# Insulating Behind Kitchen Cupboards



## arvanlaar (Dec 29, 2014)

Good Morning All 

Last night I got a very lovely surprise... a $1135 electrical bill for the last two months. Our bills are only for electricity (doesn't include water like some) and the main culprit is the bitter cold Canadian winter and out electric forced air heating unit (Who even decided putting in something like that was a good idea???)

I have done some upgrades to the house we live in (135 years old) to help insulate it, but it just seems there is always something else. We have found that in our kitchen, when we open the cupboards, it is VERY cold in there. It was to the point where we can't keep our olive oil in there or it will turn to sludge. I have no idea if there is insulation in that wall but I had the idea of putting some ridgid foam board behind there so I dont have to tear apart the kitchen in the middle of winter. 

Questions:

1. How do you choose rigid foam? I have never worked with ridgid foam so I don't knwo what to choose. A certain type? A certain thickness?

2. Is there anything special I need to know about putting it around water pipes (kitchen sink)? I wasn't sure if there was something special that needed to be done for that. 

3. Does anyone have any ideas how you can check is walls are insulated without doing too much damage to them? 

Thanks for all your help guys!


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## gregzoll (Dec 25, 2006)

Drill a small hole and see if the bit pulls anything back. You can also get inspection cameras now for as low as $40, that you can place into the wall and see what is in there.

If you still have the original Plaster & Lathe walls, showing no signs where they had drilled holes to blow insulation in, same on the outside, then most likely there is not any.

Electric heat is always going to cost more. The quickest fix is to seal all windows from allowing drafts, weatherstripping around doors. Make sure any holes in the walls are also sealed.

If you still have Knob & Tube wiring, you cannot put in any insulation, until that older wiring has been replaced with Romex.


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

In addition I guess this was balloon wall construction.
Which means those walls are open from the basement or crawl space to the attic.
Adding fire blocking under the house and in the attic will at least stop the air flow and would have to be done anyway if it gets insulated.
Foam can not be left exposed. 
It would need to be covered up with sheetrock.
That's really going to cause issues with your wall outlets.
Unless you went with a minimum of 2" thick there would be little gain.


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## arvanlaar (Dec 29, 2014)

When you say they are open Joe, what do you mean? If you literally mean open, I cannot see from the basement up to the attic through the walls. I am sure you mean something else that I am not aware of haha. 

Why can foam not be left exposed? 

So basically there is no way to stop this cold air without doing some serious work? I just need a temporary solution until the spring come around. I cannot afford another one of these bills for Feb and March :S


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## gregzoll (Dec 25, 2006)

Foam sheeting has to be protected with Drywall, because it creates toxic smoke when on fire and can be easily damaged.

If the building is over 2 stories and at that age, it is most likely Balloon Framing. You would need an inspection wand camera to look between the crawl space or basement joists up into the wall. Same if you go into the attic.

That age of a structure, I highly doubt there will be any fire blocking in the walls.


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