Upcoming Season

[Orion 4343]

Hi everyone,

I live in Pennsylvania in a home built in 1985. It's a typical two story colonial, 1900 sq ft. I have an exterior masonry chimney with Jotul C550. Stove runs great, plenty of draft, very happy with it. Sometime is runs a bit too hot, but learning to control it by not loading it too full. When my home was built it was constructed with no OSB sheathing under the siding, only foam board. OSB was placed at the corners for structural strength. The house also has no house wrap. I assume this house leaks air like a sieve. I am currently having the siding done, and they are installing Tyvek house wrap. What are peoples thoughts on the house wrap reducing the amount of draft that I will get. I think the insert could benefit from reduced draft, as I have had some temp spikes north of 800 degree measured at the top of the stove. I am looking forward to this season because I have struggled on windy days in the 20s from keeping the primary heat from turning on (heat pump). Anyone of any experience with this situation?

Andy

 

[begreen]

Is there a block off plate in the damper area of the chimney and some insulation behind the insert? This will help with the insert output. Try turning down the fire sooner and packing the firebox tighter with larger splits to keep the temps in check.

 

[Orion 4343]

Is there a block off plate in the damper area of the chimney and some insulation behind the insert? This will help with the insert output. Try turning down the fire sooner and packing the firebox tighter with larger splits to keep the temps in check.

There is a block off plate, not sure about the insulation. The stove puts out plenty of heat, but struggles on windy days, which I account to the house being drafty. My question really is, has anyone noticed ever difference between burning with and without a house wrap (Tyvek)

 

[begreen]

Can't say about the tyvek improvement. I would have expected the foam sheething to provide a good wind barrier if the seams were all taped. Our house has no wrap at all and the biggest differences noted were sealing up leaks in the internal structure (masonry fireplace and chimney removed) and sealing the rim joist and changing the crawlspace into a conditioned space.

 

[marty319]

Hi everyone,

I live in Pennsylvania in a home built in 1985. It's a typical two story colonial, 1900 sq ft. I have an exterior masonry chimney with Jotul C550. Stove runs great, plenty of draft, very happy with it. Sometime is runs a bit too hot, but learning to control it by not loading it too full. When my home was built it was constructed with no OSB sheathing under the siding, only foam board. OSB was placed at the corners for structural strength. The house also has no house wrap. I assume this house leaks air like a sieve. I am currently having the siding done, and they are installing Tyvek house wrap. What are peoples thoughts on the house wrap reducing the amount of draft that I will get. I think the insert could benefit from reduced draft, as I have had some temp spikes north of 800 degree measured at the top of the stove. I am looking forward to this season because I have struggled on windy days in the 20s from keeping the primary heat from turning on (heat pump). Anyone of any experience with this situation?

Andy

When I did the vinyl siding on my drafty old cottage I used tyvek and I don't think it made a difference at all.i should have put foam insulation then tyvek but I never thought I would be living here.

 

[Rob_Red]

What’s under the house? Crawl space? Basement? If you have a leaky un conditioned basement like me that will be a limiting factor. What about windows? How are your door seals? I’m sure the house wrap will help with air leaks but as for how tight your whole system is there are a lot of factors

 

[Orion 4343]

What’s under the house? Crawl space? Basement? If you have a leaky un conditioned basement like me that will be a limiting factor. What about windows? How are your door seals? I’m sure the house wrap will help with air leaks but as for how tight your whole system is there are a lot of factorsI

I have a unfinished basement, windows and doors are newer but not sure how well they are sealed, there are no apparent drafts. The foam sheathing had lots of holes in it from what I could see when the old siding was taken off. The boards were not taped at the edges, just butted up to one another. The corners of the house were OSB butted up to one another, no tape. One corner in particular in my house gets frost on the wall. A 1 foot section near the bottom trim. So this house not air tight at all. Now with the house wrap, taped corners, and insulated vinyl siding, I am hoping to see a dramatic change.

 

[Rob_Red]

I have a unfinished basement, windows and doors are newer but not sure how well they are sealed, there are no apparent drafts. The foam sheathing had lots of holes in it from what I could see when the old siding was taken off. The boards were not taped at the edges, just butted up to one another. The corners of the house were OSB butted up to one another, no tape. One corner in particular in my house gets frost on the wall. A 1 foot section near the bottom trim. So this house not air tight at all. Now with the house wrap, taped corners, and insulated vinyl siding, I am hoping to see a dramatic change.

Sounds like you're going to have a significant upgrade! I am in for a similar project in the future, I have some rotting along the base of my sheathing and my sill plate, also I have cheapo vinyl siding that I would like to upgrade.

 

[ABMax24]

Yes adding Tyvek under the siding will help with air infiltration if you already have air leakage through your walls, if the existing foam board seals well you won't notice much of a difference. The other benefit is increased water resistance on the outside of the house. Tyvek is relatively breathable and should still allow the wall to dry should it see moisture for any reason. My house was built with Typar (as are most in the area) which is less permeable than Tyvek but also provides better air infiltration protection, I don't have air movement through the walls at all, but the contractor did a mediocre job sealing around the windows and that is where most of my air leaks originate.

 

[Orion 4343]

Sounds like you're going to have a significant upgrade! I am in for a similar project in the future, I have some rotting along the base of my sheathing and my sill plate, also I have cheapo vinyl siding that I would like to upgrade.

I will begin burning in about a month or so, so I will report back on whether I see improvement. Overall I can keep the downstairs at 72 or so when its 20 degrees outside, its just the windy days, I struggle. We will see.

 

[begreen]

One corner in particular in my house gets frost on the wall. A 1 foot section near the bottom trim.

Sounds like a serious flaw there. With the siding off, were they able to see why this was happening at that location and fix the issue?

 

[Orion 4343]

I think is was the lack of air/moisture barrier and insulation. Its just OSB that has been placed to form a corner, air easily could get in, and I'm sure the insulation in the corner isn't the best. This is also on the north side of the house, which I'm sure isn't helping at all. Other than that, I didn't see any other major flaws. I don't think energy conservation was a big thing in the 80s.