Reschecks and Manual Js on Historic Homes or Existing Structures

There are many instances when you might want to improve, enlarge, or enhance an existing structure and many times it might end up being a historic home.  Today on the Reschexpert blog as we attempt to cover all things related to Reschecks and Manual J’s we will discuss considerations you might see on a historic home when you go to remodel and how that might affect your Rescheck or Manual J.

The first thing most people consider when updating a historic structure is maintaining the historic integrity of the home.  One thing to be careful of is if your home is on the National Historic Register or something similar.  I grew up in a home that was built in the early 1900’s and my parents where continually approached to have it added to the register.  After reviewing the requirements for improvement and rebuilding after disaster, they eventually said no thanks.  One complication caused by this is that if your historic home was leaking energy (which many do) you might be limited on your options for walls, windows, doors, when you go to renovate the home.  Furthermore in climate zones 5 & 6 it might be totally impossible without having special components custom made.

Let’s look at some ways you can revamp your historic structure without breaking the bank.  One of the best way to get the most R Value per inch is closed cell spray foam.  This can come in very handy in un-insulated tight spaces and allow you to bring your renovation up to code.  For windows, many styles and looks of the past are unavailable today, but there are a handful of historic wood window manufacture’s that can build in many of the most modern energy saving options into your window package.

The main items to consider are the following when approaching your historic structure for renovation or addition.  On a renovation of an existing structure if you do not disturb or remove the existing insulation then many times you will not need to install new insulation.  However, the technology in insulation has changed over the past century and it will benefit your billfold greatly on your energy bills to go ahead and bring it up to code.  For an addition, that does not involve the existing historic structure insulation systems you will need to go ahead and meet and exceed all the applicable building codes.  This should be easy to do since you get to start from scratch.

Overall in regards to creating a Manual J and Rescheck for your historic structure there are many things to consider when renovating or adding on to a historic structure.  If you need some help planning ahead for your structure’s needs you can send us your plans to service@rescheck.info and we will be glad to handle the Rescheck and Manual J for you to give you a good roadmap of your insulation for the project.