Insulating a 1970s chalet style home – cathedral ceiling – GreenBuildingAdvisor

Hello – 

My wife and I bought a 1971 chalet style home in northern New Hampshire, climate zone 6, in 2022. The home has a cathedral ceiling with fully exposed 4×9 inch beams every 4 feet, and the home is 30 feet wide by 35 feet long.

While obvious to us today, it was not clear when we bought the home (it was our first home and not noted in our inspection) that there was little R-value in the roofing system (less than R-15).

Needless to say, this has contributed to heat leaving our home extremely quickly in winter (our largest concern) and heat penetrating our house fairly quickly in summer (which is not as much of a concern, but does make heat waves impossibly stifling).

When it comes to winter inefficiency and discomfort, we now have 3 years of data telling us that we are paying approx. 3x as much for fuel (wood, propane, and some electric baseboard) compared to what our friends and family pay in the same or neighboring climate zones, all while we are keeping our home on average at only 60-62 degrees, which is anywhere from 6 to 10 degrees cooler than those same friends and family members. 

I’d be happy to give more detail on the issue, but first I want to see if there is anyone out there who wants to try to help us troubleshoot our project options – to adequately insulate the ceiling, ideally without overly compromising the home’s natural character … And without totally breaking the bank!

FYI We have a standing seam metal roof in good shape that was put on a few years before we bought the place, so unfortunately as I understand it, it does not make financial sense to do the work from the exterior. 

Thank you to anyone who has time and energy to help us think this through.