blown in insulation

[Schwartzint1]

I am looking to use some blown in insulation in my garage this summer. Everything else has been insulated and finished. Just need to add to the attic. Looking it over and watching some videos it seems like a very easy job. My only question is about the can lighting in my garage. I have 9 LED can lights in my garage. Is it safe to blow insulation over them in the attic?

 

[plott hound]

im not sure about the lights,check the manufacters specs.they may need a heat shield on them.as for blowing the insulation yourself let me tell you something from experience.i bought 50 bales of cellulose from lowes and got free use of the blowing machine.i got my bud to feed the machine while I laid in the attic three hours.it was the worst experience of my life(I don't remember being born)

get a price on having it done for you before you try it yourself.you cant just drop a bale in and it blows it out,the piece of **** will jam up.the bales must be fed into machine in bite sized chunks.

 

[snorky18]

You'll have to check with the manufacturer to see if they're rated as IC (insulation contact).

Let me tell you about my experience... I was planning to duplicate plott hound's experience, but thought I should call around first. I figured up my needs (x SF at x" thickness), and I probably called 20 places getting price estimates, some 1.5 hour from the house.

Finally found the one big company that apparently buys enough insulation in bulk that they get it dirt cheap, and supposedly even sell it to their competitors in the area.

IT WAS way less money to PAY someone ELSE to do the work than it would have been just for me to buy the materials.

 

[Mach5]

I did the work myself with the help of a friend with feeder experience. Spent a day and a half in my attic. Not fun. But my garage is cooler and my house is better insulated with no bare spots.

I don't know about your can lights. Maybe build a shield around them?

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[stangkid14]

so you are saying you would not recommend me doing my own 4800 sqft attic with blow in?

 

[kd3pc]

so you are saying you would not recommend me doing my own 4800 sqft attic with blow in?

certainly not this time of year, when it is 82 degrees at 8 am, and humidity nearing 100%....

once things cool down, it is not a bad job if you are adding more blown in. IF the attic has never had blown in, you may need baffles and surrounds for lights and things like that. And two or three reliable folks to feed the blower and to spell you when you are worn out.

Placing baffles can be a days work, if the attic has never had them.

I would compare the costs of doing both (DIY and Calling in the Contractor) and go from there. What is your time worth and are you up to the task?

 

[Mach5]

I definitely wouldn't recommend doing 4800 sq ft in the summer. People think blow in is easy. Maybe it's mildly easier than laying bat...But it is still hot and uncomfortable work, and it takes effort and time to do it right. If I didn't already have blow in in my attic I think I would have been more tempted to use bat instead.

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[plott hound]

4800 sqft,no damn way.get some prices and save yourself a lot of grief.after the cellulose sttles im gonna get a guy in to blow some more into the attic again.he can put another 6" into the house for me as well.i will never ever do that myself again.

so you are saying you would not recommend me doing my own 4800 sqft attic with blow in?

 

[buzz4041]

I added 18 inches to my place 2 years ago and couldn't even buy the material from anybody cheaper than the company charged me to do it in full. Check around it was well worth my time.

 

[Schwartzint1]

I did some calling around. Most places near me have min work orders of $700 and up. I can buy the insulation I need from lowes for $225-300 and get free machine rental. I am going to spend a day or two prepping and a day of work. I will let you guys know how it turns out when its done.

 

[dsimatt]

What insulation are you gonna use, i used the more expensive atti cat stuff and was a breeze with minimal itchness which mostly was from the old stuff up there.

 

[Highbeam]

You can still purchase either IC "Insulation contact" or non-IC rated can light fixtures. I only purchase IC air tight cans but they cost a couple dollars more.

If you didn't purchase IC rated cans then you are screwed. Now you get to build some sort of dome to prevent insulation contact. Otherwise you risk a fire hazard.

