How to Insulate an Older Framed House

Older homes are notorious for lacking proper insulation in the exterior walls, which can mean you're wasting money on heat and air conditioning as it seeps out of the home. If you happen to be remodeling and the walls are ripped open, you should insulate with rolls of fiberglass insulation. But you don't have to wait for that. If the walls aren't going to be opened, you can install loose insulation into the closed walls from the outside.

Hammer
Pry bar
Electronic stud finder
Pencil
Insulation blower with loose insulation
Jigsaw
Foam insulation (in a spray can)
Trim nails

Instructions

- 1
  Use a hammer and pry bar to remove a course of siding, in a horizontal line at a height equal to about a half a foot below the interior ceiling. Keep the siding intact. Set it aside.
- 2
  Use an electronic stud finder to locate each stud in the exterior wall. Put a pencil mark midway between each of the studs, in the exposed area where you removed the siding.
- 3
  Set the hose end from an insulation blower over the first mark. Trace around the mouth of the hose with a pencil. Repeat for each of the marks.
- 4
  Cut out each of the traced circles with a jigsaw, making them a little larger than the traced circles.
- 5
  Load the insulation blower with loose insulation. Feed the blower hose into the first hole, all the way in to the bottom of the cavity.
- 6
  Turn on the machine, filling the space between the two studs. Withdraw the hose as the insulation fills the space. Repeat for each hole.
- 7
  Fill the mouth of each hole with spray foam insulation, sealing each one off. Let it dry. Reinstall the siding using trim nails and your hammer.

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