“Honestly, I freaked out a bit when the wood trim started creaking at night. Thought maybe I’d overdone it, but it settled down after I cracked a window now and then.”
That creaky wood is the house’s way of saying “hey, I need to breathe too.” Been there—sealed up my last flip so tight, I swear the fridge magnet tried to escape for fresh air. If you want to keep things cozy but not stuffy, try this: seal up, but add a bathroom fan or crack a window for 10 minutes a day. It’s like burping Tupperware—just enough to keep things fresh without losing all your hard-earned heat.
“It’s like burping Tupperware—just enough to keep things fresh without losing all your hard-earned heat.”
Here’s the deal: you want tight, but not airtight. Step 1, insulate and seal gaps. Step 2, add controlled ventilation—bath fan on a timer or a small HRV if you’re feeling fancy. That way, you get efficiency without the creaks and weird smells. Don’t skip the venting part or you’ll just trade drafts for condensation headaches.
I get the logic, but in my 1920s place, “tight but not airtight” is trickier than it sounds. Old plaster and balloon framing mean air finds a way, no matter how much I chase it. Over-insulating actually made my attic musty one winter—guessing I blocked too much natural airflow. Sometimes, a little draft isn’t the enemy...
Man, I hear you—old houses are like trying to wrap a burrito with a torn tortilla. You seal one gap, three more pop up. I once tried to “tighten up” a 1915 bungalow and ended up with condensation in the walls... not fun. Sometimes those drafts are just the house’s way of breathing. I’d say focus on comfort, not perfection—maybe weatherstrip the worst offenders and call it a day.
