Hi Justin,

If this is a one or two-story wood frame condo/town house built in the
early to mid '80s, any exterior walls should be insulated to at least
R12; in the case of 2 x 6 frame construction, it's more likely to be
R19 or R20.

For exterior brick and cinder block construction, I would still expect
a minimum of R12.

It's been many years since I've looked at the Ontario Building Code,
but I'm reasonably sure these numbers are correct.

Cheers,
Paul

On 25 Jan 2007 17:33:34 -0800, "Justin West" wrote:

Live in Ottawa, Ontario Canada.

Was there a time (20 or so years ago), when it was normal not to
isnulate an exterior wall? Or use poor insulation (our electrical
closet in the basement has a little bit of foam board against the wall.
I don't know if this is indicative of the rest of the home though. I
am planning on poking a hole in the wall).


Living in a Condo (row home, side walls adjoin to neighbors home, front
and back are exterior) where the bedroom wall seems to get extremely
cold depending on the temperature outside. At one time we've even seen
what appeared to be frost building up on the wall. (however, no mold
has been seen).

The other bit I'm wondering about is this was 2 bedrooms at one time,
and the dividing wall was removed to develop a grand master bedroom.
The floors were hardwood, and are now carpeted with french doors.
(very nice looking, I must say)

The doors meet snuggly to the carpet, and I'm wondering since there is
no return air vent would this prevent sufficient air flow to keep the
room warm enough to prevent "cold wall syndrom".