Do insulation issue fit in this part of the forum?

[NotNorm]

I'm going to go into kind of a long descrption of my situation here, but the topic is really about insulation. I've got a pretty old house which has an old gravity furnace that was adapted to forced air with an external blower. I would assume the adaptation was done in the 40s or 50s. It also appears that they added duct work going up to the second floor where none existed before. I installed one of those digital timed thermostats as soon as I moved in and have it set to keep the house at about 50 during the day (when no one is home) and then kick it up to 67 F at about 5:30 (when the family starts coming home). In general it works well, but... the house is still pretty cool in the winter. The house itself was constructed in 1905 and is in pretty fair condition. But one of the first things I've noticed after working on the house is that as I've scraped away paint and refinished old window casings, the house feels a little draftier. However...

The biggest mystery (and the reason I am posting) is that there is a very strong draft that blows up through the floorboards on the second floor when there are strong winds outside. If the winds are VERY strong the floor actually moves a bit. Enough to make a lamp shake a little! I've looked in every open spot I can find for the leak, but haven't found anything. I am also putting down a floor in the attic crawlspace along with fiberglass insulation. This was previously an open space with loose fiberglass and no floor. I am hoping the floor will cut down on some of the drafts when it's completed, but... so far it hasn't made any difference. (Most of the floor and fiberglass is in place.) In an attempt to try and stop the draft under the floorboards on the second floor, I actually opened up one of the walls that used to be a small foot closet and gained access to the eaves on one open end of the joists. I put fiberglass in there hoping it would block whatever was coming through. But it didn't make a dent. I can't get access to the other open side of the joists, so I'm at a loss. The attic will be pretty well insulated once it's completed. So... the real question... How do I find the source of my drafts? And the second question: When I was in the crawlspace/foot closet on the second floor insulating the eaves, I discovered that there was a big open space that I was looking down into. This space is directly above the stairs that go from the kitchen on the first floor to the basement. One side of this space is adjacent to an outside wall. Any shcance that this is my leak? It's pretty big, but it didn't seem all that cold. If there is a need for some diagrams to clarify what I'm talking about I might be able to post something online. My main concern is finding some way of telling where my heat my be escaping and hopefully where the cold is coming in.

[Jimmer]

NotNorm,

One of the ways older homes were quite often built is referred to 'balloon framing'. This technique often created continuous wall cavities from basement to attic. If there is any way for you to check in the closet you describe to see if this is the framing style used and if so if fireblocking was installed. If this is missing you will have each one of your wall cavities create a chimney effect. Modern building is 'Platform' where each floor sits on top of the walls below and the floor extends all the way out to the outer sheathing and seals the stud cavities. This framing still allows for the condition you describe where air gets in the wall cavity on the first floor and moves up the the underside the the second floor and then across under the floor.

You will have to start at the bottom and work your way up and around your house to seal all voids and stop the drafts. It is not an easy or quick process but it is required to make your home comfortable year-round.

Good luck, Jim

'Just a handyman trying to help'