 

[creativecars]

Did my attic two years ago in September before we moved in. It was hot, nasty, dirty, eyes burned, dust mask clogged with sweat, but I'm the kind of person that will just do it!!
Added 12 inches to the random depths that were there. Did the electrical work one weekend, added the baffles the next and most of a Saturday blowing it in. I did not have numbers from the previous year to see if it helped that much, but I will assume it did.

 

[JakeKohl]

Same here for me. It cost me something like an extra $180 to have a (quite good) contractor put the insulation in my entire 24x36 2 story garage vs. buying the materials and doing it myself. It was a no brainer.

 

[Scott H in Wheaton]

Double check your measurements....
Is your attic like 100 ft x 48 ft?
4800 sq ft is HUGE
And only 9 lights in 4800 sq ft?

If a bag covers 40 sq ft at a depth of R19 you are looking at 120 bags.
Menards sells for $5.30 per bag, so you are at least $600 and that only gets you a bare minimum covering.
Code around here (chicago similar weather to detroit)
is R49 so it would take more than 300 bags, or over $1500 in materials.
Not to mention the truck needed to haul 300 bags

 

[Zeke]

Double check your measurements....
Is your attic like 100 ft x 48 ft?
4800 sq ft is HUGE
And only 9 lights in 4800 sq ft?

If a bag covers 40 sq ft at a depth of R19 you are looking at 120 bags.
Menards sells for $5.30 per bag, so you are at least $600 and that only gets you a bare minimum covering.
Code around here (chicago similar weather to detroit)
is R49 so it would take more than 300 bags, or over $1500 in materials.
Not to mention the truck needed to haul 300 bags

Words of wisdom.

 

[Mach5]

I added 72 bags to my attic over my 2000 sq ft home and garage. Took and entire weekend to do.

 

[Jackfre]

I added 18 inches to my place 2 years ago and couldn't even buy the material from anybody cheaper than the company charged me to do it in full. Check around it was well worth my time.

My experience with insulators is the same. They installed it for less than I could buy the material. I hate blown in myself. I prefer batts.

 

[Carman]

Scott I think stangkid14 has the 4800sqft and the OP has the 9 LED lights, but I could have misread it. No ideas on the dimension of the OP?

 

[The Cobbler]

I went from r 12 in my attic to r 50 . did it with batts , for reasons below.

a fellow that owed me some $$$ ( I helped him out on materials for a job he lost money on) did the work for me to repay his debt to me

I have walkable attic , and use it for storage. I built a raised floor so I could insulate & still walk up there.
If I had it blown in , I would have had to remove all of the stuff up there. using batts we were able to build the floor & move stuff as needed. I also wanted to do some electrical, alarm wiring etc at a later date , so blown in would be a PITA. I've moved batts twice now, and I am glad I did it with batts & not blown

anyway, bottom line, the insulation (batts) cost me the same as the quotes I had to blow in fiberglass, plus I still paid for labour over & above.

I have no regrets doing it the way I did, but from a pure economical point, it wouldn't have made sense to do it myself.

 

[stangkid14]

Double check your measurements....
Is your attic like 100 ft x 48 ft?
4800 sq ft is HUGE
And only 9 lights in 4800 sq ft?

If a bag covers 40 sq ft at a depth of R19 you are looking at 120 bags.
Menards sells for $5.30 per bag, so you are at least $600 and that only gets you a bare minimum covering.
Code around here (chicago similar weather to detroit)
is R49 so it would take more than 300 bags, or over $1500 in materials.
Not to mention the truck needed to haul 300 bags

I am not the op i just threw that question out because I am researching how to insulate my proposed 60x80 building in the most cost effective way

 

[Scott H in Wheaton]

I am not the op i just threw that question out because I am researching how to insulate my proposed 60x80 building in the most cost effective way

Holy ****. I didn't even notice how this thread went from "are my LED lights okay with insulation" to a debate over DIY vs paying a pro and how much it costs vs the labor PIA of doing it yourself.

Sorry!