September, 1922 ' 1 
INSULATING THE NEW HOUSE 
A Protection Against Fire and Dampness and the Changes of 
Heat and Cold , Insulation Is an Important Building Material 
HENRY COMPTON 
A LL home builders today regard com¬ 
fort, health and convenience as the 
essentials of a successful house. To 
acquire these blessings a house must be so 
designed that the details of construction 
preclude the possibility of fire, dampness, 
intense heat and cold and the annoying lit¬ 
tle house insect that is such a burden to 
most city dwellers. 
The question of insulation has become 
one of the most significant details of modern 
building. Insulation for wall, floor, ceiling 
and roof is no longer considered an added 
expenditure, it is an investment, and actual¬ 
ly returns large dividends to the home owner 
wise enough to employ it. The properly in¬ 
sulated structure is not only a means of 
economy in a matter of health and fuel, but 
it means, in the long run, that your house 
is an infinitely more delightful place to live 
in. It is quieter, the atmosphere is more 
wholesome, and your children are happier 
and healthier. 
It is also worth considering that many of 
the New York bond and mortgage com¬ 
panies will not give full loan value on unin¬ 
sulated buildings, because houses that are 
not protected against noise, heat and cold 
are harder to sell and rent and usually 
bring a lower rental than the house that has 
been built with a view to occupancy by peo¬ 
ple of sensitiveness and refinement. And 
so people who really want houses as invest¬ 
ments or as homes in the fullest sense of the 
word are beginning to realize that a house 
worth living in is worth the best insulation 
obtainable. 
It has been very cleverly said by people 
who have studied modern building that it 
is much cheaper to build a warm house than 
to heat a cold one, also much less work and 
annoyance, and the building of a warm 
house is just one expense while the heating 
of a co’d one is a lifetime leakage. • 
It is also important and satisfactory to 
know that insulation well considered and 
well applied will meet all the temperamental 
building difficulties the house is heir to. If 
you insulate for fire, you will insulate for 
heat and dampness as well and the reverse 
is also true, so that proper insulation in 
your house meets three or four of the most 
complicated problems the home owner had 
to face in the old days of building. 
When you consider properly insulating 
your home, the question should be thorough¬ 
ly looked into. Send for catalogues, com¬ 
pare them, put them before your architect 
and builder; get their advice, because the 
best insulation in the world is the only right 
kind. It must be sanitary, fire-resisting and 
durable or it will deteriorate and the neces¬ 
sity for replacing it would mean great ex- 
showiru/ Insulation, 
l'rv Ppoj~ construction 
Roof insulation for fire, heat and 
cold, is placed between the sheathing 
and the shingles 
^ 1" Boards 
1 Boards 
J* Boards 
Insulation. 
-Jurr/ng slrip 
. /" Boards 
boards , 
InsutaUon 
--.boards 
\^bncC wat 
Shorerv 
Floor insulation in upper and sub¬ 
floor, showing its position in relation 
to floor timber and furring strips 
t" Boards 
- fu-rrirtcj strips 
-Insulation 
Boards 
~~j~urr/nj strips 
Insulation in brick wall and floor. 
This insulation is against heat, cold 
and dampness 
Method of Constructionpr the use p 
Insulation in Walls and Vloors 
Cross section of floor and wall show¬ 
ing the placing of a special kind of 
insulation material 
pense if it were possible at all. There are 
many fillings on the market which make a 
cheerful pretense of keeping your house free 
from fire, dampness, etc., but as a matter of 
fact a sad percentage of them are inflam¬ 
mable, a refuge for vermin and too tightly 
packed down to be of any importance. 
Among the many really excellent insula¬ 
tion materials, there are some made of wool 
that are unequalled, of eel grass that is re¬ 
garded as a miracle worker, of hair that 
certain builders and architects refuse to build 
without. Of course, there are many other 
insulating materials and combination of 
materials, and it is impossible to go into 
the details of all their virtues. But we do 
know that wool, hair and eel grass, as well 
as cork and asbestos, felt and gypsum, prop¬ 
erly treated, properly prepared, will prove 
beneficial to construction. 
The use of wool for insulation of heat 
and cold, sound and fire, is one of the sig¬ 
nificant developments in the progress of 
building today. There is nothing organic 
in its composition so that it cannot decay or 
become musty. The average weight of in¬ 
sulating wool used in building construction 
is about twelve pounds per cubic foot. And 
it is just as valuable in a warm climate as 
in cold countries. It is used in the side 
walls, in roofs, in the floors, in partitions. 
In the roof it is packed between the rafters 
with sheathing underneath them, and a 
minimum of 2" has been found effective. In 
walls and partitions wool should be put in 
at the same time the lath are being put up, 
whether the lathing is of wood or wire. 
After lathing up 2’ or 3', fill in the wool as 
high as lathed, then a few feet more of lath, 
and fill up as before until the top is reached. 
Pack the wool closely to fill all the space 
compactly. It is obvious that one side of 
a partition should be lathed complete be¬ 
fore any of the wool is put in. The pres¬ 
sure behind the lath does not prevent the 
plaster keying. It is sufficiently pliable to 
give way to the pressure. One necessity is 
applying the wool dry and seeing that it is 
not trampled upon before it is put in place. 
The use of this, wool in the roof of a 
house will make it possible to occupy the 
upper story without an air chamber. As a 
lining about bathrooms, it is especially im¬ 
portant since it deadens the sound of valves 
and flowing water. Wherever it is used in 
bulk, it must, of course, be held in place 
by some retaining support or casing. The 
elasticity of this wool and lack of solidity, 
prevent the transmission of sound where it 
is used. As sound is communicated by the 
actual contact of beams or the vibration of 
air between them, it is easy to see how any 
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