Retrofit double stud wall, or not?
Hello,
My family and I moved to the Duluth, MN area (zone 7a) last year and bought a 2,500 sq ft split level house that was built in 1990. It has 2×6 stud walls with fiberglass batt insulation and wood double pane casement windows.
The bottom half of the basement is below grade and those walls are made up of concrete block with one inch of exterior rigid foam. The interior has furring strips and drywall but no insulation. I don’t know if there is any insulation beneath the basement floor but I’m assuming not.
My plan is to stop heating with propane and switch to mini split heat pumps and have more efficient triple pane windows installed.
I will definitely insulate the interior side of the concrete walls, but should I do anything with the 2×6 walls? I like the idea of a retrofit double stud wall on the interior side but I would like a sanity check.
Would I be wasting money? What would you do if this was your house?
Thank you,
Dan
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Replies
Dan,
If the interior finishes are in poor condition, you might consider improving the wall R-value from the interior.
If the siding is in poor condition, you might consider improving the wall R-value from the exterior.
But if the interior finishes and siding are in good condition, I wouldn't do anything to the walls except air sealing work.
Martin,
Thank you for your reply. My wife will be thrilled to hear that we will not need to eliminate square footage!
Dan