Pop Goes Your Energy Bill!

When we remodeled our kitchen, I was shocked to see what was behind the drywall supporting our cabinets and appliances: nothing. Our old house has what’s called “balloon framing,” which means, once the drywall is taken out, you see the 2 x 4 boards spaced every 18 inches or so apart - and that’s about it.

This surprised me: first, because the kitchen was re-done in the last 20 years and I thought this cheap construction went out of style - and building codes - before then. This is a bad idea with harsh Chicago winters and sticky summers as they may have little or no insulation in the walls, or just in a small area, as we found in our case. (Nice use of styrofoam).

It also surprised me because it was a kitchen - where you have pipes, electrical lines and food. The first two should be covered or protected so they don’t spark or leak or freeze. We found uncapped live wires in our wall that sent this daughter of an electrician into a bit of a panic.

When I saw the results of the third item, FOOD, I was equally aghast. Balloon framing PLUS kitchen plus old house equals EEEK!! The builders made it easy for mice to find their way up the walls and underneath the stove, where they chowed and partied on a regular basis. My cats had tried to tell me about the mice and I had ignored them, but the evidence was clear, and gross.

I wondered where this type of construction started, expecting some warm climate city or country. Nope. According to wikipedia, this style of building was also known as “Chicago construction,” as it was popularized in my home city in the 19th century. I’d hoped we had learned better by the 1980’s but by the looks of my house, I was wrong.

Balloon framing is still used today because it IS cheap. I was right about that! This construction method uses 2”x4” or 2x6” studs along the walls every 16 inches (or 18 or 20 inches, it’s changed over the years). Besides being cheap it’s easy, so DIY’ers can build homes or additions. The major downsides are that fires move through the walls easily - and so do other things such as cold air and mice coming in from the cold.

Old House Web, says the term was originally derogatory, meaning it was so light, it could blow away in a breeze. Many balloon-framed buildings have survived 75 or more years, including my 110 year-old home. The method is still used today but has become less popular due to fire hazards. If you know Chicago’s history, you may find it ironic that construction type is associated with this city (hint: Great Chicago Fire).

As we cleared out the old kitchen, I wanted to know what could be done to fix this open-air balloon issue so we didn’t get unwanted guests or cold air (or fire!) going forward. I also looked online to see what we could do that was good insulation, and green.

Orange blown-in insulation sealed kitchen

Fine Home Building suggested 2 strategies: blowing in insulation between the studs into the air cavities. Our contractor used the “orange” colored version of this material in our kitchen (right) so no more mouse in our house (or kitchen, at least!). It came out of foam cans - bright orange - and hardened to seal in just a few minutes.

The other suggestion was to have a weatherization professional come out to do a home assessment for the entire building and recommend proper sealing and insulation methods. My next step: a Home Energy Assessment.