Wall Insulation

[Maigahane]

Our bedroom has three exterior walls and seems to be very poorly insulated. One wall is entirely his/hers closets and when you open either closet in the winter you can feel cold air rush out. The windows are very nice (probably need some sealing as well) so luckily that's not the problem. My question is how would I go about adding insullation without otherwise messing with the walls?

[Spork]

I've seen blow in insulation where one or two holes are drilled per bay (in other words: every 16 inches or so) and insulation was blown in.  I think I remember them doing something similar with foam.  The downside is you'll probably have to do some drywall patching every 16 inches or so and repaint.  (I'm assuming this is drywall.... if it is paneling or something more exotic... my answer is probably out.)

[Maigahane]

I saw that option online except going in from the outside by removing a few pieces of siding and was afraid that would be the easiest way

The house was built in 1955 and so the walls aren't drywall...they're plaster or something. Very sturdy and impossible to push a thumb tack through

[Maigahane]

I'm almost positive it is cold air coming out of the closet. The bedroom is definitely colder (or hotter in the summer) if we leave the doors open all the time vs. shut. That particular wall has stone on the outside while the other 2 have vinyl siding...not sure if that could make a difference at all...

And I think the only reason the bedroom bothers us more than the rest of the house is because the relatively small room has 3 exterior walls. The second bedroom has 2 exterior walls and runs a little cold too though not quite as bad. In general this house could use a good upgrade in insulation as our combined gas/electric average $200/month and we try to be stingy with using it

[okashira]

What you're feeling isn't actually the cold air rushing out, rather, it's the warm air rushing into the closet (physics - hot moves to cold.) 

The largest reason your closets are remaining cold isn't so much because of poor insulation, but that you're keeping the doors closed and the heat isn't getting in there to begin with.  Much like when you close off an extra unused bedroom during the winter.  So the cold your feeling can be seen kind of as a good thing since you don't want to waste money heating a space that's not in continuous use.  Now if you're keeping the doors open and you can feel a draft toward the closet, that's another story.

Obviously, extra insulation is almost always a plus, but I don't think the exterior walls on your bedroom are any less insulated than the remaining walls around your house.

You didn't get an A in Thermo I, did you? :-D

You are right about keeping the door closed being a good thing, but being an interior door it's not sealed at all so the fact that the room is significantly colder then the room is telling.
also... cold air can definetly flow into warm air :-D. Your interpretation of the 2nd law is a little off... it applies to conduction, (and radiation), but not bulk transport via movement of a fluid.

[Cromacster]

What is the insulation situation in the attic?  If your house is sealed well, (it probably isn't) actual heat loss through the walls is minimal as compared to heat loss from the attic.  If its not sealed well, wind and outside pressure can create a draft through cracks around windows and other cracks and seams in your houses exterior.  The quick hit would be first to look at air sealing your attic, basement, windows, and doors.  After that look at attic insulation.  Lastly, if you are ever remodeling and you are down to the studs, add insulation to the walls.

[AtlStash]

What is the insulation situation in the attic?  If your house is sealed well, (it probably isn't) actual heat loss through the walls is minimal as compared to heat loss from the attic.  If its not sealed well, wind and outside pressure can create a draft through cracks around windows and other cracks and seams in your houses exterior.  The quick hit would be first to look at air sealing your attic, basement, windows, and doors.  After that look at attic insulation.  Lastly, if you are ever remodeling and you are down to the studs, add insulation to the walls.

I agree, check the attic first. Airseal then insulate.

[Zaga]

Our bedroom was similar, except the closets were on the 2 interior walls.  This effectively insulated the master bedroom away from the rest of the house.  It got very cold in there!

We had 2 non insulated exterior walls, then a poorly insulated attic above, and an integral (but freezing and not insulated) garage below. 

We went the non-diy route, there was a lot to do.  Getting the insulation blown into the attic was relatively inexpensive.  Also, we were able to get it blown into the ceiling of the garage (ah, heaven, being able to walk in my bedroom barefoot!)  The expensive part was the exterior walls, we had it all blown in from the outside.  They drilled through the mortar in the bricks.

Hands down the best home improvement we have done, with the possible exception of replacing the 50 year old aluminum single pane windows.

Oh yeah, we did actually DIY one part of it, the garage door!  That cost about $150 in pink foamboard, special nails for the foamboard, and 2 types of flashing.  Before this we could actually freeze water in the heated garage some days.  Now the garage stays within about 10 degrees of the rest of the house.  It looks stupid to have pink foamboard nailed in sections to the back of the garage door, but it's comfortable in there!

[DoingMe]

If there is a question of the insulation in the walls, I recommend using a thermal imaging camera to get a better picture (pun intended) of the problem.

In our area, the local Home Depot rents thermal imaging cameras.  They are not cheap, but they are fun to use and will give you more information.  We did this last winter and are slowly installing insulation in all the areas the original builder neglected.  Note: pick about the coldest weather there is in your area and turn up the heat inside your house to make the difference stand out all the more on the camera.

Our solution was to cut the drywall out in front of the stud bays missing insulation, install fiberglass batts as the builder did elsewhere, and repair the drywall.  This gives us the opportunity to add spray foam to various joints and holes drilled for wiring, etc.  I realize that not everyone may have the skills to do drywall repair as easily as we can ...
--
Wayne.

[Maigahane]

What is the insulation situation in the attic?  If your house is sealed well, (it probably isn't) actual heat loss through the walls is minimal as compared to heat loss from the attic.  If its not sealed well, wind and outside pressure can create a draft through cracks around windows and other cracks and seams in your houses exterior.  The quick hit would be first to look at air sealing your attic, basement, windows, and doors.  After that look at attic insulation.  Lastly, if you are ever remodeling and you are down to the studs, add insulation to the walls.

I agree, check the attic first. Airseal then insulate.

Okay, so for the home improvement idiot; how do I go about checking the sealing? To add some fun to this is that that particular portion of the attic is almost inaccessible or so I'm told. I haven't gone up there yet but the only entry to the attic anyway is a tiny hole in a closet and then to get over that room is just another tiny hole after crawling over blowin in insulation. I'll have to check it out myself though to see if I'm less whiney then DH :)

[Cromacster]

To check air sealing you have three main sources to look for.  The first would be the top plate of the wall (sorry if my terminology is wrong).  Basically the top of the wall from the attic side.  Also the seam where the ceiling drywall meets the the top plate of the wall.  These usally won't be sealed if it is an older house.  Second source to check will be any light fixtures in the room.  Drawing a map before hand with measurements of the location can help when you are crawling around your attic.  Third would be any pipes or plumbing stacks that go through the attic.  These will most likely be the largest openings so its important to get these.

After those three the rest are relatively minor, but electrical wire penetrations or any other penetrations you can find.

As for crawling around the attic, yes it can be uncomfortable and a pain.  With blown in insulation it would be best to push the insulation aside then lay down a board to crawl on.  Its best not to crawl on top of the insulation to avoid compressing it.  Then when your work is done, move the insulation back in place.