Vintage IDEA's???

I need the pro's here. I'm re-doing a 130+ year old house and I need some advice on two things.

1) While ripping out the plaster on the second floor I discovered that all of the exterior walls are solid brick, two bricks thick, without any studs. The plaster is put right on the brick. I'd like to insulate the new exterior walls but am scared of framing with 2" x 4"s because this will sink the windows into the wall another 4". I think it might look weird. What are my options? Money is an issue?

2) I plan on putting the claw foot tub back into the bathroom and want to see or hear of any ideas that might give it some more flare? How do I design around such a tub?

Reply to
HotRod
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I was looking for a picture of Z furring channels to show you when this came up, may be worth looking into - I do not have direct experience:

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Here are the usual Z channels to combine with rigid insulation that I would consider normal for your application: scroll down to Z furring:
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Either material will provide an easy way to attach drywall or attach metal lath for real plaster.

(top posted for your convenience) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Keep the whole world singing . . . . DanG (remove the sevens) snipped-for-privacy@7cox.net

Reply to
DanG
1) If you can afford the materials and time, definitely put some framing or furring strips against the brick. I would use a combination of construction adhesive and Tapcon screws to hold them up. Insulate the void as needed before putting the new drywall in. The windows can be fixed by making some jamb extensions the same thickness of your new framing+drywall and gluing them to the existing jambs. I don't think it would look bad at all, but that might be a matter of opinion.

2) not really sure what you want to do here. Tile is probably the way to go in the area surrounding the tub, though I personally hate it because it's harder to keep the grout clean (and the fact that I am not good at installing it). If you're keeping the tub, it's probably because you like the clawfoot look, so enclosing the base would be out of the question. I would wander around a decent plumbing/hardware store and look for ideas as far as fixtures go. Keep in mind that you need to get a curtain around this somehow too.

Reply to
louie

I'll have a look at the suggested sites. As far as the tub goes this is just to stick with the heritage of the house. Not my taste though.

Reply to
HotRod

I don't have much experience doing reconstructions, but a lot of experience looking at t hem. When a 130 year old house looks wierd, it reminds me that it is a 130 year old house. If I were you, I'd wear that as a badge of pride.

But one thought: I don't know if there is room for enough insulation, but what about 2x2's.

Remove NOPSAM to email me. Please let me know if you have posted also.

Reply to
mm

Have you seen windows with really deep sills, which means there's lots of room for plants or for the cat to hang out, or whatever? Maybe there's a way to work with this issue to your advantage.

Reply to
Doug Kanter

After looking at the house again last night I think I may go with 2 x 4 and bats of insulation to increase the R Value. I'll worry about the windows later.

Reply to
HotRod

spray foam insulation will cost more but stop air infiltration, elminate the need for a vapor barrier, and has a much higher R value per inch. you would need it professionally installed, since you will need a lot. it also helps cut noise transmission and wuld be a asset at resale time.

whatever you do take photos of all walls and cielings during construction for later reference to electrical plumbing and other utility locations.

have fun, I enjoy stuff like your doing

Reply to
hallerb

I'm going to cost out the spray foam as well but expect that the cost will be crazy. I also will not be doing the whole house in one shot so I'm not sure how expensive it will get if I need to get them in several times.

Reply to
HotRod

Have you considered rigid foam. The following product gives a R value of 7.5 (low for walls) and will result in a total wall thickness (including sheetrock) of 2". Looks to be alot easier than installing a

2X4 frame. Take a look at the installation PDF file.

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Reply to
noname87

This has become a real battle for me because the hosue will just dbe re-sold once I'm finished but I will not do a shit job. I have a spray foam guy coming to give me a quote but right now the 2 x 4 with regular insulation is the cheapest with an R12 rating.

Reply to
HotRod

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