How to Insulate Old Farmhouse Walls

Old wood frame farmhouses were generally built before it was standard practice to fully insulate the walls during construction. This is why those kinds of houses, charming as they can be, are usually drafty. You can remedy the problem with a modern solution, and without ripping out the interior walls. If you can remove and reinstall the exterior siding without damaging it, you can blow in insulation from the outside, which minimizes the repair process.

Hammer
Pry bar
Electronic stud finder
Pencil
Insulation blower
Jig saw
Loose cellulose insulation
Spray foam insulation (in a can)
Siding nails

Instructions

- 1
  Pry off a horizontal strip of the siding with your hammer and pry bar at a height equal the top the first-floor walls. Don't break the siding as you remove it.
- 2
  Use the electronic stud finder to find each stud in the wall on the exposed sheathing. Mark the stud locations with a pencil. (Note: The studs will be about 16 inches apart.)
- 3
  Hold the end of the hose from your insulation blower against the wall centered between the first two stud marks. Trace around the end of the hose to leave a circle. Repeat between each of the studs, so you have a line of circles running down the wall.
- 4
  Use your jig saw to cut out each of the circles.
- 5
  Load the insulation blower with loose cellulose insulation. Push the blower hose all the way into one of the holes, so the end of the blower is at the bottom of the interior of the wall.
- 6
  Start the blower. Fill the space between the two studs, withdrawing the hose as it fills the cavity. Repeat at each hole.
- 7
  Fill the opening of each hole with spray foam. Let it dry. Reinstall the siding using your hammer and siding nails.

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