Mid-century homeowner concerned after opening a wall and finding only old fiberboard

After opening part of a wall to repair damage in a mid-century home, a homeowner discovered there was barely any insulation inside, only old fiberboard.

The homeowner quickly took to Reddit's r/HomeImprovement community to ask what that could mean for winter. Many of the replies pushed the focus away from the walls and toward the attic instead.

Here's what to know

Writing in the Reddit thread, the original poster said they live in a cold climate and were already redoing baseboards and trim while upgrading attic insulation with air sealing. 

But shortly after opening "a wall or two" to fix the damage, they found that "the only insulation is this old fiberboard" and worried that "we'll be cold all the time when winter hits." The OP then asked the forum, "Anyone have any insights to share on this?"

Users in the comments said that this kind of discovery is actually fairly common in older houses. One person wrote that "prior to the 80s oil/gas was cheap and most houses didn't have much insulation if any at all," adding that "the oil crisis of the 70s changed all that."

A recurring theme in the advice was to prioritize the upgrades with the best return first. One commenter who spent about $5,000 to blow cellulose into the walls of the 900-square-foot first floor of a 1971 home said, "Attics lose the most, [s]o start there, then do air sealing, then worry about the walls. That's the order of greatest ROI almost always."

Some commenters said attic work alone had already made a huge difference for them. One person said adding cellulose there "cut my utilities in half!"

What can be done?

Before moving on to more invasive wall projects, commenters repeatedly said the attic should be addressed properly first. But when the discussion did turn to wall insulation, commenters mentioned blown-in cellulose or foam installed from outside the house. 

Replies also pointed the OP toward public assistance. Commenters recommended checking county, state, city, and other weatherization grants, and one said an energy assessment could open the door to government help for improvements "up to like $15k worth of updates," including insulation and a furnace.

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