blown in insulation

[awdblazer]

getting ready to either blow it in myself or get someone in
i figure if i do it myself i would save approximately 500 bucks and probably for 8 hours of my time
so what i need, the insulation stops, i have been told by a lot of people to use the wax coated cardboard
then i frame out the attic hatch so it is taller so the insulation doesnt fall out
i have 3.5 inches of woodchips and 3.5 inches of fiberglass in my attic so i will be blowing r30 of either fibreglass or cellulose
anyone have any opinions of fibreglass or cellulose?
i will probably be doing this all myself so at least up and down the ladder 20 times
anyone have any tips for me?

 

[NUTTSGT]

Advice ? Get somebody to help you load the bags.

 

[JakeKohl]

getting ready to either blow it in myself or get someone in
i figure if i do it myself i would save approximately 500 bucks and probably for 8 hours of my time
so what i need, the insulation stops, i have been told by a lot of people to use the wax coated cardboard
then i frame out the attic hatch so it is taller so the insulation doesnt fall out
i have 3.5 inches of woodchips and 3.5 inches of fiberglass in my attic so i will be blowing r30 of either fibreglass or cellulose
anyone have any opinions of fibreglass or cellulose?
i will probably be doing this all myself so at least up and down the ladder 20 times
anyone have any tips for me?

Personally, I'm really happy with the cellulouse. I had a company blow it in wet into my walls, dry in the attic and dry into the floor structure of my 2nd story. It's really good stuff. I found it to be well worth the tiny bit of extra money to hire someone to do it. Get quotes before you buy anything. I had the cellulose done for about $50 more than I could do fiberglass bats myself (and it's a superior product).

I think you're asking about the soffit baffles. You definitely need to keep the insulation from blocking your attic ventilation. They sell wavy foam pieces that you can slide down into the existing sofit area and pin to the roof sheathing - these work OK but are easy to break/crush. I installed plastic baffles before any sheet rock or insulation went in so my soffits staid totally clear and vent well. The plastic baffles bend around and staple to the wall's top plate so they let you get insulation on TOP of the top place but still prevent it from getting to the soffit vent. You can see the bottom edge of the soffit baffles sticking out just under the ceiling sheet rock in the last photo.


DSC_2719 by Team Seacats, on Flickr


DSC_2723 by Team Seacats, on Flickr


DSC_3489 by Team Seacats, on Flickr


DSC_3476 by Team Seacats, on Flickr


DSC_3480 by Team Seacats, on Flickr

 

[awdblazer]

the one quote i got so far, was 70 cents a square foot to go from r20 to r50 and 4 dollars a insulation stop installed

 

[NUTTSGT]

I missed you wanted opinions too. I hate blown cellulouse, I don't think any firefighter likes the stuff. I might be wrong but everybody in our dept cusses the stuff.

 

[Steevo]

Around here the insulation stops sell for less than $2 each, so if you can install them yourself you will save a lot.
As far as blowing it yourself, you really need two people, so one can load the hopper while one blows insulation.
Also, a GOOD QUALITY RESPIRATOR is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. You won't even be able to breathe up there while blowing cellulose without one.

I used the pre-formed foam baffles and installed them myself, framed out the attic access myself, and then had a local company blow in the insulation. It was only about $100 more than the cost of buying the material and doing it myself.

 

[awdblazer]

so the wife just told me if it costs less than 500 difference between a company to do it and me then the company can do it

 

[brownbagg]

i did cellouse on my house and it was cheaper have them do it, they was in and out within four hours, no mess, no trash to haul off, didnt charge me for left over material. I would get them to do it again.

 

[canuckian]

I hired someone to blow the cellulose in my shop. the price difference was minimal compared to me doing it and I think it took them a total of 4-5 hours. no muss no fuss.

 

[jhelrey]

so the wife just told me if it costs less than 500 difference between a company to do it and me then the company can do it

That is because she knows she will be helping otherwise!

 

[dlenkewich]

As a former insulator here in Saskatchewan, I'll tell you what I've told everyone else:

Get quotes from the pro's(multiple! quotes are free, or should be). I was usually able to match or beat what people could do themselves because my contractor price was $12/bag cheaper then they could get themselves.

Above that my commercial blower could do 1000SF/Hr, and the under powered, uber safe rental machines can take all day to blow an attic with their slow performance and novice operator.

Install the stops yourself. It's a no-brainer ***** job. So it will be well worth it to do it yourself because insulators will charge an arm to do it for you.

Good luck with your project!

