I would like to know the approx range that the insulation reaches when blown. I have a attic space not easy to get to and am thinking of accessing from the eaves and directing it into the center of attic along the exterior of the home. Do not know if this can be done because do not know how far it can be blown in. Can anyone relate to the distance that the insulation will reach?
Anyone DIY blown in insulation?.....
- Thread starter Msdanes62
- Start date
I used the AttiCat system by Owens Corning to do my garage. If I got the right trajectory, I could shoot the insulation about 10-12 feet while I crouched in the rafters. It was really easy to use and surprisingly quiet. I had my wife feeding the machine while I ran the hose. Did 440 sq ft to R40+ in about an hour.
Thanks for the input. The reason this is so dificult is that it is a manufactored home. Had I known a couple of years ago, I would have just taken some sheeting off roof prior to re-shingling. I know that would be the easiest way, but do not want to have to re-roof so soon. Also, had added a nice addition on half of the length of back (nice theater rm with french doors leading to partically covered tri-level deck) tying it all in (roof and walls) looking like it had been part of original structure. But now it is going to make it more difficult to deal with this insulation issue in the original part of home. My husband died this past year so I am trying to get my utility bills down. When I was on the ladder yesterday, I took off some of the vent on the eaves thinking that maybe they were "covered" with the insulation and ended up reaching in and discovering that the insulation was not there! So I figure that I may need to cut into the gable end of house that is on the end where the addition is to try to blow in insulation from that side, figure I can put a gable vent (I think that is what they are called) back into the hole after I am through. Does anyone think this may be a good idea?
matt151617
Well-known member
You still have to put baffles over the soffits... that'll be the difficult part.
PeterT
Well-known member
I like doing projects myself, but blown in insullation would be a job I would at least call around and get a couple quotes. They might be able to do it cheaper than you buying the materials and doing it yourself.. Just a thought.
54FordPanel
Well-known member
I've done blown in insulation 4 times. It's not a bad job at all. I think it blows 6'-10', depending on how far the machine is from the end of the hose.
I don't think you could do a good job trying to blow it in from the ends of the house using only the gable vents for access. Do you have a picture or a drawing of the area you are trying to cover? It's not the whole house, just an addition?
I don't think you could do a good job trying to blow it in from the ends of the house using only the gable vents for access. Do you have a picture or a drawing of the area you are trying to cover? It's not the whole house, just an addition?
csp
Well-known member
A trick I've seen the insulation guys do is to make a wire loop attached to the end of the hose. Then they have a pole or broomstick with a hook on the end that they put through the loop to get the end of the hose further from their body in low clearance areas.
I am thinking I will end up having to remove the entire cornish boarding the length og the house. Firgured I would have to maybe cut into the gable ends to get a greater reach into the center. I did like the idea of attaching the hose end to a pole of some kind to reach in further. It would not work from the sides of the house but would work from the gable ends. I am a retired painter and still have my entension poles from rolling, not to mention a pole for skimming a pool. I will try getting some quotes though, but figured that this job may scare them off. The addition is heavily insulated. I know because I did it right after it was framed and wired. It is the original part of house that the insulation is needed in. It was a nearly brand new repo and the company holding the mortgage hired idiots to move it and they moved it down the hwy without covering it and I know that it was not covered when they moved it here, so the insulation ended up blowing out moving it down the road. Thanks for the input. If I can't get someone to do it, you all have really helped me figure out the best ways to tackle it.
rlitman
Well-known member
I did just this with a 6' section of pole from a pole pruner.
I was redoing an upstairs room, and had the trim off. Behind a radiator, I was able to cut a 6" tall x 12" wide access hole to get to the attic space above an adjacent porch.
The porch is around 25' x 9', and the access hole was about 8' in from one side on the long side.
I was able to drop a light in the access hole, snake the hose in, and move the pole to reach the entire space, using the blower from Lowes and cellulose insulation (watching what I was doing through a mirror). My math makes it around 16' from the access hole to the far wall (a little more to the far corner), and I was able to blow insulation all the way over there, by reaching with the 6' pole.
Highbeam
Well-known member
Is this an attic space? If you were able to get in there, could you stand, kneel, or crawl? I assume so since you are talking about shooting insulation in using an arc type trajectory.
Cut an attic access into the ceiling and do it right. You need the access for several reasons including trying to find where the roof is leaking when you find a wet spot on your ceiling, running wires, and the firemen like to be able to get up there and put out fires.
You really need to put in an access. You can hide it in the closet if you like. You can trim it out and it will look like it was always there as it should have been.
Cut an attic access into the ceiling and do it right. You need the access for several reasons including trying to find where the roof is leaking when you find a wet spot on your ceiling, running wires, and the firemen like to be able to get up there and put out fires.
You really need to put in an access. You can hide it in the closet if you like. You can trim it out and it will look like it was always there as it should have been.
kyles974
Well-known member
finn
Well-known member
Last time I blew in attic insulation I duck taped a 10 ft section of 2" PVC to the nozzle for additional coverage. Worked great except for the repeated jolts from static electric discharge, as I was using fiberglass insulation. Reminded me of the old high school science experiment with the cloth and glass rod.
Also, the 10 foot extension was quite unwieldy in my 12/12 pitch scissors truss attic space.
You may have to go through the gable end, and definately run a ground of some sort if you use fiberglass
Also, the 10 foot extension was quite unwieldy in my 12/12 pitch scissors truss attic space.
You may have to go through the gable end, and definately run a ground of some sort if you use fiberglass
Kevin54
MEMBER EMERITUS
POS unit from Lowes, and I don't know how many bags, but that was the dustiest, dirtiest job I have done in years. If I had it to do over, I would have hired an insulation company to do it.