Case study: From cold to cozy, insulating a 1950s brick home
“My 1950s house was a little extra challenging with existing unusual spotty insulation, and they did an excellent job filling in the gaps. The installation team also had a handheld infrared camera and could find our problem areas as they worked. Definitely recommend.”
- Amy F. in Clawson, MI
The challenge: Cold, drafty bedrooms in winter
Amy’s 1957 home in SE Michigan had a frustrating problem—her back bedrooms got noticeably colder than the rest of the house in winter. Even with the furnace running, these rooms never felt truly warm.
She suspected insulation issues and reached out for professional help. The first contractor she contacted didn’t bring any equipment to assess the situation and simply recommended insulating all the walls.
When a neighbor warned her about their reputation for cutting corners, she decided to keep looking. That’s when she decided to call Ecotelligent Homes at (248) 291-7815.
The solution: Targeted insulation with diagnostic testing
Here at Ecotelligent Homes, we collect dozens of data points at every home we visit.
When we recommend adding insulation and sealing air leaks, we show you the data that guides our recommendations. Instead of just saying - “Take our word for it!” - we do both pre–project and post-project testing to show you the value of our work. Trust but verify.
Here are the tests that we ran and results that we got at Amy’s house:
Blower door test: Measuring how drafty the home is
One of the most important tests we run during an energy audit is a blower door test. This tool tells us how much air leaks in and out of a home, giving us a clear picture of the home's efficiency.
When we run a blower door test, we get a precise air leakage rate, measured in CFM50 (cubic feet per minute at 50 pascals of pressure), which tells us exactly how drafty - or airtight - a home is.
What Amy’s blower door test revealed
Amy’s initial blower door test reading was 2403 CFM50, meaning too much air was moving through her home. This level of leakage makes it harder to maintain comfortable temperatures, leading to:
- Cold, drafty rooms in winter
- Higher bills for heating and cooling
- Uneven temperatures throughout the home
Amy's blower door test results
We don’t want to make homes as airtight as possible - that can cause issues like moisture buildup, leading to mold, mildew, and poor indoor air quality. Instead, our goal is to hit the "sweet spot" of airflow, known as the Building Airflow Standard. This ensures:
- Sufficient fresh air for healthy indoor air quality
- Reduced energy waste from excessive air leakage
- A balanced, comfortable home year-round
Infrared camera scan: Uncovering hidden insulation gaps
Another key tool in our diagnostic process is the infrared camera scan, which helps us see temperature differences in walls, ceilings, and floors. This allows us to pinpoint where insulation is missing or failing, even in areas we can’t see with the naked eye.
What the infrared camera showed at Amy’s house
At Amy’s house, the infrared camera showed an unusual insulation gap in the back bedrooms.
When the home was built in the 1950s, the walls were framed with a horizontal wood brace halfway down. This meant that when insulation was added later, it only filled the upper half of the walls, leaving the lower sections exposed to outside temperatures.
Amy had no insulation in the lower section of her walls. The darker color indicates lower temperatures (hence, no insulation):
This explained why the back bedrooms felt colder in winter—heat was escaping through the uninsulated, lower sections of the walls.
We confirmed our findings by running a small scope into the wall cavity to show the wood brace.
By taking our time and collecting data to really understand what was happening at Amy’s house, we were able to come up with a plan to even out temperature differences and deliver the results Amy wanted.
"With Ecotelligent Homes, I could actually see the cold spots and understand what we were dealing with. It was much more affordable—about half the price of my other quote!"
Armed with this information, we could target our insulation work for maximum impact.
The results: No more chilly nights in the back bedrooms
To fix the problem, here’s what we did:
- Drilled small access holes in the brick exterior and interior drywall
- Installed dense-pack cellulose insulation to improve R-value and reduce heat loss
- Carefully patched the holes in the drywall, leaving them ready for painting
“Started out strong with an evaluation of our existing insulation using a handheld infrared camera. Their competition was lacking. Ecotelligent then followed up with a great team of guys to do the installation.”
Why blown-in cellulose for wall insulation?
Cellulose insulation is one of the best choices for retrofitting existing walls because it fills gaps and voids more effectively than traditional batt insulation. Here’s why we used it in Amy’s home:
- Dense coverage – Unlike fiberglass batts, which leave gaps around wiring and framing, cellulose insulation packs tightly into every crevice, maximizing thermal performance.
- Air sealing benefits – While not a complete air barrier, dense-pack cellulose slows airflow through walls, reducing drafts and heat loss.
Amy’s home had a brick exterior, which made the project a little trickier but entirely doable. Some homeowners assume they can’t add insulation if they have brick walls, but we use a method that allows us to install dense-pack cellulose without major renovations.
- For wood-sided homes, we typically remove and replace sections of siding to access the wall cavities.
- For brick homes, we drill small holes in the mortar joints, fill the walls with insulation, and carefully patch the holes with color-matched mortar. Over time, the patches blend in naturally with the existing brickwork.
This approach allowed us to improve the insulation in Amy’s back bedrooms while preserving the look and structure of her home.
How much would wall insulation cost at your home?
Noticeable improvement and clear next steps
After the installation, Amy’s back bedrooms were significantly warmer. She’s planning to circle back on a couple additional upgrades when the time is right:
- Window replacements: Two older windows in the back room are still a source of heat loss
- Ductwork improvements: One bedroom has a complex duct layout that restricts airflow
This is an important point to remember: You don’t have to do everything all at once.
Many of our clients take a phased approach, starting with upgrades—like air sealing and insulation—that deliver a big impact, then tackling additional projects over time.
It’s a solid strategy to control costs while still providing real, noticeable improvements along the way. If you’d like help with your home in the Detroit Metro area, please give us a call at (248) 291-7815, or send us a message anytime.
In the end, Amy’s experience shows that you get better results at a lower cost when you work with experts who take their time and run tests to really understand how to improve your home.
Ecotelligent Homes
Since 2009, more than 3,000 Michigan homeowners have trusted Ecotelligent Homes to make their homes comfortable and efficient. If you want an energy audit, insulation, HVAC, or abatement services, give us a call anytime: (248) 291-7815. Satisfaction guaranteed.
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