Insulation for this home...

[Holyoak]

Going to look at this home tomorrow in NE Ohio,

http://www.realliving.com/Volpini-Realty-Group/homes-for-sale/2460-Custer-Orangeville-Rd-NORTHEAST-Burghill-OH-44404-146985936

and thought I would ask if you could click on the link, look it over, and suggest by the type of construction what might/could be done for insulation?  The home was built in 1936, so I'm guessing there was little to no insulation incorporated?  I don't know much about these cape Cod/1.5 story homes, and wonder if by looking at the home, you think there is much potential to add insulation in the attic (if it has one?) or elsewhere.  I tolerate a very cool home well; just the same, I want to conserve resources, and don't want to get into a home that is a heating nightmare.  Thanks for the help.

[gooki]

WTF, someone give that real estate agent the boot. Upside down photos on the property listing. Fuck me that's unprofessional.

Back to the question.

You can inject insulation into the walls on weatherboard homes. Or if you plan to redecorate, rip the internal wall lining off and insulate then. The cheapest DIY solution is to blow used polystyring balls into the cavity with a vacuum cleaner.

No photos of the attic rooms, but insulating the roof will be more costly than a traditional single story home. If the attic rooms have exposed rafters, a cheap solution should be possible. Polystyring sheets covered with a paintable surface installed between rafters.

Insulating the underfloor area should be easy and can be a DIY job. Use polyester wool and a staple gun.

It'd be worth insulating the windows. Timber frames allow for either secondary glazing (thin film or acrylic/polycarbonate sheet. Or go the whole hog and get double glassed glass.

[Drifterrider]

Going to look at this home tomorrow in NE Ohio,

http://www.realliving.com/Volpini-Realty-Group/homes-for-sale/2460-Custer-Orangeville-Rd-NORTHEAST-Burghill-OH-44404-146985936

Call the utilities companies and ask what the energy cost for the prior year was.  Believe it or not, it is a matter of public record (in every place I've ever lived).

If the house has been vacant it might not help you as much.

[QajakBoy]

The best advice would come from a professional certified home energy auditor after a detailed inspection of the home.  An energy auditor would provide a list of prioritized energy upgrades to guide you through the upgrades that would provide the most bang for the buck.  I'm not an energy auditor, but I do live in a superinsulated net-zero home.
Yes, I'd guess that the house has minimal insulation, but I'd guess that some insulation was added when the second floor and rear addition were added-on.  Before adding any insulation it'd make sense to do a thorough air sealing job, because adding insulation won't do much good if the house is full of drafts.  Existing walls can be insulated with blown-in cellulose which is relatively inexpensive and can be very effective.  It looks as if there is no longer much of an attic, so adding insulation above the ceiling of the second floor could be difficult, hard to tell from the pictures. The guys at http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/qa are experts at this type of stuff.  You can search their website for specific info.

[waffle]

The biggest problem that I see is that there is wallpaper everywhere. If you were planning on keeping the wallpaper that will make insulating the walls hard. To blow in insulation for the walls you need to cut a bunch of holes between the studs. That's not a big deal if its normal drywall, but I don't see patching the wallpaper very easily or in a way that you cant tell it was patched.