Living in the country

I thought I'd comment when building a house on what decent insulation can do. I just got my utility (gas and electric combined) from my up north house and shop. I've mentioned it before but not in detail.

House:
750 sq. ft.
10 days at 40 degrees
5 days at 68 degrees
15 days at 0. (heat shut down)
some electric for a 4'x 6' pump room at 45 degrees
$116

Shop:
1500 sq. ft.
5 days at 68 degrees
25 days at 40 degrees
Bathroom set at 68 all month
$44

Nice! So what is the insulation set up you did?

Both the builders we're considering use the zip board system and do blown in bat n the walls and attic. We're thinking 2x6 exterior walls with the blown in bat.

Do you know your R values?

Maybe the terminology isn't quite right...that is what the contractors are calling it. This is what they are talking about...



Zip board: http://www.huberwood.com/zipsystem/home-zip-system

Okie Boarder wrote: From talking to the contractors we may end up with around R50 in walls with the blown in and zip board, and R70ish in the attic. We don't get as cold here as you do, but we definitely get hot.

Looks like blown in cellulose to me? How can you end up with a R50 in a 2x6 wall? What are they doing in the attic to get R70?

8122pbrainard wrote: Okie Boarder wrote: From talking to the contractors we may end up with around R50 in walls with the blown in and zip board, and R70ish in the attic. We don't get as cold here as you do, but we definitely get hot. Looks like blown in cellulose to me? How can you end up with a R50 in a 2x6 wall? What are they doing in the attic to get R70?

I may be a little off on the numbers, but I know it was fairly high and in that range. One of my coworkers has had that type of insulation in his house for years and has a very efficient house.

peter, can you elaborate?

So, checked with one of the contractors and he said it is cotton, blown in, with the netting. It is in multiple sections and it can settle a bit, but apparently not a lot, from what he says. Thoughts on this?

He did confirm that it is around R50 in the walls and higher in the ceiling.

Andy,
I did some "research" on the net on cotton. It was disappointing to find the R value is lower than glass , installation is difficult and settling is a big problem with blown in.

"Cotton Insulation vs. Fiberglass Insulation
It's already been established that cotton is a superior product from both a health and an ecological perspective. While those are good selling points, the thing homeowners are most concerned with is R-value or how well it insulates your home. Insulation made from cotton has a general R-value of 3-4 per inch compared to fiberglass insulation batts with R-values ranging from 5 to 7 per inch. In short, cotton insulation isn't quite as efficient as fiberglass, an issue that is usually addressed by installing thicker bats or more layers. By increasing the thickness of the layer of insulation you install you can easily raise R-values to comparable levels. The one downside of that, however, is cost. Expect to pay 15-20% more for cotton than fiberglass insulation to achieve similar insulation levels."

I'd sure recommend looking at tried and true fiberglass. That "salesman" that told you about the R50 must be smoking something!

Okie Boarder wrote: I was off on my numbers and he said a 2x6 wall with the cotton insulation blown in and packed is R30.

4 (the high end of cotton) x 5.5 is 22. Still not a R30! I rave too with fiberglass batts and the utility bills have proven it to me. What about the settling he admits to? Any blown in in the wall cavity relies on a binder. If the binder sees any moisture, it fails.

Being sealed and air tite usually does yield some benefit as a system over bats, but installation care makes a big difference with either system. The system you showed a picture of is blow in blanket which is a fiberglass blown in product, a very nice system but still typically an r26 max. Chasing anything better than that for the walls that far south would be pretty aggressive by my thinking.

I would focus more thought on your windows (your greatest heat and cooling loss) than the R value. R-21 to best of my knowledge is the greatest that you can buy in a bat form 2x6 framing

News report on tankless water heaters I got a kick from them calling them "thankless water heaters"

pretty tough to beat a boilermate system it gives you 40 gal or more hot water storage depending on the tank size , i Know the HTP stainless 40 loses 1 degree per hr at 65 deg ambient temp it   is a proven system it has worked well for many yrs before the tankless system became so in vogue . I bet the boilermate v.s your avg tankless system doesnt matter more than 25$ per yr in your avg home

62 wood wrote: We have a larger whirlpool tub that alone takes around 50 gallons of water.

I wanted to use this one but was kindly reminded about drinkin and drivin' and no one would volunteer to be designated driver