Supplies needed: 

hopper gun and compressor (available for rental at home-center stores), paint tray, paint suit and glasses, stepladder , putty knife, paint mixer, paint roller, masking tape, drop cloths, ceiling texture, primer sealer, spackle

Here are the steps you need to take to get the job done: 

1. Fill any dents or imperfections in the ceiling with spackle, and then apply a coat of primer with a roller. Allow the primer to dry at least four hours.

2. While it's drying, mask off the walls and floor with masking tape and tarps, plastic sheets or drop cloths. 

3. Wearing proper protective clothing and goggles, pour some texture mix into a large bucket and mix according to directions. Use a paint-mixer attachment to achieve a nice blend. The mixture is ready when it's the consistency of thick porridge.

4. Fill the hopper with texture mixture and fire up the compressor. Practice spraying on an old board or a large piece of cardboard to get the feel of the machine.

5. Lightly spray the mixture onto the ceiling, and keep moving to avoid oversaturating any area. Use multiple light coats and allow the texture time to dry between coats. If you spray the texture on too thickly, it will drip off the ceiling.

73-79 when active in home. This can go up when everyone is at work or school.

Dan, Both Hardie Plank and a 3/4" and 1.5" insulating foam board are good options. There is also the choice of using Insulated Siding that is a custom contoured foam backer. It fits to the specifications of the siding panel you choose. Best, Ken

Any insulated siding should suffice. Vinyl siding with a backer board or insulation should make the room usable.

Hardie Siding is effective as well as it is more durable but is more expensive.

Make sure to find the a highly energy efficient window. There are several quality manufactures in your area.

Best wishes.

It sounds like the back room of the house was really cold during the winter. One thing to consider is to insulate your house from the outside before using either type of siding.  This can be done by the right contractor.  Next, what type of siding do the neighbors have?  While you want your home to be unique, to a point, this is something to consider.  Hardie does give you a more traditional look and will allow you to change the color scheme of your home at a later point if you chooose to do so.  While vinyl siding can also be an excellent choice, I would stay away from insulation backed products.  To guarantee a good vapor barrier Fanfold insulation board is the better choice.  It comes in different thicknesses and is installed before the siding.  This allows the contractor to tape the seams and avoid gaps in the insulation.  There are two things to consider using insulation board.  They typically give you minimum R value for insulation versus removing the exteror cladding and insulating between the wall studs.  Second, using a very thick exterior insuation board will probably require trimming out all wiindows and doors.  Putting on thick insulation board will, in effect, cause the siding to significantly stick past all openings and may not give you a look that you like.  Please visit http://www.croixco.com/ for more ideas and possible answers to your questions. We would also be willing to visit your home to give you some ideas and solutions.  Call 847.895.8125

Hire a structural engineer. This could be a bit more expensive initially, but you could stave off lot of frustration later.

Is your garage attached to the house or is it on its own? If it is attached is there living space above the garage? Are you looking to insulate the walls and ceiling? Are you going to drywall the garage? I would suggest using batt insulation, with a vapor barrier. I would then drywall everything. Before you drywall I would make sure that you have all the electrical and anything else that you want in the walls installed.

R-49 also ventilation is very important to have soffit vent as well as roof vent to keep the attic cool and dry.

Here is a good website to reference for foam insulation:

http://energy.gov/energysaver/types-insulation

Types of Liquid Foam Insulation

Today, most foam materials use foaming agents that don't use chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) or hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), which are harmful to the earth's ozone layer.

There are two types of foam-in-place insulation: closed-cell and open-cell. Both are typically made with polyurethane. With closed-cell foam, the high-density cells are closed and filled with a gas that helps the foam expand to fill the spaces around it. Closed-cell foam is the most effective, with an insulation value of around R-6.2 per inch of thickness.

Open-cell foam cells are not as dense and are filled with air, which gives the insulation a spongy texture. Open-cell foam insulation value is around R-3.7 per inch of thickness.

The type of insulation you should choose depends on how you will use it and on your budget. While closed-cell foam has a greater R-value and provides stronger resistance against moisture and air leakage, the material is also much denser and is more expensive to install. Open-cell foam is lighter and less expensive but should not be used below ground level where it could absorb water. Consult a professional insulation installer to decide what type of insulation is best for you.

Available liquid foam insulation materials include:

• Cementitious
• Phenolic
• Polyisocyanurate (polyiso)
• Polyurethane.

Some less common types include Icynene foam and Tripolymer foam. Icynene foam can be either sprayed or injected, which makes it the most versatile. It also has good resistance to both air and water intrusion. Tripolymer foam—a water-soluble foam—is injected into wall cavities. It has excellent resistance to fire and air intrusion.

Installation

Liquid foam insulation -- combined with a foaming agent -- can be applied using small spray containers or in larger quantities as a pressure-sprayed (foamed-in-place) product. Both types expand and harden as the mixture cures. They also conform to the shape of the cavity, filling and sealing it thoroughly.

Slow-curing liquid foams are also available. These foams are designed to flow over obstructions before expanding and curing, and they are often used for empty wall cavities in existing buildings. There are also liquid foam materials that can be poured from a container.

Installation of most types of liquid foam insulation requires special equipment and certification and should be done by experienced installers. Following installation, an approved thermal barrier equal in fire resistance to half-inch gypsum board must cover all foam materials. Also, some building codes don't recognize sprayed foam insulation as a vapor barrier, so installation might require an additional vapor retarder.

Costs

Liquid foam insulation products and installation usually cost more than traditional batt insulation. However, liquid foam insulation has higher R-values and forms an air barrier, which can eliminate some of the other costs and tasks associated with weatherizing a home, such as caulking, applying housewrap and vapor barrier, and taping joints. When building a new home, this type of insulation can also help reduce construction time and the number of specialized contractors, which saves money.

Insulation is insulation regardless of type.  Whatever the R-Value per inch of the specific material is, times the number of inches, will equal the total R-Value.  We are looking for R-49 to be Energy Star. 

If the roof is not vented or we are talking about a hot roof deck, that is another consideration. 

The floors in your home, while insulation will certainly mitigate this delta, will be different temperatures as the laws of thermodynamics are universal. 

Get the insulation in the attic to R-49, seal the ductwork, seal the top plates, etc. and you will be good. 

James Hardie Fiber cement siding would be the best option for the new siding on your home. Hardie House Wrap will help to create a thermal envelope for the exterior of your home.  Foam sheathing can be installed on the exterior walls to increase the insulation R-Factor of your walls. The insulation issues you are having might also be related to problems with your windows in the addition. We recommend that you have the windows inspected as well. The James Hardie materials have an excellent return on investment as well as beauty. It will give your siding the look of real wood without the maintenance. Vinyl siding has serious issues with fading and doesn't provide the long term beauty that James Hardie products will give you.

Please feel free to contact us for additional information. 

www.MDSidingPro.com

I really noticed a difference in my electric bill when I put in a programable thermostat for my HVAC. I tend to keep the air down low and would forget to turn it up when I went to work. The new thermostat does that for me. 

Do you really want to do this.  If you have not done this before,, I would think about subing it out

Philip

Berkeley Ca

Make sure that your attic is properly insulated.  Make sure the seals around all windows and doors are in good shape.  If you can see daylight air is entering and leaving as well.