Insulate Exterior Concrete Block Wall

When it comes to how to insulate a concrete block house with solid walls applying the insulation material is a bit like waterproofing your home leaving your wall completely dry and resolutely resistant to moisture.

Insulate exterior concrete block wall.

The contractor applies a layer of adhesive over the surface of the concrete blocks and then installs a. That is why insulating your basements walls is necessary especially when you live in areas that have very cold climate. Your only option is to cover the inside of the exterior walls with a continuous layer of insulation as though you were insulating a basement wall. This places the thermal mass inside the insulation layer.

How to insulate an exterior face of a concrete block wall preparation. Basement walls made out of concrete stone concrete bloc and other masonry foundation materials have very minimal insulating properties and cause approximately 20 of heat loss in a home. To hit irc code min on a mass wall such as cmu in vt zone 6 takes r15 or 4 of continuous rock wool which could be trapped behind exterior grade 1 5 steel studs to hang the siding onto. In these walls continuous exterior insulation envelopes the masonry minimizing the effect of thermal bridges.

If you intend to live in the room the best way to insulate the block wall is to build the wall out with furring strips and then insulate between them. In fact your walls will absorb up to 95 less moisture than an untreated wall. This can be done with pretty much any rigid insulation. As the federal energy star program and international energy conservation code continue to push the envelope for effectively insulating exterior walls against thermal loss to boost a home s energy efficiency builders of block walls are being forced to adjust their practices to comply with the more stringent standards.

As long as at least half the continuous insulation is on the exterior r15 is fine. Consult your local building authority before having eifs applied to the exterior of your house or building. And there is no effective way to fill the voids in an existing concrete block wall. Exterior insulated masonry walls are walls that have insulation on the exterior side of the thermal mass.

Adding extra insulation to the exterior walls of an older home when renovating or remodeling is a great way of improving a home s walls thermal performance and reducing energy use while reducing heating bills carbon footprint and improving a building s comfort level. It may look easy to go buy some packs of rigid insulation panels down at the local hardware store and screw them to your walls but unless you understand how your existing walls are built and how they work in terms of keeping.