4 ms·

I don't know about building codes, but I know a 1900 house built from foot-thick stone is better insulating that anything we build today.

Pxtl 5y ago
I have never seen a building from that era with foot-thick stone, you have to go back further for that here in Canada. The century homes here in southern Ontario are double-wall brick with beefy 2x4 framing within the interior wall, then lath and plaster, and no insulation.
- chrisseaton 5y ago
  My 1930s UK house is foot-thick stone and brick on all walls, even internal. It doesn't have insulation except in the attic because it's one absolutely massive heat-sink mass - by the time it's warmed up from the summer it's already autumn and then it starts emitting the heat usefully instead. That's the way to build, in my opinion.
  - earleybird 5y ago
    Thermal mass as a tool is so very under utilized. When it's considered, it's often only on a 24hr cycle. As you point out, the 365 day cycle may be even more important. For a modern take (with for realz engineers and measurements even) have a look at Drake Landing community in southern Alberta. https://www.dlsc.ca/ https://www.dlsc.ca/ edit: They've discontinued the 'Current Conditions' part of their website but I followed it with some regularity in the early years
HeyLaughingBoy 5y ago
I can't argue with your personal experience, but I pay less to heat a 17 year old, 3300 sq. ft. house than I did a 900 sq ft one that was built in 1950. Insulation matters, especially when you have temperature swings from 100F in the summer to -25F in winter.
- dimitrios1 5y ago
  I think we need to settle on a description of "older" here. I do not consider a house from 1950 to be from the old generation of builders, but starting to be what was the budding mass building trends. The 1950s featured dirt cheap energy (also ironically, the US relied on renewables more in the 1950s than today), and so there wasn't much thought put into proper insulation because running your AC or heat all day wasn't that costly. I consider older homes to be built in an era where HVAC either didn't exist or wasn't the norm, so they were designed as such -- thicker materials, proper airflow, and ample use of shade, even considering the house orientation relative to the sunrises and sunsets in the summer to ensure the primary living quarters would be out of direct sunlight the most amount of time.

Pxtl 5y ago

I have never seen a building from that era with foot-thick stone, you have to go back further for that here in Canada. The century homes here in southern Ontario are double-wall brick with beefy 2x4 framing within the interior wall, then lath and plaster, and no insulation.

chrisseaton 5y ago
My 1930s UK house is foot-thick stone and brick on all walls, even internal. It doesn't have insulation except in the attic because it's one absolutely massive heat-sink mass - by the time it's warmed up from the summer it's already autumn and then it starts emitting the heat usefully instead. That's the way to build, in my opinion.
- earleybird 5y ago
  Thermal mass as a tool is so very under utilized. When it's considered, it's often only on a 24hr cycle. As you point out, the 365 day cycle may be even more important. For a modern take (with for realz engineers and measurements even) have a look at Drake Landing community in southern Alberta. https://www.dlsc.ca/ https://www.dlsc.ca/ edit: They've discontinued the 'Current Conditions' part of their website but I followed it with some regularity in the early years

HeyLaughingBoy 5y ago

I can't argue with your personal experience, but I pay less to heat a 17 year old, 3300 sq. ft. house than I did a 900 sq ft one that was built in 1950. Insulation matters, especially when you have temperature swings from 100F in the summer to -25F in winter.

dimitrios1 5y ago
I think we need to settle on a description of "older" here. I do not consider a house from 1950 to be from the old generation of builders, but starting to be what was the budding mass building trends. The 1950s featured dirt cheap energy (also ironically, the US relied on renewables more in the 1950s than today), and so there wasn't much thought put into proper insulation because running your AC or heat all day wasn't that costly. I consider older homes to be built in an era where HVAC either didn't exist or wasn't the norm, so they were designed as such -- thicker materials, proper airflow, and ample use of shade, even considering the house orientation relative to the sunrises and sunsets in the summer to ensure the primary living quarters would be out of direct sunlight the most amount of time.