NOT GOING THROUGH THAT AGAIN!!! PLEASE HELP!!!

[kiletravis09]

OK so my wife and I bought our first house last August and we completely love it. How ever, last winter we had a total melt down of our plumbing system do to frozen and busted pipes. I had to completely re plumb the entire house. I went with pex for ease of installation and cost.

Well I figured out why our plumbing completly got destroyed. We have huge huge huge air infiltration problems in our basement/crawl space. I have began the process of closing off all of our foundation vents and sealing uo the basement. I need help on deciding on how to close up a few areas.

How should I close off these areas? One of them used to be access to a sistern, and the other one used to be access to the oil tank which is no longer used (now its propane ughhh). These areas both just had ply wood covering them with no insulation what so ever. Can I just build wood frames with ridged insulation in the center to stop air flow or should u completly block it odd with cinder block? I just don't know the best way to stop the air flow into our basement and into our house.

 

[sublime68charger]

If you block it up can you get access to the inside?
Then you can insulate and seal from the inside of the blocking.

If there no inside access I'd build a wood frame and insulate and great stuff all around then block up use treated 2x4 for the box frame.

Just what I would try and due.

 

[kiletravis09]

Yes I can get access from the inside. It a basement with about 5 1/2 ft of head space. Then there is a small crawl space are about 10x20. The smaller hole is located on the crawl space side and the large one is on the basement side. I was thinking of doing a treated 2x4 frame fitted to the inside of the smaller hole filled with ridgid insulation and capped offwith a treated sheet of play wood. Same thing for the large one, just build a slightly slanted frame almost like a roof. Then use ridged 2in insulation for that as well. I'm gonna post some better pictures.

 

[kiletravis09]

This is the big opening where the file oil tank is. It leads straight into the basement

This is the wood frame they have sitting on it. It's just a wooden frame with tar paper in the top

Thus is the smaller hole that leads under the crawl space.

And thus us our house. Built in the 1890's it was built by the town doctor and used as his office from 1890-1930's. Also served as the towns funeral home :/ now it's our residence to take care of.

 

[begreen]

The small hole just needs a wood frame anchored to the cement. Then make an insulated cover that attaches with screws to this wood frame. You could screen the inside of the frame with 1/8" hardware cloth. That way you could remove the cover in the summer for crawlspace ventilation.

With the large hole I would be tempted to remove the oil tank and bump-out wall. Then fill in that gap with block or poured wall. Coat the outside of the new wall with tar or a good sealing compound.

Nice looking place btw.

 

[gzecc]

This is the big opening where the file oil tank is. It leads straight into the basement

This is the wood frame they have sitting on it. It's just a wooden frame with tar paper in the top

Thus is the smaller hole that leads under the crawl space.

And thus us our house. Built in the 1890's it was built by the town doctor and used as his office from 1890-1930's. Also served as the towns funeral home :/ now it's our residence to take care of.

Your living is a funeral home and your problem is air infiltration?

 

[Lake Girl]

Great house! Original woodwork inside?

I agree with begreen but I would probably seal up both areas with block or concrete (remove the old oil tank, it's just a liability). Since you have access to the basement from the outside with the storm doors, you really don't need those other sections open. What kind of partition or insulation are on the storm doors? Sealing around joints? May be contributory to air infiltration...

 

[begreen]

Does Ohio have an energy audit program where they will go through the house and point out leaks and where to get the best results in sealing and insulation? If yes, ask if they do a blower door test.

 

[billb3]

Easiest would be two large piles of dirt dropped on the two openings.
Partially burying a former funeral home would seem a bit ironic.

There are a number of ways to make covers to block those holes to stop the wind. Maybe even some of the cold. It's just an opening not unlike as required for doors and windows throughout the rest of the structure.

Is there enough budget to remove the tank and repair the foundation penetration ?
If there was a permit for oil storage it probably became nul and void with disuse and that pit likely no longer meets code for spill containment if t is even required.

 

[gzecc]

I would probably seal up with a combination of cinder block/brick and framing for a basement style window. I would like the option of opening a window for cross ventilation down there occasionally. Looks like you would have to cut up that tank. Make sure it wasn't a gas tank! Maybe formaldehyde?

 

[kiletravis09]

Great house! Original woodwork inside?

I agree with begreen but I would probably seal up both areas with block or concrete (remove the old oil tank, it's just a liability). Since you have access to the basement from the outside with the storm doors, you really don't need those other sections open. What kind of partition or insulation are on the storm doors? Sealing around joints? May be contributory to air infiltration...

Tons of wood work in the house. The guy that originally built it (Dr. Sharp) owned the town drug store which was also a home goods store where someone could buy wood varnish and wood work. He would import different types of wood and paints and often brought people to his house (just across the street from the drug store) to show them the new products he carried which were installed in his house

(broken image removed)

The wood work, the herringbone floors, the porch, and the history, is what sold us on the house. We were fortunate enough to find the house the day it hit the market. We didn't know it was used as a funeral home until we were sitting with the previous owners at the closing table lol

I'm going to start the process of closing off these areas tomorrow and will document each step and post them here just in case someone has the same problems I have been having. I'm also going to re-point the brick foundation and weather strip all of the doors. I have had a surprisingly tough time finding other people doing this type of thing? What other ways have you guys found to be effective at weather proofing your house? I wanna keep in as many BTU's as possible lol

 

[billb3]

I've had the blower door test done and they found a few of the obvious leaks ( common in most houses ) but they missed some that were even more obvious.

I've since found a few drafts and cold spots on real cold days with a IR thermometer

 

[firefighterjake]

Beautiful woodwork in that home.

 

[Warm_in_NH]

Great looking home. Love the floors. You guys can host all the best Halloween parties!

Maybe those cold spots aren't really drafts from outside but are actually ghosts? If you feel cold spots in front of that stove when it's running, time to go!

 

[Lake Girl]

Beautiful woodwork - love the details and variety in door/window trim. You understand the double doors when you realize it's funeral home past.

Looks like no housewrap when they insulated and sided the house. Something that won't change for a while. I really like this product for exterior sealing when it comes to windows and door replacement http://www.menards.com/main/doors-w...g-weatherstrip-1-roll-9-x-33-ft/p-2706675.htm Something to keep in mind if you have that on the eventual "to do" list.

Don't envy the foundation work you have ahead... Good luck!

 

[sportbikerider78]

Since it does not need to be structural, I'd just used block and mortar. Great way to figure out how to do it yourself.