Gutted Home, Heating Options

[Craig Hansen]

I purchased a home that was gutted and now I am in a the beginning stages on getting my prices for insulation and heating.  The property is located in Connecticut where our winters can last 3-4 months. 

The house is:

1,088 sqft

3 bed 1 bath

2x4 exterior walls 

2x6 rafters

The R-Value that I have reach is:

R-19 in the walls

R-30 in cathedral ceiling

R-38 flat ceiling

I have (3) options as for the insulation:

1. 2 lb spray foam will give me r-21 in the walls at least and at least r-35 in my cathedral ceiling (most expensive)

2. Rigid aluminum board on exterior before siding goes up, then batt insulation in the walls

3. Fir out exterior walls to fit a r-19 batt in cavity

As for the heating I am in between forced hot air (propane) and electric baseboard heat.  I know that the Electric baseboard can be a turn off to some buyers but with the house being tightly sealed I really can't imagine the electric bill being that high.  Electric heat would be the cheapest to install.

Do you think having electric heat would really turn buyers away?

[Patrick Liska]

Stick with forced air propane, as mentioned above, Electric scares people away. If you furred out the walls for R19, you would have to build them out 2", so you would loose 4" in every room. A normal 2 x 4 wall takes R13, which means you want to add another 5 to get to R19, you can achieve that by adding 1" foam on the outside ( R 5.6). you should break down your costs and find out what is best for you: add 2" framing and 2" extension jambs to windows( material and labor) + R19 -- leave existing 2x4 and spray foam-- install 1" foam on exterior,R13 interior, extend jambs and trim on exterior ( if vinyl siding that can easily be covered with aluminum).