| ANSWER: |
Insulating an existing brick wall poses problems
not encountered when insulating walls covered with wood and other
siding materials. In those types of structures, you would drill
right into the wall surface (either going directly through it or
lifting it and drilling into the sheathing below). With brick,
however, you don't want to drill into the exterior surface and
there's no way to lift the brick to expose the sheathing below.
If the walls are brick veneer over wood framing and you will be
doing major indoor remodeling, you could remove the plaster or
sheetrock from the interior surfaces of all your exterior walls
and fill in the exposed stud cavities with blanket insulation.
Or you could drill through the interior wall surface and blow in
loose fill cellulose. (You would need to patch the wall surfaces
when done.) If neither of these options would work for you, your
only other real choice would involve blowing insulation into the
wall cavity through holes drilled into the stud wall's top and
sole plates. To do this, you would work in the attic and basement
or crawl space rather than outside.
If your walls are solid brick, if access to wall plates is
blocked by a shallow roof or a slab foundation, or if the cost of
installing the insulation is higher than you want to pay, you can
take other steps to reduce energy costs and discomfort. These
include moving beds and chairs away from exterior walls, sealing
air infiltration points, and using shades or drapes to cut heat
loss through windows. |