Does anyone have tips or techniques on insulating interior cement walls in my older brick home?

Question

I have an older brick duplex with cement interior walls and I'm freezing! I need advice on types of insulation, methods of installation and any other helpful hints that are known.

Answer 1

Here's what I've done that has worked pretty good. I painted the walls with UGL masonry water block. Then I framed the stud wall with 2x2 material. I used 1" rigid foam insulation, covered the walls with Sheetrock.

This has created a water/vapor block, insulated the wall with the foam and 1" air gap. Works beautifully. Good luck.

Answer 2

Brick and concrete are not good insulators. The R-value of brick and concrete is .2 per inch. When you say you have "cement" interior...is it concrete block, coated with cement? Concrete block has a little more insulation value because of the open cores, but it's still not very good. Most brick walls like yours are "cavity" walls, where the block is laid up with metal ties between courses, and (if you are lucky) some kind of insulation board, then the brick is laid up with an airspace (or insulation) between it and the block.

The suggestions to insulate inside with foam and drywall are good. An inch of foam with a small airspace and drywall will give you at least R-6, which is probably as much as the whole rest of the wall, or more. It's a bit of a pain to do it, because your window trim, baseboard, outlets, heating vents or radiators will all need to be addressed. But it will make a huge difference.
Use Extruded Polystyrene foam for the greatest R-value, put a poly vapor barrier under the drywall, and seal it real good.

Answer 3

We insulated most of our older home the part we didn't rebuild and put up new walls with blown in insulation. We rented the machine and boughr the bags of cellulose insulation and blew it in through holes we put up high on the walls between the studs. We did it outside because we were adding siding later on, then plugged the holes. I don't know if you can do this through the inside or if you will have to do it from ourside or if you can do it with brick....ask at Lowe's or a builder they can't charge to ask. The other option is to put the blue board up on the inside and then sheetrock only on the outside walls. Anything would help...may need to put a vapor barrier on too. Ask at Lowes or a builder. Anything you do will help. Make sure all windows are tight, plastic if you have to. Use weatherstripping around all doors to keep air out and heat in. Anything like insulated drapes over windows and even walls can help keep moisture from the concrete from cooling the air. Good luck. I hate to be cold. Love coming your way.

Answer 4

Personally i would use spray on insulation then cover that up with what ever you would like for a interior wall. or i would use sheets of styrofoam then cover that. I would also see if i could access the inside of the brick is it cynder block or the little red bricks. If it is cynder block there is a material out there that you can spray on the inside of the brick. Your best bet is to get advice from an insulator, that lives in your area. There are codes you will have to conform to for your area. Messy job i would not want to do it myself. good luck

Answer 5

cement is already a good insulator and there really isn't anything you can do except put up some dry wall with insulation in between. i would investigate other possibilities as to why the house is cold like leaky windows or not enough attic insulation, etc.

Answer 6

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