I need the pro's here. I'm re-doing a 130+ year old house and I need some
advice on two things.

1) While ripping out the plaster on the second floor I discovered that all
of the exterior walls are solid brick, two bricks thick, without any studs.
The plaster is put right on the brick. I'd like to insulate the new exterior
walls but am scared of framing with 2" x 4"s because this will sink the
windows into the wall another 4". I think it might look weird. What are my
options? Money is an issue?

2) I plan on putting the claw foot tub back into the bathroom and want to
see or hear of any ideas that might give it some more flare? How do I design
around such a tub?

I was looking for a picture of Z furring channels to show you when
this came up, may be worth looking into - I do not have direct
experience:
http://www.plymouthfoam.com/building...ior_wall.shtml

Here are the usual Z channels to combine with rigid insulation
that I would consider normal for your application:
scroll down to Z furring:
http://www.dietrichindustries.com/st...e/intro_05.asp

Either material will provide an easy way to attach drywall or
attach metal lath for real plaster.

(top posted for your convenience)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Keep the whole world singing . . . .
DanG (remove the sevens)




"HotRod" wrote in message
...
I need the pro's here. I'm re-doing a 130+ year old house and I
need some advice on two things.

1) While ripping out the plaster on the second floor I
discovered that all of the exterior walls are solid brick, two
bricks thick, without any studs. The plaster is put right on the
brick. I'd like to insulate the new exterior walls but am scared
of framing with 2" x 4"s because this will sink the windows into
the wall another 4". I think it might look weird. What are my
options? Money is an issue?

2) I plan on putting the claw foot tub back into the bathroom
and want to see or hear of any ideas that might give it some
more flare? How do I design around such a tub?

1) If you can afford the materials and time, definitely put some
framing or furring strips against the brick. I would use a combination
of construction adhesive and Tapcon screws to hold them up. Insulate
the void as needed before putting the new drywall in. The windows can
be fixed by making some jamb extensions the same thickness of your new
framing+drywall and gluing them to the existing jambs. I don't think
it would look bad at all, but that might be a matter of opinion.

2) not really sure what you want to do here. Tile is probably the way
to go in the area surrounding the tub, though I personally hate it
because it's harder to keep the grout clean (and the fact that I am not
good at installing it). If you're keeping the tub, it's probably
because you like the clawfoot look, so enclosing the base would be out
of the question. I would wander around a decent plumbing/hardware
store and look for ideas as far as fixtures go. Keep in mind that you
need to get a curtain around this somehow too.

I'll have a look at the suggested sites. As far as the tub goes this is just
to stick with the heritage of the house. Not my taste though.


"HotRod" wrote in message
...
I need the pro's here. I'm re-doing a 130+ year old house and I need some
advice on two things.

1) While ripping out the plaster on the second floor I discovered that all
of the exterior walls are solid brick, two bricks thick, without any
studs. The plaster is put right on the brick. I'd like to insulate the new
exterior walls but am scared of framing with 2" x 4"s because this will
sink the windows into the wall another 4". I think it might look weird.
What are my options? Money is an issue?

2) I plan on putting the claw foot tub back into the bathroom and want to
see or hear of any ideas that might give it some more flare? How do I
design around such a tub?

On Tue, 7 Feb 2006 14:52:51 -0500, "HotRod"
wrote:


1) While ripping out the plaster on the second floor I discovered that all
of the exterior walls are solid brick, two bricks thick, without any studs.
The plaster is put right on the brick. I'd like to insulate the new exterior
walls but am scared of framing with 2" x 4"s because this will sink the
windows into the wall another 4". I think it might look weird. What are my
options? Money is an issue?

I don't have much experience doing reconstructions, but a lot of
experience looking at t hem. When a 130 year old house looks wierd,
it reminds me that it is a 130 year old house. If I were you, I'd
wear that as a badge of pride.


But one thought: I don't know if there is room for enough insulation,
but what about 2x2's.

Remove NOPSAM to email me. Please let
me know if you have posted also.

"HotRod" wrote in message
...
I need the pro's here. I'm re-doing a 130+ year old house and I need some
advice on two things.

1) While ripping out the plaster on the second floor I discovered that all
of the exterior walls are solid brick, two bricks thick, without any
studs. The plaster is put right on the brick. I'd like to insulate the new
exterior walls but am scared of framing with 2" x 4"s because this will
sink the windows into the wall another 4". I think it might look weird.
What are my options? Money is an issue?

Have you seen windows with really deep sills, which means there's lots of
room for plants or for the cat to hang out, or whatever? Maybe there's a way
to work with this issue to your advantage.

After looking at the house again last night I think I may go with 2 x 4 and
bats of insulation to increase the R Value. I'll worry about the windows
later.


"HotRod" wrote in message
...
I need the pro's here. I'm re-doing a 130+ year old house and I need some
advice on two things.

1) While ripping out the plaster on the second floor I discovered that all
of the exterior walls are solid brick, two bricks thick, without any
studs. The plaster is put right on the brick. I'd like to insulate the new
exterior walls but am scared of framing with 2" x 4"s because this will
sink the windows into the wall another 4". I think it might look weird.
What are my options? Money is an issue?

2) I plan on putting the claw foot tub back into the bathroom and want to
see or hear of any ideas that might give it some more flare? How do I
design around such a tub?

spray foam insulation will cost more but stop air infiltration,
elminate the need for a vapor barrier, and has a much higher R value
per inch. you would need it professionally installed, since you will
need a lot. it also helps cut noise transmission and wuld be a asset at
resale time.

whatever you do take photos of all walls and cielings during
construction for later reference to electrical plumbing and other
utility locations.

have fun, I enjoy stuff like your doing

I'm going to cost out the spray foam as well but expect that the cost will
be crazy. I also will not be doing the whole house in one shot so I'm not
sure how expensive it will get if I need to get them in several times.


wrote in message
oups.com...
spray foam insulation will cost more but stop air infiltration,
elminate the need for a vapor barrier, and has a much higher R value
per inch. you would need it professionally installed, since you will
need a lot. it also helps cut noise transmission and wuld be a asset at
resale time.

whatever you do take photos of all walls and cielings during
construction for later reference to electrical plumbing and other
utility locations.

have fun, I enjoy stuff like your doing

Have you considered rigid foam. The following product gives a R value
of 7.5 (low for walls) and will result in a total wall thickness
(including sheetrock) of 2". Looks to be alot easier than installing a
2X4 frame. Take a look at the installation PDF file.

http://www.owenscorning.com/around/i.../insulpink.asp

http://secure.owenscorning.net/Porta...0720/58103.pdf

This has become a real battle for me because the hosue will just dbe re-sold
once I'm finished but I will not do a **** job. I have a spray foam guy
coming to give me a quote but right now the 2 x 4 with regular insulation is
the cheapest with an R12 rating.


"HotRod" wrote in message
...
I need the pro's here. I'm re-doing a 130+ year old house and I need some
advice on two things.

1) While ripping out the plaster on the second floor I discovered that all
of the exterior walls are solid brick, two bricks thick, without any
studs. The plaster is put right on the brick. I'd like to insulate the new
exterior walls but am scared of framing with 2" x 4"s because this will
sink the windows into the wall another 4". I think it might look weird.
What are my options? Money is an issue?

2) I plan on putting the claw foot tub back into the bathroom and want to
see or hear of any ideas that might give it some more flare? How do I
design around such a tub?