Wall Insulation in Reading, PA

Wall insulation in Reading depends on what the walls are made of. Many rowhomes have solid brick front and back walls with plaster on the inside, sometimes with furring strips that leave a small gap. Frame twins and singles have stud cavities that are often empty. Each needs a different approach, and some walls are best left alone.

Frame walls: dense-pack

In frame walls, we dense-pack cellulose through small holes, drilled from outside under siding or from inside through plaster, then plug and patch them. HomeGuide lists dense-pack cellulose at $1.60 to $4.20 per square foot. Packed tightly, it fills around old framing and slows air movement.

Brick walls

Solid masonry walls do not have stud cavities to fill. The gap behind furring strips is usually too small to insulate well. For brick rowhome walls, the best gains usually come from sealing around windows, outlets and baseboards, and from insulating the roof and sill instead. When a brick wall is opened during a gut renovation, it can be framed out and insulated, but moisture in old brick needs to be handled carefully.

Open walls

During a renovation, when stud bays are open, spray foam fills them completely. Fixr lists spray foam in new construction at $2.75 to $6.50 per square foot.

Check the wiring

Before filling walls, we look for knob-and-tube wiring that is still in use. It should not be buried in insulation.

Code targets

PHRC lists R-20 or R-13 plus R-5 for walls in the Central zone. A dense-packed 2x4 wall falls short of that, but it is a big step up from an empty wall.

Siding

We lift and replace siding to drill from outside, or drill from inside where siding is fragile. Holes get plugged and patched.

Which walls first

If the budget does not cover every wall at once, start with the walls of the rooms you use most and those facing the winter wind. Each section can be priced separately so the work can be done in stages.

Rear additions and porches

Many Reading rowhomes have frame kitchens or enclosed porches added at the back, often with little or no insulation in the walls, floor or roof. Those rooms are usually the coldest in the house. They are also the easiest to fix, because frame walls can be dense-packed and the floor and roof can be filled from below or above.

Rowhome front and back walls

In rowhomes, only the front and back walls are exterior. If they are frame (common on rear additions), we can dense-pack them. If they are brick, we focus on air sealing. Get a free estimate