[Greenbuilding] Masonry sidewall insulation--comparing notes

[Alan Abrams AIBD]

Anna-
Can't speak to your question, but have one for you...how wide are the
cavities you are filling?  We deal with a lot of WWII era load bearing
masonry homes, but at best the cavity between inner wythe and inside face of
plaster board (aka rock lathe) is only 3/4"  I always assumed that was too
narrow to blow...plus very limited potential for accumulating much R.

Alan Abrams AIBD
Abrams Design Build
a sustainable approach to beautiful space
www.abramsdesignbuild.com
-----Original Message-----
From: greenbuilding-bounces at listserv.repp.org
[mailto:greenbuilding-bounces at listserv.repp.org] On Behalf Of Anna Sullivan
Sent: Tuesday, February 13, 2007 2:43 PM
To: greenbuilding at listserv.repp.org
Subject: [Greenbuilding] Masonry sidewall insulation

This is really a question for people who work on existing homes, but
may pertain to new construction folks:
Does anyone on the list have experience with insulating masonry
sidewalls from the inside of the home (i.e by drilling drywall or
plaster and filling wall cavity) using cellulose insulation? My
organization has been running a pilot project in Chicago using this
method, with very successful results in terms of reduced air flow and
heat loss through the sidewalls. In fact, we haven't had a single
problem with it.
However, some practitioners have reported problems with a chemical
reaction when moisture that came through the exterior mortar
interacted with the fire treatment in the cellulose. The result,
apparently, was the production of an acidic green liquid that started
to eat away at the exterior mortar.
Has anyone experienced this? Or has anyone been doing masonry sidewall
with cellulose and, like us, also had no problems?
Thank you,
Anna Sullivan.

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