wrote:
I have a 100 year old house and was thinking of a few ways that I
could save on insulating and vapor barrier. The house has already been
re-drywalled once laminated over the existing plaster by the former
owner so I would rather not get into a huge reno that for certain
reasons is not required. I know one of the ways to vapor barrier can
be achieved by stuccoing the exterior walls but that is even more
expensive. One of the advantages to stucco is that the vapor barrier
ends of being on the exterior protecting every thing behind it which
in my case is the bricks, wood firing channel and drywall.

So my cheap alternative to something expensive was to use a product
such as Thompson water seal as an exterior vapor barrier given that
it's duty is to protect bricks from moisture thus perhaps sealing the
house. Fill in any cracks with concrete or some other product, spray
over with the water seal and Voilà. Does anyone know of a product that
can do this or is Thompson's products good enough?


Thanks,


Carl



http://www.gaihosa.com


If you are insulating in a cold climate,
the vapor barrier goes on the inside wall.
If placed on the outside, vapor will condense
in the insulation and rot/mold.

Insulating in a warm climate is opposite.

If you do need to place barrier on the inside,
a coat of low-permeability paint will do the job.
Glidden (ICI) makes Prep and Prime # 1060-1200
to name one.