How do you insulate the exterior of a brick house?
We want to add insualtion to exeterior back porch wall, above porch floor and below. House was built in 1895 so 127 years old. Hoping to put something like halo over the brick and then replaced the cedar tiles over on the back porch wall but am concerned about holding in moisture. Was thinking halo adhere to brick, is that craazy? cause i dont iknow and am trying to learn. we live in southern ontario, thanks
Insulating the exterior of homes is a great way to improve energy efficiency, but it has to be done with carefully selected materials or it will trap moisture and can cause significant damage to walls, exactly as you mentioned. The suggestion of adding a rigid foam panel to the exterior would likely cause that trapping of moisture you are already aware of as foam will act as a vapor barrier. First here is our page about how to insulate the exterior or walls. I think a safer bet for you would be using something like mineral wool rigid insulation panels.
Ok thanks so much for the help, trapping moisture is the last thing I'd want to do. Someone suggested baton board, said it has good R value and would work without trapping moisture, what's your take on that? Currently the back porch wall is covered with cedar tiles (was like there when we bought). and this is the BEST site I've found, thanks for being here.