DIY Network

I've been freezing my backside off in my suburban Chicago home for 3 years and don't want to go thru another winter without improving my situation.

Here are a few observations that may be helpful: In Sept/Oct, when the temp is between 60 and 70 degrees, my house feels colder inside than outside.

My basement always seems warmer than my first and second floors.

I installed 6 in of fiberglass over the original blown fiberglass that had settled. I'm considering adding an inch of closed cell foam between the floor boards and then putting the 6" batts on top. Any opinions? Btw, I have soffit vents.

I originally wanted to insulate the outside walls on the first floor but I already have some insulation in there so it would be impossible to blow in more so now I feel like my attic is my only option. thanks.

Describe the windows and doors in your house. If you have closed all the air leaks where outside air can get into the house your next step is to deal with insulation. The insulation in your walls may not be very thick or very effective. Your description is of a house with lots of air leaks and poor insulation. Your description of the insulation in the second floor ceiling sounds like it probably is adequate although barely.

Another thing to include is the size of your heating bills. If your house is cold but the heating costs aren't out of line, you may need a heating system with more capacity.

I have new windows and doors throughout the house and I just recently caulked any openings around them.

I have loose fiberglass between the floor joists in the attic and batts going across the floor joists. The loose stuff was there when I moved in so it has settled a bit.

My heating bill avg from Nov thru March was $165, but I kept the heat at 58 when sleeping and 62 when awake. Needless to say, I was always miserable.

What bothers me the most is the temperature difference inside compared to outside on a day in the 60's because the inside is 2-3 degrees cooler than outside.

I've been to a couple different friends' homes and the temp in their house is high 60's with no heat on and mine will be in the low 60's.

I was thinking of spraying an inch of foam in the attic but heard unless you spray the entire void within the joists, you won't get much benefit.

Now I'm thinking of spraying cellulose in the attic and putting the batts on top.

You certainly have the bases covered. The cellulose will give better results without the problems that a sealed insulation material will do.

Since the house doesn't let heat come inside from outside, making it colder inside than out, I'd guess that the insulation is working. What kind of heating or warming system do you have?

Your friend's houses may be warm because of things that you don't have in your house. If they're not heating they may have electrical or electronic equipment that adds heat to their house.

What would be a comfortable temperature in your house? What would be a comfortable night time heat for you? What would be a comfortable daytime temperature for you? Why don't you try setting the thermostat to those temperatures? The small increase in heating settings shouldn't have a large effect on your heating bill.

Have you asked someone with energy conservation experience to look at your house? Sometimes a new pair of eyes will see something that could make a big difference.

Measure out your board feet you will using and figure extra. Everthing I have read says it won't go as far as it says because you are never spraying out 1" perfectly. You are probably looking at having to use 2 of the 600 kits and now you are over $1200 plus shipping. No go and get a quote for someone coming in and spraying it for you. You will probably get as quote for about $1000 and that is for completely filling your joist cavity. If they are 2x8 ceiling joists then that will give you an R56 and being that it gives you a 100% vapor barior and seals any air infultration, you are really gtting more than that.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Matthew1970,

I have natural gas, forced air. I may get an energy audit to see why there is such a difference between inside and out.

Matthew, I got an estimate of 2>30 a square foot for icynene which would run about $1700 and would fill to the top of the joist. If I do it myself I would get 1" of closed cell for about $1000.