Home Insulation Upgrade

NEW -> Contingent Buyer Assistance Program
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Arman

Active member
So, what are people's thoughts of going with a builder option of interior wall insulation for a new home? Is it useful only for noise purposes, or does it also serve to decrease heating/cooling costs in significant ways as to make it worth the cost?

I currently don't have extra interior insulation in my current home, but don't have anything to compare it to.
 
this is the one builder upgrade we have programmed as a must have.  i cant speak on energy savings but the noise savings are well worth it.  more than people, its the sounds of plumbing that drive me nuts in a house with minimal insulation.  my in-laws made the mistake of not adding that option in their standard pacific house and they constantly regret it.  because of the lack of extra insulation, you hear every flush, shower, and faucet that happens upstairs when you are downstairs.  its horrible and not easy to rip the house to add in more later.  and keep in mind that standard is considered one of the better builders

 
i looked into this a bit and i went with the upgrade...

so california code dictates all EXTERIOR walls have an R value of 13 (insulation level... the higher the R value the better... R13 really isnt much if ur from the east coast where its colder there so the gov minimum R values are like 19 over there)

now the interior walls and between floors, california code is fine if u have zero insulation ie R value of 0...

its the interior walls and between floors that ur actually upgrading... the upgrade doesnt add R values to ANY exterior wall... the exterior walls will remain at R-13 even after the upgrade...

so how to decide on upgrade? my architect told me that i should first look at ur floorplan in conjunction with the estimated R values after the upgrade and whether these R values make sense... i was able to get the estimated R values in my upgrade catalog or if u login to the cheateu designer crap... anyways she also told me usually ppl just look at the R value for "between floors" and thats enough to be the deciding factor for most ppl...

my R values post upgrade were...
R19- between floors
R11- interior walls (walls between rooms)
R13- garage exterior walls (my garage walls that line my actual internal living space are the actual "exterior walls with the standard R13 upgrade, while my furthest most garage wall that doesnt line my internal living space is standard R0... so this upgrade makes the furthest most garage wall R13)

i decided to go along with the upgrade cause when im watching TV if i hear ppl upstairs walking i get annoyed... so lol... R19 sounds good to me...
 
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