Probably belongs in E,H&I , but I think sometimes things get lost down there.
I’m blowing in insulation next Sat. – what have I forgot?
heres the rundown: 1909 house – present insulation has settled below the joists. Very open attic – I can get everywhere I need to blow.
1. have gotten rid of all the the K&T. replaced with Romex.
2. All e- junctions are now in covered boxes.
3. all ” chimneys” (around plumbing stacks, etc) have been plugges with ridged/expanding foam.
4. plastic up to keep me from blowing into the soffet/eaves.
I’m going to rent one of those blower thingys and buy enough cel for about 12″ for 1000sq’. My 15 year old has been volunteered to feed to hopper thing. Having never done this, or really ever seen anyone do it are there any “tricks” to doing this? Is cellulose cellulose or are there brand differences? Thanks in advance.
Replies
I did a home a few months ago. The guys at the rental place said not to open the chute at the bottom too wide, but we found wider is better. Also, be sure the person feeding the stuff into the hopper breaks it up pretty well, the better they break it up the better you'll do. Also, a stir stick helps break it up in the hopper, just be careful of the screw.
Everyone should have decent face protection.
Have fun!
what do you mean by "decent face protection" should I be getting more than those cheap little dust masks - and/or a bandana?
I'd go for the delux paper facemask designed for insulation. And goggles for the guy in the attic.
I have done quite a few of these, 3 or 4 dozen I suppose. Use a good quality disposable dust mask, 2 heavy straps and change them occasionally. Cellulose can and will burn your lungs. The best jobs are where you can put a lot of insulation in vs the amount of air. Humidity and moisture in the insulation will affect this but try to run the gate at the bottom of the blower as open as you can or it is a Krendal unit they run an air gate which should be run as closed as possible. You will know when you are running to much insulation vs air as the hose will plug up. If it does adjust more air to the mixture. And take the 1" nozzel off when doing the attic, usually you can run 100% insulation at that point. DanT
The company that blew my attic had a water hose at the hopper to mist the cell, cut dust and blew better. On a 1100 sq ft house 16 inches, it took 85 bags.
Jeez, I read that first post and had to double check that I hadn't written it. ;-)
What is the old insulation? I have incredibly dirty and heavily settled rock wool in my 1910, and am slowly sucking it out using the shop vac from heck, ie, jet dust collector sucking through a trash-can vortexer. The stuff I am removing weighs 6-8 lbs a cubic ft! I don't know the condition of your attic, but I am so glad that I decided to remove the old insulation first. Just a thought. I understand the heating duct cleaning people sometimes provide this type of vaccum service.
I had thought of that - especially in light of a possible attic to living space plan in the future- but, decided against it because of the mess. I've got some kind of old blown in stuff (only 3-4" worth now) on top of this powder from hell, I have never seen powder so fine - like talc, but worse. While doing the e- work up there I dreaded every time I had to disturb it for any reason.
one more idea before you blow:
mark where each of your electrical boxes are, somehow, for future reference.
A piece of survey tape tacked to the rafter above works, you could even tack a note next to each one explaining what each box serves to save you time when/if you ever want to modify your 2F electric.
Also, some photos of the exposed joists, wiring, etc. before you cover the whole lot up.
If you have any bath vent fans or can lights you want to box them up with drywall and seal the boxes (construction adhesive and fireproof caulk) before you cover up with cells. Better yet, eliminate any can lights because they leak too much of your heating money into the attic space, in my opinion.
Can't agree w/ this more. I've been going through my attic sealing around penatrations. Some elec. boxes have huge holes by them.
I'm not removing insullation, just gonna add some when I'm done. But as I go through I've been stapling some arrows I made from poster board and had laminated to the truss above ea. penetration I can find. Marking not only where boxes are, but where wires go down to switches, outlets ect.. Thought it was just overkill at first, but I've needed to do some wiring work since, and it was wonderful to know exactly where to go. Plus, I always know exactly where I am in the house by what markers are near me. Now, I need to add some phone lines and cable lines. Gonna be a piece of cake to know where to drop wires. W/o this, I'd have a devil of a time finding exactly where I was and where to drill a hole. I'd love to also have some pictures as suggested, but my insullation is good, just not nearly enough of it.
Good luck w/ your project, doesn't sound like too much fun.
Later
Bill
Norm is right. Something to mark the location of the electrical boxes will save trouble in the future. I have used pieces of EMT hammered flat with holes drilled in the flat and florescent paint sprayed on the tip. There were only two. The survey tape on the rafter is a good idea but the plastic may deteriorate over time given the heat of an attic. Maybe those dayglow buttons used to hold tarpaper down would work and hold up longer.
My recommendation for the mask would be not to scrimp. Get one with two sturdy bands and an exhalation valve.
I put garage sale stickers on all the J-boxes with the #'s of the circuit breakers with wires inside.
Maybe I'll take a picture this weekend of adjacent joist bays, one with new faced R19 (they are full dim 2x6) and one with the really old crud. What is really amazing is how much better the lighting is now that the floor isn't the domestic version of a black hole.
Any electricians who have to find those boxes would thank you. Anything that gets the guys out of the attic quicker will be much appreciated. You get a pay off by having the job go quicker and having happier tradesmen doing it.
Marking the circuit on the box is also a smart move. If you really want to go all the way you can install crawl boards, scrap 1by6s or better, placed on blocks nailed onto the ceiling joists to keep them from compressing the insulation makes going into an attic a comparative pleasure. Don't nail the boards in place as they might need to be moved to access locations directly below them and watch the overhangs. having a 300 lbs duct man playing teeter-totter in the attic makes a neat photo but can get nasty when they fall through the ceiling.
Go too far and the trades may not want to leave. You went to far if you see the big guys toting suitcases up the ladder. The easy way to get them back out is to announce that the inspector is here to check the attic. You have never seen big guys move so fast. Scatter like quail.
Even without the extras it sounds like a first class job. Best of luck to you.