Hello,
I live in an old log house from around 1870.
In the 1970s, a total overhaul/renovation of the house was carried out and only the timber frame remained of the existing house.
Now it's time for the next renovation.
The electricity will soon be redone, and I've started tearing down the inside of the exterior walls.
When they renovated in the 70s, they removed/moved a couple of doors and windows. These seem to have been replaced with fiberglass insulation or mineral wool, and the walls were then covered with plastic. However, it seems that not all walls are covered with plastic but only those where they filled in previous openings (I haven’t removed everything yet but have found wall parts that are not covered).
My question is, should I cover everything with plastic, leave it as it is, remove all the plastic, or replace the plastic with something like a vapor retarder instead? Or do something else. No direct moisture damage or similar seems to have occurred in any of the different constructions as of now.
The wall construction from the outside in is Panel, Asfaboard, 45mm Mineral Wool, about 5" timber frame, plastic (sometimes), furring strips, and finally gypsum board or particle board depending on the room.
I am considering replacing the innermost layer with OSB and Gypsum.
We have now replaced natural draught with mechanical exhaust ventilation.
Note, this house has been beyond saving in terms of cultural building preservation since the 70s.
I just want to have a good solution for the longevity of the house.
Grateful for tips
I live in an old log house from around 1870.
In the 1970s, a total overhaul/renovation of the house was carried out and only the timber frame remained of the existing house.
Now it's time for the next renovation.
The electricity will soon be redone, and I've started tearing down the inside of the exterior walls.
When they renovated in the 70s, they removed/moved a couple of doors and windows. These seem to have been replaced with fiberglass insulation or mineral wool, and the walls were then covered with plastic. However, it seems that not all walls are covered with plastic but only those where they filled in previous openings (I haven’t removed everything yet but have found wall parts that are not covered).
My question is, should I cover everything with plastic, leave it as it is, remove all the plastic, or replace the plastic with something like a vapor retarder instead? Or do something else. No direct moisture damage or similar seems to have occurred in any of the different constructions as of now.
The wall construction from the outside in is Panel, Asfaboard, 45mm Mineral Wool, about 5" timber frame, plastic (sometimes), furring strips, and finally gypsum board or particle board depending on the room.
I am considering replacing the innermost layer with OSB and Gypsum.
We have now replaced natural draught with mechanical exhaust ventilation.
Note, this house has been beyond saving in terms of cultural building preservation since the 70s.
I just want to have a good solution for the longevity of the house.
Grateful for tips
Hello. There are many threads here in the forum about how to insulate and seal log houses. Generally, most people seem to agree that you don't use plastic. In the absence of plastic, fiberglass insulation is not suitable, for example, if you want to insulate on the inside as well. Many would probably frame up the inside to run electrical wiring and to have something to screw the boards into. Then you might consider using, for example, linen insulation in the new framework. As a barrier, you would use a vapor barrier. No plastic, whether there's insulation on the inside or not. There are also more advanced methods, such as using clay plaster on the inside of the logs. But if you’re not looking to restore to 1800s methods, that might be overkill.
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