Block Wall/Living Area Advice


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Old 03-31-11, 07:46 AM
M
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Block Wall/Living Area Advice

House was built in '62 and has morphed a few times before we bought it. The room we know use as our living room has painted wood paneling and we decided it's time to redo. I was kinda looking forward to it because it also seems to be the coldest/draftiest room in the house too. I think I now know why. The walls are concrete block with nothing more than furring strips with that white styrofoam sheet inbetween them. All 3 outside walls are like this. My plan was to add a few recepticles and a few more phone jacks, etc but now I think I need to rethink everything. I've looked at adding a studded wall but everything I have seen says to attach the studs to the floor joists up top but I don't want to have to rip out the ceiling too! All 3 outside walls have windows in them and one wall has a door so now all the trim work would have to be custom.
I'm looking for options for what I can get away with. I have thought of adding a furring strip to the existing to get a bit more insulation in but then I still have an issue running pwr, etc. I have also thought about furring with 2x4's long ways out but that might be a stupid idea. Anyhow, any input would be appreciated.
 
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Old 03-31-11, 09:50 AM
L
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Welcome to the forums.

I gather that this room is downstairs -- probably bedrooms above it. That's going to make it one of the colder areas in the house since heat rises.

Where are the drafts coming from? You mention doors and windows in this room. What are the windows, and how airtight is the door? What kind of door is it?

If you add a wall someplace in the room it needs to be attached to the joists at the top, as well as attached at the bottom. You don't need to redo the ceiling in order to accomplish that. Simply cut out the strip of sheetrock on the ceiling where the wall will be. Cut the strip about 3-3/4" wide. Attach the 2X4 to the joists in the cutout. This will become your upper top plate. (It will hang down about an inch below the sheetrock.) That will leave you about 1/8" on each side to compensate for the 2X4 not being perfectly straight. Build the stud wall. (PT bottom plate, DF studs and the top plate.) Size the studs so that the wall will sit on the floor and contact the 2X4 you attached to the joists at the top. Nail the 2 top plates together. When you sheetrock the wall, the ceiling sheetrock is already in place, and it's edge will be supported by the sheetrock on the wall.

Insulating a furred wall that covers the block wall and still allows you to run wiring through it? Use fiberglass insulation.
 
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Old 04-01-11, 04:01 AM
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Unless you build a new wall as suggest and add extention jams to the windows and doors there's not much else you can do. As you your self pointed out if you add to the furring strips your still going to have to add extention jams.
Add just 3/4's more to the wall will do little to add insulation, with 2 X 4's you can add R-13.
The other poster brought up a good point if you have crappy windows or door, or if someone installed replacement windows and and never removed the trim to add isulation where the old windows weights were any thing you do to the wall will do little good. Most heat is lost out the windows and doors not the wall it's self.
If you do decide to just run a few new outlets and use the wall you have now it can be done with metal shallow wall boxes. I'd use an ossilating saw to cut out the foam and furring strips where you plan on running the wires.
Adding extention jams is not all that hard to do if you have a table saw and a compound mitre saw. You need the table saw because there is no wood that's going to be the width you will need on the shelve, there all going to have to be custom cut.
If you do do it make sure to sand prime and paint it all before installing it.
 
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Old 04-01-11, 07:17 AM
S
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Styrofoam and furring strips - it might make a difference to put expanding spray foam on the junctions between the two (it also might not...)
 
 

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