Re: 3000 sq ft 1890's Victorian in Central NY

Hey everyone...thanks for all of the posts. I am going to shed some light on a big issue.  The blown in insulation is a HUGE project, when I say HUGE, I mean every wall in my house has lathe and plaster that is in rough shape. We are unable to peal off the old wall paper because the plaster just collaspes behind it.  There are also gaps between the lathe. We want to insulate the walls, but I am afraid on our size house that gutting the rooms walls, insulating with rolled insulation, and then installing sheetrock would have to be the route we took.  We plan to do this, one room at a time, but this could take 2yrs or more with 3000sq ft.

We also live in a city dwelling, so things like masonary heaters, wood burning stoves, etc. are hard to wrap our minds around because we would have to ship in the wood.  Not very self sustaining, and we are convicted by the thought of the cost of gas and the use of gas to ship the wood to us..  Being in the city, tapping into something free...solar, wind sounds more appealing.  But again, how effiecient would it be if the house wasn't insulated.  But wouldn't anything help a little?

This is our plan....before winter we are going to button up bad spots, and lay some insulation on the floor of the attic around the edges.  Also, we are thinking about putting straw bails on the ground around the perimeter of the house.

So with that, I am still way open for any suggestions.