built 1989) as I think that thy were lackadaisical in the insulation. My daughter's room is far too cold...so I think they may have fudged....I remember that when we lived in CT., there were some condos which were built....and I can't remember how they discovered this, but HUGE areas of the walls were not insulated, causing a lawsuit and taking the siding off and re-insulating.....

Unknown said...

Oh yeah....and my dad did this in 1970....so they've been doing it a long time, but I think that since you have more stucco and stuff in CA it may be the method of choice....