One more dumb question — and it’s really dumb. I’ve spent some time reading up on it but I want to get some answers from you guys, whom I trust. I know it’s a bad idea to adjust the vents in each room in an attempt to better balance my HVAC. But as I’ve been poking around in my basement I’ve found dampers on each supply run right next to the air handler. So: 1) Is it OK, from a building science perspective, to play around with those dampers in an attempt to better balance the system? And 2) Is it possible go “too far” in terms of limiting the flow to the downstairs (which is very cool) in order to jumpstart the upstairs (which is very warm)?

Again, I realize this is sort of dumb — someone put dampers there for a reason. Then again, that was in a different era (the house was built in the 1920s), and I want to get a modern, building science perspective.

Speaking of dumb: I’ve had three HVAC companies come out to give me bids on how to fix the upstairs / downstairs differential. None of them even mentioned I had dampers downstairs. None of them checked the vents upstairs; I found that one of them was completely shut off thanks to a damper inside the run, about a foot below the room vent. All of them are telling me to put an AC in my attic. Sigh.

quick unrelated question. i’ve been reading a lot of your archived posts (and the comments) about what NOT to do with attics — no ductwork, no PAVs, etc. but there doesn’t seem to be much info on what positive improvements to make to attics. i’ve got an older home in central indiana with only gable vents. i’m going to seal and insulate the attic as best i can, to help with the temp differences between the first and second floor. but i’m wondering if i should also add soffit vents (with baffles), roof vents, ridge vents, etc. can you have too much ventilation? will ventilation in the attic help the conditioned space below?

i have seen a couple posts mention spray foaming the attic — is that really a huge improvement over just sealing / insulating / ventilating if i’m going to leave the attic empty and unconditioned?

i figured this might make a good post as a lot of readers may have similar questions. up to you, of course. thanks for all the helpful info in your other posts!

best,
craig

Maybe you already covered this in a previous post, but, what about the tile and the fixtures? Any finish selections and designs yet?
Foster

Without taking the brick off, there wouldn’t be much I could do about the sarking foil. It would have made me sarking mad to find that in my walls, I can tell you that. That kind of bodgy workmanship would send me straight to the bush telly, mate.

If so, yes, your suggestion would work fine. You’ll probably want to use a fire-rated product like Dow Thermax.