How can I insulate exterior walls with only 1-1/2 inches of available space?
Nate writes from Grayson, Kentucky: “I am renovating a VERY old house. I believe it was built around the 1940’s. It is a “box frame” house with the outside boxing consisting of roughly 1″ x 6″ rough cut boards spaced about 1/2″ apart with 2″ x 2″ studs on 24″ centers! There is NO insulation at all!!! I need to insulate the walls somehow without having to frame up new walls because I’m trying to save as much space as possible and MONEY also! With only 1-1/2″ of space thickness, what can I do to insulate the exterior walls???” Answer: I recommend using PINK FOAMULAR® extruded foam insulation. The board can be cut and fit into the narrow framing. Although it is not an ideal application due to the labor involved in getting it to fit, the foam insulation will work. Once the foam is all in place you should fill any gaps with spray foam or caulk.
