I've got an old 1950's ranch house. It has vertical

I dunno about T&G siding but for my time and exterior (stucco) I'd rather take out the interior walls than the exterior. YOu'll have to rip off the outer sheathing as well (osb/plywood) if you go from the outside which you shouldn't do to the whole wall at once because it is structural. You'll also lose your weatherproofing if you get sidetracked or there is a freak storm.

I'd go with removing the interior walls. Honestly hanging drywall is super easy, mudding is only slightly more difficult, as is painting.

You can also 'blow in' insulation with a rental machine from home despot (which does a mediocre job), or get a pro installer to do who will drive up with a truck/van/semi mounted blower and stuff your walls with 3.5 lbs/cu ft which is the maximum you can achieve without your walls bursting.

http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/guest-blogs/insulating-stud-cavities-existing-homes

>>1038164
Monitoring this thread (on phone so no lizard pic) because I too have a 50's vintage house. I KNOW there is no insulation in mine. Interested to hear any anons' opinion on blown in insulation. Seems like a pain in the ass drilling a hole between all the studs then patching. And does it fuck with the electrical system at all? I've heard good and bad about it, like it can settle and then you're back to basically no insulation. I agree that inside would be easier, just wondering how much... Also OP, if you have the old two wire electrical system (like me) and you rip out the the walls, it would be a great time to upgrade to three wire.

Not a total hijack, this info is pertinent to OP's question, but sorry none the less.

>>1038224
If you get the 3.5lb insulation it won't settle because it can't. You can't DIY it though because the blower is too big to rent. In that case your contractor should warn you if electrical would be effected. I can't imagine it would be unless you had knob and tube.

>>1038215
>built in the 1950's
>OSB invented in 1963
> YOu'll have to rip off the outer sheathing as well (osb/plywood)
Modern construction is very different from the way they did it in the 50's. There isn't a single piece of plywood anywhere in the house either. Based in the garage and the attic space there is no exterior sheeting. Its T&G, tar paper and studs. This is why I want to go through the exterior wall.

>because it is structural
Its not. They used diagonal bracing in the walls back then. SO I think its a viable option.

>>1038224
It is 2 wire. I only want to do one wall though. Its the only wall that gets full sun and it has only 3 outlets in it total. Plus 1 other wall is brick.

>>1038231
Makes sense, though if you want to "be safe"/whatever with say, computer stuff it would be really easy to put in one new circuit then. My 50's abode has (from inside to outside) plasterboard, studs, horizontal sheeting of 1x material in various widths, tar paper, original wood siding (pink, I believe), then "new" vinyl siding (from the early 80's). Now you know why I'm asking about blown in... We're I you, and you really have no sheeting, I'd think very hard about doing it from the outside, reusing the T and G as sheeting as much as possible, then vinyl over that as a finished treatment. Budget allowing, of course.

What about the attic, by the way? Insulated with pink stuff I assume?

>>1038231
Shit, just read this again, >>1038230. Don't rely TOO much on your attic and garage to tell you if it's sheeted or not. Mine aren't either, and the only way I know I have sheeting on the external walls is I added a bedroom about 10 years ago. You could have a surprise waiting if you start tearing off from the outside thinking it'll be a cinch. I'm in southwest Ohio, if it helps. If you're in a much different climate construction could well be quite different.

>>1038251
The power panel is on the far side of the house. Running new wire really isn't practical because of all the extra work that would be required for just 3 outlets.

>What about the attic, by the way? Insulated with pink stuff I assume?
Blown in vermiculite covered with rolls of yellow insulation much later. Someday I will get the vermiculite out of there (its shit by modern standards and may contain asbestos) but right now the total insulation of the attic is decent.