 

[awdblazer]

yah i can buy the stops for 2 bucks a piece
its only a 4/12 pitch roof i believe so its a little tight in there so i might just get them to do it
i should pop my head in there or just wait to see what the quotes are like
i will also be getting about 600-700 dollars back from hydro for the upgrade

 

[Kevin54]

I bought the bags and DIY'ed the attic in our house. My wife and a buddy loaded the hopper while I was in the attic sweating my *** off. I have to say that it was one of the dustiest, dirtiest jobs I have done. Would I do it again? Hell no!!!! I had a respirator but a sleeveless shirt and I could taste the stuff. I imagine I absorbed it in through the pores of my skin. I don't remember how many bags we blew in, but it was enough to take a 30' x 50' area from 4" to 13". It also took approximately 6 hours to do it. I bought the stuff at Lowes and had free use of a blower to do it. I'd rather deal with batts any day over the blow-in stuff. I don't know how long it took to finally get all of the dust out of the garage. But that's my opinion of the stuff. I hate it. My wife and I did the attic in my garage in 2 hours if that using batt insulation, laying it between the rafters. And my garage is 28' x 36'.

 

[brownbagg]

when they blew mine they added water to the cellous to keep the dust down

 

[wrench409]

I plan of the same project soon but my old house has the old rock wool type in it already and that stuff settles alot over the years.

Do I blown in over it or remove it before doing the cellulose stuff?

 

[brimorga]

Doesn't cellulose settle over time and lose R-value?

 

[awdblazer]

i have read that cellulose does settle over time but retains its r value

 

[Steevo]

Everything settles a little. If you live in L.A., it probably settles more than average, due to shaking.

 

[Steevo]

As a former insulator here in Saskatchewan, I'll tell you what I've told everyone else:

Get quotes from the pro's(multiple! quotes are free, or should be). I was usually able to match or beat what people could do themselves because my contractor price was $12/bag cheaper then they could get themselves.

Above that my commercial blower could do 1000SF/Hr, and the under powered, uber safe rental machines can take all day to blow an attic with their slow performance and novice operator.

Install the stops yourself. It's a no-brainer ***** job. So it will be well worth it to do it yourself because insulators will charge an arm to do it for you.

Good luck with your project!

This is a perfect example of the lesson I have learned over the course of my life so far:
"Know what to sub"

 

[dlenkewich]

Doesn't cellulose settle over time and lose R-value?

Yes.

i have read that cellulose does settle over time but retains its r value

Cellulose and Fibreglass insulation both settle, both achieve maximum R-Value according to it's depth. The more depth, the more microscopic airpockets that allow it to do it's job. Settling will decrease R-value.

A proper install is over-blown according to manufactor's reccommendations because the air required to blow the product in will cause the product to settle afterwords as the air escapes, so the point is over blow to allow the product to settle at the proper hieght for the R-value desired.

I always preferred fibreglass blow in. It stays light and fluffy even after the initial settling. I blew a lot of fibreglass over old cellulose and the cellulose seems to settle as firm as sand in the long term (10 years or so) which isn't good for thermal performance.

 

[Mr.N]

This is a perfect example of the lesson I have learned over the course of my life so far:
"Know what to sub"

Nice post.

May of us can do may jobs, but with age comes wisdom.

 

[bop_pa]

Go to home depot. If you buy the material from them they will let you use the machine for free. It is practically fool proof and any kid could do it. It is helpful to have someon loading the machine with bags for you as you blow the material in. I don't think you can get cheaper and can be done in a few hours.

 

[rburke65]

Just went through this. My side walls in my 32x56x12 were going to take about 40 rolls of the 13 and they were going to run me $10 a roll plus tax. Plus ? Trips back n forth to H Depot. Local company gave me a price $550. So for a hundred bucks they can do it. For the attic r30 fiberglass, and they gave me a good 12 to 13 inches was $900, 50 cents a sq. ft. They were in and out in 3 hours, two guys. It would have taken me 3 hours to go to my buddies house, get his trailer, HD, load the blower, get a few bags of insulation, home unload, trailer back to HD.........write the check.

 

[dirttracker18]

Cost me an extra $200 to have the pro blow it in and he was in and out in an hour. I gave helped buddies and it is a **** job that took all day to do.

Hire the pro

 

[awdblazer]

yah i am going to start to call on monday to get some quotes
i love to save money but i think its a **** job to do

 

[darkk]

When I built my garage addition, I had the original part of the house blown in through the outside walls, and had the new addition done in standard batting. When it was all done, the whole job new and old cost me a little under $500 less to have it done professionally than the cost of material for the addition only. Write the check and give the guys a little cash bonus for a few after work....

 

[Sureshot]

I looked into it once and my cost of materials was more than what they charged. If doing it again I would add some references to be sure you get as much depth as quoted.

 

[Notch1988]

My last garage I did the job myself but that's because all the insulation was free so I just had to rent a blower. If I had to buy all the insulation I would have definitely got some quotes.

