Attic egg crates. Better way?
Senerio; Prepping attic rafter bays at top plate into soffit with “egg crates” for RETROFIT blow in insulation under low sloped roofs. Tyvek suit, mask, fumbling around in the dark for flash light dropped in old blown fiberglass, straining to wedge a baffle in when it brakes in half, get stabbed in the head by shingle nails through the roof deck, run out of staples, next baffle left just out of reach, put a boot through the ceiling, install next bay and remaining 150.
I’ve used the cardboard baffles, egg crates – foam and plastic type, and rips of foam insulation. biggest problem is just the logistics of any of the versions and reaching down to the top plate.
Mind you we’re talking attics insulated all-ready. New construction isn’t nearly the complaint. So, anybody have a good method for all the fun above?
Replies
Hire someone who does it for a living. It's much easier watching and won't cost much of any more.
Reading your post, all of my arguments against illegal immigration just melt away.
AitchKay
Great advice but I'm the guy that gets hired to do it when we pick up that work. These jobs are easy sells right now in tough times. "Well with winter coming, and energy tax credit, it'd never hurt to add insulation, and for probably only about X we could swing by next week and knock it out while we're for xyz if you'd like."So anybody in this full time with some methods for saving grief?"I was thinking while stuck in the attic, what might me the cats A, if only it where cost effective would be cardboard tubes like from a roll of plastic.
Take a real light into the attic, take a board to stand on, wear a hat.
In our attic I took some old political yard signs (I have a BIG supply of them), stapled them to lengths of 1x2, producing a sort of H shape, with very short (4") top legs, a fat cross-bar (the sign), and long bottom legs. Placed a cross piece of 1x2 on the "short" end for stiffness. The sign edges lapped over the edges of the 1x2s on each side by about an inch.
I'd take one of these, sign down, shove the "short" end onto the top plate, the rotate the long legs up between the rafters and screw them in place. Took 2-3 minutes per bay.
I made a jig to staple the sets together, so they were all the right width. I made the space between the 1x2s about 3/8" undersize to allow for spacing variations in the rafters.
Buy a Head Lamp. I go camping alot so have this one
http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442621006&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302697057&bmUID=1255822537115
but a cheapie will keep your hands free and light where you want it.