Thanks for your reply. I think I'll do it just as you described.

Regarding the plastic on windows:

I do have storms, but this is quite an old house (more than 100 yrs) and the
windows are just not tight, so I started doing the shrink wrap thing. Then
I found these plastic channels that you can apply to the window, put up the
plastic sheeting, and snap another piece of plastic into the channel to hold
it. It looks really nice, and is a great way to cheaply insulate things
that don't have storms, like the window lights around the front door.

Someday when I'm rich I'll get replacement windows. I'll have to be rich
because I'll need every one of them custom made--the house has sunk & sagged
so much over the years that a good many windows are visibly crooked!

"Tom Miller" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 20 Jan 2004 00:03:11 -0500, "Betsy" -0 wrote:

| Thanks. Do you think I should use a vapor barrier up against the
floor?
|

I would if it were my house. The reason is that air infiltration might
be a big issue, since floor boards are not exactly air tight. In my
old house, drafts and air infiltration are more of a problem in many
areas than actual lack of insulation.

Here's my solution: Put a vapor barrier against the floor. Add
fiberglass or rigid foam insulation per Roger's suggestion. Then put
some sort of sheathing over it -- plywood would work, as Roger says.
To hold the insulation between the floor joists until you can put the
sheathing over it, use flexible wire holders that fit between the
joists, available at home centers and lumber yards (are there still
any lumber yards???), or use the cris-crossed wire method.

Since the interior areas do not cover the entire porch, you would
either have to block off the edge of the outside wall under the porch
to enclose the newly insulated area (I would cut 2 x 6 blocks to put
between the joists) or insulate under the entire porch. I think
blocking off the area would be easiest and cheapest and most
efficient.

Personally, I think you've located a significant source of heat loss
that's worth fixing, and good on ya for it. I'm not a contractor or
anything (as everyone can probably tell) but just another homeowner
who went through this kind of thing around 20 years ago. It's sort of
fun. I liked the challenge, and I did save quite a bit on heating
bills and improved our living environment.

I would suggest that as soon as practical you find more permanent
solutions to some of your "plastic" insulating. For example, I found
that putting up plastic storms in a couple of spots every fall got old
pretty quick, and it wasn't long before I was skipping it. I just had
other things to do, like making a living. Adding real storm windows or
replacing the windows made life easier, got the job done permanently,
and looked a whole lot better. Just my experience.

| "Roger" wrote in message
| news:er2Pb.90464$nt4.176818@attbi_s51...
|
| "Betsy" -0 wrote in message
| ...
| Well, last year I was hell-bent on saving money on heating and
insulated
| EVERYTHING. I tucked insulation up between the sill plates & the
floor.
| I
| wrapped all the steam pipes in the basement to direct the heat
upstairs.
| I
| put plastic over every window. I insulated every hot AND cold
water
| pipe
| where they were accessible. I put plastic over every transom and
the
| lites
| on the sides of the front door.
|
| Lo and behold: today I walked over to the window bumpout to dust
and my
| stocking feet were instantly cold. I realized: where my old
house has
| a
| sort of bay (the 3 front windows and the floor under them jut out
so the
| room isn't square, it has a sort of built-in bay--I don't know
what to
| call
| it!), THIS part of the floor actually is part of the porch! And
there
| is
| NO
| INSULATION under it. The dining room does the same thing!
YIKES! I
| must
| be just pouring money through those floorboards!
|
| So tomorrow I'm crawling under the porch to see how the joists
run and
| what
| I can do to insulate.
|
| What would you recommend for this application? Would fiberglass
or
| rigid
| foam be better? Should it be foil backed? I am worried that
anything I
| put
| up that is outside will be a haven for bugs and wood rot. Is
there
| anything
| I should do to prep the area first? How do I get it to stay in
place?
|
| I have a 9 by 12 foot bumpout laundry room with four feet of
clearance
| under
| it, and no side walls under that space. I filled it with 6 inch
fibreglas
| batts, then screwed on 1/4 inch exterior plywood to hold it in
place. I
| didn't vent the area, since there are crosswinds under there, and
| overhanging roof eaves keep rain and moisture out, but I didnt
caulk the
| seams so some air would get inthere. If there is any chance of rain
or
| moisture getting trapped , you could use zig zagged wire, or
chicken wire
| stapled to the joists, to hold the batts in.
|
|
|
|