Finding Contractor to Install Exterior Insulation
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I’ve been trying to find a contractor to do a whole house renovation, which includes energy efficiency improvements. I have full architectural drawings in hand, which specify 3″ of exterior insulation. Every contractor I talk to wants to talk me out of it. I’d really prefer not to use foam, and am willing to spend the extra money on rockwool or even a product like gutex. The house is a simple shape, not many details to work around. My budget takes into account extra labor involved in building out the window frames, etc. to account for the extra wall thickness. But so far, no luck after talking with several contractors. The sticking point seems that i’m trying to go for above-code insulation. Any contractors in the eastern mass area that are both familiar with this approach and willing to construct it?
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Replies
Have you asked them why they don't want you to do it? I'm specifying 2 inches of exterior foam on my renovation with either Rockwool batts inside or spray foam inside.
Could it be because of the extra labor involved and screw/nail length? You'll need 1x3's for the rain screen and the siding nailer on top anyway, so maybe they don't want to bother? Have you hired a contractor for the entire job or is this the only thing you're doing?
I'd be asking the architect why they think your contractors are balking. Seems to me you need to find other contractors who are more agreeable.
its just an unknown... contracting for homes is all about getting in and getting it done as fast as possible to maximize profit. Throw in a curveball and who knows what could happen. Then whos to blame? (usually the contractor gets the blame, merited or not). Building things in the physical world involves a lot of mental visualization of how it'll go together. If they can't envision it, its risky. If they've never done it before, its risky.
I for instance, see everything as easy, so I move forward, and then I have to deal with the consequences of it later.
Just my experience in progressive building.
I don't know where you are, but here in northern New York I get the same type reaction from folks in the construction business. After installing continuous foam to the exterior of my new construction, all the insulation contractors I had come by for estimates for dense-pack cellulose emphatically tried to talk me into spray foam in the studbays. Likewise, several aquaintances in the construction business somehow find humor in the amount of exterior foam I installed, and my efforts at air sealing.
Completing the most amount of projects as fast as possible to the absolute minimum seems to be the standard hereabouts.
Daniel
Either they’ve never done it, or they have and find that it’s a PIA. But pia or not, it’s the best way to insulate. Just avoid windy days.
Any exterior rigid+strapping will be a problem in an area where it is not code. It was the same case here, once it was part of code all the sudden exterior rigid was not a problem.
You might have better luck with specifying Zip R or nailbase (this is like SIP but one layer of OSB). This will be much closer to a standard install. If you install new flanged windows, the WRB details are the same as a new build, no need for bucks.
Akos,
The same thing happened with rain-screens here. Partly because once they were mandated by our code, the components - furring strips, flashing - became widely available.
I started looking into this ten years ago when I bought my house with the intention of renovating to improve energy efficiency. Although there are many ways to do this, exterior insulation makes the most sense to me for many reasons (and for this house in particular). I don't want foam, and now there are more non-foam options available (disregarding recent supply chain issues). I have all the construction drawings which detail the wall assembly, which currently specs rockwool. I've heard complaints about it being dusty and itchy. I've worked with it a lot and it is, but not a big deal to me to wear long sleeves and dust mask. Now there are other products like cork and gutex -- not widely available i know-- but more user friendly. I've offered to source these myself, and have a quote in hand and a lead time for one of the products. After discussing these options, the builders just move on to more "straightforward" jobs. I'm assuming this because I just don't hear back from them. I suppose, as pointed out previously, contractors just want to see the most clear path to completion, get in and get out and move on. I'm in eastern Massachusetts and there are a lot of high end homes and renovations going on in my area, so maybe the competition (ie, standard renos) is too great.
HI Steven: This building is hugely frustrating for all of us; you're far from alone. I just wanted to mention that in your goal to make your home more energy efficient, your #1 priority needs to be air sealing and making the house as tight as you can. You'll need to do a blower door test to find the leaks. Exterior insulation is an excellent idea, as long as the house can breathe either to the interior so you don't create a mold farm. If you are using a permeable exterior insulation like most of the ones you mentioned, you should be good. If you have trouble getting them, you can use recycled foam which you can usually find on Craig's List, but a lot of them are moisture barriers so the house would need to be vapor permeable to the interior.