Methods to fasten insulation overhead?
I have a crawlspace with insulation fastened overhead to the bottom of the floor. The insulation is installed with craft paper up against the flooring with the fiberglass exposed. A lot of the insulation has come loose and fallen off and I need to repair what I can and replace it where it cannot be salvaged. With normal joists this would not be a problem, but I have an unusual floor support system. I have 4 x 8 beams spaced every 4 feet with 2 x 6 tongue and groove decking over the top. The insulation is 2 foot wide fiberglass insulation placed side by side. There are staples at the edges and also in the field of the insulation, but this has torn out in places and also the fiberglass has pulled loose from the backing in places. Does anyone know of a good way to install insulation in a situation like this? I’m interested in function, ease of installation and also ecomomy.
Replies
For standard flooring they sell lengths of stiff wire that 'spring' between the floor joists to hold the insulation up. Perhaps you could source longer and stiffer wire rod to serve the same function.
Let's not confuse the issue with facts!
chicken wire stapled to the beams containing the insulation -
Chicken wire.....nice. I was gonna suggest wire lath. Don`t see much of the other in these parts. Probably less expensive too.
J. D. Reynolds
Home Improvements
It's no longer chicken wire, it's Poultry Netting.
It's also half the gauge it used to be, I'm thinking any chicken worth beans could peck through it.
Joe H
But for this duty even the plastic stuff would work. Another option is landscape fabric.But if this is over a crawl one might want to think of mice -- no sense in giving them a good nesting place. So something like hardware cloth would be worth considering.
If ignorance is bliss why aren't more people
happy?
Insulation / Roosevelt
I think we should all band together. Why not stop purchasing gasoline on Monday?
Oh yeah, that's a great idea.
Where have you been?
Knowledge is power and we've been missing you a whole lot.
Great idea
Sure, great idea, and then we will buy twice as much on Tuesday. That'al teach em.! I am in!
Think about insulating the perimeter foundation walls instead. Search this discussion folder for details and merits.
Also, if none present install a vapor barrier on the crawlspace floor.
Bailing twine stapled in a zig zag pattern.
How about a 4x8 sheet of rigid insulation supported by 1x4 going parallel the beams? The new insulation will hold up the old.
Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
Yeah, the mice will love that!
If ignorance is bliss why aren't more people
happy?
I think pretty much anything can be walked on by a mouse. If that is the concern, then sealing up the edges would be pretty important.
Or, just keep a fully scented pet ferret down there!Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
All the input is great, thanks. The laced baling twine or poultry wire/hardware cloth are methods I will consider. It seems that the baling twine would be cheaper and maybe easier to handle in a cramped crawl space. Is there anyone that sees a downside to the baling twine idea? I don't think I will worry too much about the problem with mice although that is probably one of the things that caused some of the insulation to fall down. I think if I try to make the installation totally mouse proof there would be a lot of work sealing up all the little entry points. I keep thinking that there might be some sort of large headed standoff fastener that could be shot through the insulation to hold the insulation up but not compress it and would resist pulling through. Keep any other ideas you might have coming.
As far as standoff fasteners, take a look at Gutter mounting screws:
http://www.mcfeelys.com/product.asp?productID=gs-5325
If you are going to use twine, use the fully synthetic kind. It's like stranded plastic, but looks like regular twine. Criss crossed and stapled to the beams would be quick and simple.Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
I was going to suggest the coated soft wire they sell on small reels at craft stores, but poly baling twine is good. Olf fashioned hemp twine is bad...shows how old I am!
They probably don't even make that any more!
The cable stapler is something I will look at. If it sinks a stronger staple then I could maybe lace the twine and then pull the whole zig zag of twine tight like a shoelace or I could tighten each leg and sink it home with a hammer. At any rate I think I would need something a little stronger than regular staples. It may be something to experiment on. Regular longer 9/16 staples, cable staples or if needed, good old fencing staples for something really beefy.
many years ago I insulated an industrial roof with vinyl/fg roll. we used many skewers mounted to a nailing fin, you nail or tek screw the skewer base to the roof/ floor poke the insul blanket thru the skewer then attach a washer type clip onto skewer to rtain the insul up there- doesnt squash it too much. Just a green horn then but think someone who builds those steel shed buildings would be familiar with them
I'll ditto the twine idea that is what all the new houses we do have. Get the plastic polyester twine and a staple gun or hand stapler, zig zag your way around works great.
Probably a fone cable stapler will work best, if you can get your hands on one.
If ignorance is bliss why aren't more people
happy?
No, in this case he needs the twine held tight, not loose like a cable staple would.Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
Twine stapled to the joists in a criss cross pattern or wood lath nailed in place are two common methods.