Caleb

i have just purchased a house for my family built in 77. there is vapor barrier and r12 on exterior walls and attic. I am replacing the aluminum slider windows with low-e, argon filled crank out's, and installing a new furnace. after this I will be taking renovations 1 wall at a time, as funds and time allows. I will also be adding insulation to the attic to bring it up to 30-40.

What I would like is to bring my walls to r20. my thoughts are to remove the drywall (assuming that it doesn't have asbestos in the mud) properly seal the existing vapor barrier and since the wall cavity is to small for an increase in bat insulation, and there's nothing wrong with it, I can add a 1" foam over the vapor barrier and studs. this would create a complete thermal break and add another R6. as a bonus the foam I have access to doubles as a radiant barrier. (i have an unlimited supply of 1/8" strapping to hold they drywall off of it)

Is this worth it or should I just remove it all, beef out the framing add thicker insulation and new vapor barrier?

Also would my original plan work ontop of the existing drywall should I find it contains asbestos? (could I expect consequences from leaving a layer of drywall sandwiched between insulations.)

There is two problems I have run into. The first is that some of my answers would disapear when it comes time to vote with none of the usual indicators that it has been removed. Now that a best answer has been chosen my answer has come back.

The second is that I have found a user who is cheating the voting system but when I try reporting him it says that yahoo is down and I should try again later. I have tried once a week for a month..... still down and I don't think my comments are actually going through.

I tried finding a spot to report this but only found a comment that yahoo doesn't have a page for these things on answers. Surely they must have someone monitoring this site to ensure it remains functional. How can I let them know there are a couple problems. I don't expect an answer or a change soon but they should know.

twice now I have had an answer disappear. as far as I can tell if my answers were reported or deleted by others I should receive an email stating such, and hopefully with some kind of reason why. Neither have I recieved any deduction in points that would normally be associated with an answer that violates the guidelines. I am also certain that I haven't put up anything offensive or illegal or offending.

also they are still in the list of questions that I have answered and the questions are still there.

I would like to know if there is some reason they would disappear like this.

In addition I would welcome any comments about others experiencing this, so that I can guage whether this is a glitch or intentional.

I am attempting to assess a general idea of the r-value of this material. I have some single pane windows in my house that I am using as a control. I applied this product to one portion of the window so that it covered half of it. and then applied a piece of tape to the other half of the window to allow for an accurate temperature reading.

the interior of the building is 18 degree's celcius. the outside it -14 celcius. the window area with product on the outside reads -13 while the tape section reads -10.

what is a general r value for this product if you had to give it one?

and no I will not tell you what it is.

I had a thought while doing dishes tonight. I realized that our cabinets were empty but a majority of my dishes had been sitting already cleaned in the dishwasher and the drip tray by the sink for over a day.

I realized it would be much simpler, and look cleaner, if I was able to let the dishes dry in the cabinets. This would make it more convenient to wash more by hand than the dishwasher. I figure I could put in a false floor with the slightest of slants and add a grooved mat to direct any excess water to a small trough that I could either let end in a tray and left to evaporate or run down a small tube into the drains under the sink. This could be done for plates, bowls, cups, pots, and pans. Organizers would be needed to hold the plates and pans on end. I would probably also use a couple small and quiet computer fans to allow for ventilation to keep it from getting to humid in the cabinets.

This way when I use a cup I just rinse it out and put it away without getting a towel, or letting it dry out in the open.

What are your thoughts on this. Is it possible? am I missing something? would you use it? would you trust it?