The next step in making the family room nice and warm after I’ve sealed any potential air gaps is to install fiberglass bat insulation into the wall cavities.  This is quite simple, the insulation comes in a nice roll and cuts very easily with a sharp knife (the sharp part is key as a dull knife will tend to tear instead of cutting it).   Owens Corning seems to have vastly improved the Pink Panther insulation, as I had no issues putting it up without wearing gloves, even with my soft “spends all day sitting in front of a computer” hands.  This is certainly not the case with the old stuff that I pulled out, as just looking at it makes me itch.

I’m actually not finished with this part yet, I still need to unfold the kraft paper flaps that cover the studs and staple them up.  This should further help prevent air infiltration, as well as prevent the insulation from sagging overtime.  I just need to throughly check the studs for any leftover nails from the wood paneling before I do that.

When used properly Great Stuff expanding foam is an awesome substance.  it sticks to pretty much anything, expands into gaps, and is water-proof.  Its designed to be used to insulate in little gaps and cracks that are two small for regular types of insulation.   Although it probably has a decent R-Value, its far to expensive to be used in any significant thickness, and is much more useful at preventing air leaks.   I used it on this outside wall to make sure that all the gaps along the bottom of the sill plate were plugged (some bugs had previously found that they weren’t)  as well as to seal around the sheathing where holes were cut for lights.  Ohh and if you’ve ever gotten this on yourself,  a little acetone before it dries takes it right off.  Just don’t let it dry because once it does its practically impossible to remove.