Q. I need wall insulation in my family room, but I also want to save the wall paneling, which is made of fine, thick varnished wood. I read about making holes to put the insulation inside the walls. What are my options?
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A. If your house has wood, aluminum or vinyl siding, the easiest way to add insulation is to blow it into the wall cavity by drilling holes into the exterior, says Michael Luminais, of Advanced Remodeling Concepts Inc., in Geneva.
Typically, contractors use a hole saw to drill holes between 1 to 2 inches in diameter in between studs, so holes are spaced about 16 inches apart around the house’s perimeter. Two holes–near the bottom and near the top of the wall–are needed in each cavity. “The contractor blows insulation into the lower hole, and the top hole acts like a vent to let excess air out,” says Luminais. Once the insulation material reaches the height of the second hole, the contractor moves the nozzle to fill the top third of the wall.
Many contractors drill directly through the siding to make a plug, then glue the plug back into place once done. “You have to putty and sand [the patch]. Aesthetically, it’s just not that great. Plugs can fall out, and they can be hard to camouflage with paint,” Luminais says.
Luminais prefers to remove strips of siding around the house’s perimeter and drill holes into the sheathing beneath it. A vapor barrier to block moisture then can be added after patching the holes.
“If the siding is aluminum or vinyl, it can literally be unhooked, then replaced,” he said.
Wood siding, if it’s removed carefully, often can be reused. But if the siding is old or has too many coats of paint, it will have to be replaced with new siding and painted.
If a house is masonry, then it’s easier to blow insulation into interior walls; punching holes through brick or stone would be too expensive and difficult. The job is reasonably simple with drywall, which would need patching and repainting. Wood paneling shouldn’t be drilled and patched–it would have to be removed.
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