Hi guys, This is probably the wrong format for seeking out the answers I need but in all honesty I’m getting desperate and appreciate any help you could provide me.
Two months ago we had a fire. The insurance company wants to strip the drywall and existing insulation out, then seal the studs and sheathing with an oil based Kilz primer. This also applies to the attic where they will be sealing the underside of the roof and the 2x4 trusses. They then want to come back and install kraft faced insulation batts.
My concern is that Kilz doesn’t even seem to test for vapor perms and that I am going to have problems in 10 -15 years due to the walls being sealed #1 on the wrong side of the insulation but then also that the kraft facing will slowly make the problem worse.
In the attic the same situation will occur on a larger scale where the structure will be sealed and yet there will still be a kraft paper under the insulation trapping moisture up there.
So #1 is this a valid concern. We live in Chicago so we do get pretty cold winters which vary between very humid and very dry air.
I’m trying to get the insurance to spend $7000 to do a combination of 1" of CC foam and 2.5" of OC foam in the walls and 6" of closed cell to encapsulate the attic sheathing and trusses. This should make both assemblies pretty air and moisture tight. I do understand that I will most likely need a dehumidifier to keep the house under 50% humidity.
I would greatly appreciate any insight, I have reached out to a bunch of folks and they either look at me like I am crazy or want $5000 to talk which I honestly can’t do right now.
Of course I am speculating I’m not a building science specialist, nor can I afford to hire one. However, I am using a decent understanding of science to understand that an oil based sealer is going to act as a vapor barrier. It may be debatable weather it be a mild or complete vapor barrier but yes it will act as a vapor barrier. For you to throw out “conflict of interest” is kinda bullshit, yes of course it’s an upgrade and as a homeowner I want to make sure that the house that i have owned for 15 years is not going to have unforeseen problems in ten or twenty years.
I’m looking for an opinion from someone who understand the science behind what I am talking about to say yes or no to whether I have a valid concern.
By all means thoroughly check out your concerns. You have very good questions and concerns that may be better answered in other forums/locations.
One such place is The Green Building Advisor https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/ . There is actually a very recent discussion about similar concerns.