The insulation stops are easy to install, I used the long styrofoam ones. If you have a low pitch roof ie-4/12, the short cardboard stops won't be long enough to give you the depth of insulation you need. With the styrofoam ones you just push it up against the roof where the nails from the shingles will hold it in place, then put in a couple staples to hold it for good measure. Buy a bag of 24" wide insulation and cut little pieces to fill the gap over your top plate and you're done. While you're up there, take a measuring tape and sharpie marker and make a line at the height you need the insulation and be sure the soffit vent is above that line.

 

[Blue XJ]

I did my attic over the summer. 1200 square feet with an R60 depth cost about $950 including all the soffit baffles. It was 1/2 of what a company quoted me. Definitely worth the money, but what a nasty job, I wore a nice respirator, a dust mask wasnt cutting it. I used a staple gun to secure the baffles to the rafters, took a few hours for the baffles and a few hours to blow in the insulation. Definitely get a helper to load the bags they go fast. I think I used 85 bags, so make sure you have a trailer when you pick everything up.

 

[CamarosRus]

Can somebody post and tell me (show pictures) more about installing soffit baffles in my 1985 built rambler/ranch (4/12 roof). Would there not be some kind of baffles in place now.

I can see that I have blown in sulation now but how does one determine existing R value vs what I should have. I live in Western Wash state. Not that cold here but Id like to reduce my nat gas heating bill.

I plan to get contractor bids on the insulation

What about my 2 x ? floor joists (crawl space under house) only having R-19 fiberglas batt insulation. Might it be worth be adding R-11 unfaced onto the R-19 = R-30 ??????

 

[awdblazer]

i just got one quote for the insulation, 1700 dollars plus i would have to get a "roofing" guy in to put the baffles in, i guess he doesnt want the work

 

[JakeKohl]

i just got one quote for the insulation, 1700 dollars plus i would have to get a "roofing" guy in to put the baffles in, i guess he doesnt want the work

I had my entire (2 story) structure done - walls, attic, floor between up and down with cellulose for $2400.

 

[pmiranda]

I had my entire (2 story) structure done - walls, attic, floor between up and down with cellulose for $2400.

If you already have fiberglass batt insulation in the walls, can they really blow in more cellulose without ripping out a bunch of drywall?

I ask because it seems like some exterior walls are not well insulated in our house and I'd love to address that if it wasn't a giant mess.

 

[Oldbear]

We had it done in November. It was only $400 extra to have a pro do it. I didn't have to worry about getting enough bags, loading a machine, fitting my 6'4" frame in my attic and there was no clean up to worry about. Guys showed up just before my family started to eat dinner - and were done as we were clearing the table.

Would I pay again on a different house - YES... My dad builds homes from the ground up - he pays someone else to blow in the insulation too.

 

[Mattlt]

i have 3.5 inches of woodchips and 3.5 inches of fiberglass in my attic so i will be blowing r30 of either fibreglass or cellulose

I want to hear more about these woodchips. Are they treated with some sort of fire retardant? You may want to think about taking those out before putting more insulation over the top of them.


FYI, septic system pump/vacuum trucks work very well to remove attic insulation. Especially handy when said insulation is burning!

 

[JakeKohl]

If you already have fiberglass batt insulation in the walls, can they really blow in more cellulose without ripping out a bunch of drywall?

I ask because it seems like some exterior walls are not well insulated in our house and I'd love to address that if it wasn't a giant mess.

I didn't have any insulation - it was new construction....

I doubt they can blow in anything reliably if there is already something in there.

 

[JakeKohl]

I want to hear more about these woodchips. Are they treated with some sort of fire retardant? You may want to think about taking those out before putting more insulation over the top of them.


FYI, septic system pump/vacuum trucks work very well to remove attic insulation. Especially handy when said insulation is burning!

Now that sounds like one heck of a story....

 

[pmiranda]

I missed you wanted opinions too. I hate blown cellulouse, I don't think any firefighter likes the stuff. I might be wrong but everybody in our dept cusses the stuff.

Tell me more... I was thinking of getting rid of all the itchy fiberglass and getting cellulose in there under the impression that it's treated to be fireproof.

 

[Bustedwheel]

I am going to do this in my attice. The attic now was somewhat insulated by the previous owner with bat insulation. it also has some boards (Mostly MDF) laid down as a floor for storage. Would I leave the current insulation and boards in place, or would they have to be removed?

 

[JakeKohl]

Tell me more... I was thinking of getting rid of all the itchy fiberglass and getting cellulose in there under the impression that it's treated to be fireproof.

I would be interested in why the firefighters don't like it too. I found that it really slows fire progression through a structure (better than fiberglass).

This link is a little dramatic...but gives you an idea: