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Anyone seen a wall like this before? Knee wall crawl space side of bathroom.

Anyone seen a wall like this before? Knee wall crawl space side of bathroom.


  #1  
Old 12-24-17, 09:54 AM
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Anyone seen a wall like this before? Knee wall crawl space side of bathroom.

1940 brick home. 1.5 story. Changing insulation in knee wall crawl space on other side of upstairs bathroom. Toilet and sink are directly on other side of wall in picture. Notice vapor barrier was installed backwards. Vapor barrier should have been against wall in pic. Feels like concrete. Not sure what that black metal in pic is. Anyone seen an wall like this? Thank you in advance!!! Brian
 
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Old 12-24-17, 09:59 AM
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That metal is metal lath. The plaster or cement is applied to it and pushes thru the holes which lock it in place. Very tough and durable. Almost impossible to cut thru to install something.
 
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Old 12-24-17, 10:09 AM
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The Kraft facing faces the warm side so it is not backward, unless I'm not looking at it right.
 
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Old 12-24-17, 10:18 AM
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Yes... you are correct.
The lath wall is the bathroom so the crawlspace is considered the cold side.

Probably didn't need the paper faced but makes it easier to install and keep in place.
 
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Old 12-24-17, 10:28 AM
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The bathroom seems to have plaster on the walls, based upon how they feel when I knock on them.
 
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Old 12-24-17, 10:37 AM
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Paper was facing crawl space side, so it was backwards. Hard to tell in pic. Sorry!!! Will correct and cover in dryall and tape and seal all edges. Some people put foam board insulation board over insulation alone. Read that IRC and even the instructions on the foam board itself state that it can not be uncovered. Due to the toxic fumes if XPS burns. I see many crawl spaces with foam board uncovered. So, I will do kraft insulation with the paper facing the bathroom side and cover in 1/2 inch mold and moisture resistant drywall (have 5 full sheets left over from an unfinished basement remodel). Sound like a good plan?
 
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Old 12-24-17, 10:43 AM
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So that is an unconditioned crawl space ?
 
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Old 12-24-17, 11:03 AM
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If you can find thermax, that can be left exposed in a conditioned space. Foam products that are not fire rated only need to be covered if they are in conditioned spaces.
 
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Old 12-24-17, 11:04 AM
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Yes. Unconditioned. Have an outside wall on the other end. Paper should face toward crawl space on that wall. Knee wall insulation was also backward. My upstairs hall way and my stepson's bedroom are on the other side of the knee wall. I see foam board insulation sticking up near the eaves (where floor meets rafters). No visible soffit vents on exterior. Not much room for those. Will look into getting some if possible. Attic is directly above. No ridge vent. Only 2 gable windows. Can't put a ridge vent in without soffit vents. Then, I could board up the gable vents. The attic insulation is about 5" thick. Covers all visible parts of attic (I physically could measure 498 square feet). I know old houses will leak air no matter what I do. But, every little bit helps!!
 
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Old 12-24-17, 11:17 AM
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Thank you all for your advice!!! I appreciate that!!! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!! I only have time on weekends to work on my house, but I will do an update on my insulation progress!
 
 

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