Typically an installer will show up in a box truck or pulling a trailer. Cellulose insulation will not prevent radiant heat transfer (The primary source of heat-flow in and out of your structure). Your approach -- strapping the ceiling -- is common in New England. There are two possible ways to do this: 1. The Spruce uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. Moreover, the installers had a lot of density problems, and they ended up drilling a zillion holes to get enough cellulose in there. In a non-vented cathedral ceiling of this rafter depth, you should first staple up Insulweb vertically along each rafter trusses, creating individual rafter bays to make it easier to fill and provide some extra lateral support for the cellulose to be self supporting. The installer may need to roll any bulging below the strapping, an aluminum roller works good for this. Over time, the insulation can pack down and form pockets above the settled areas. By adding Nu-Wool Premium Cellulose Insulation to your home's attic or walls, you may qualify for the Federal Energy Tax Credit. For a vented roof cavity, you should first install the wind blocks, vent baffles up to the ridge vent. nail base for lap siding with 2 layers of furring strips the first horizontal across the I-Joists and the next vertical for a drainspace). So the coverage chart is likely to be inaccurate for installers like you. However in this scenario maybe the density of the dens pac needs to be increased above 3.5lbs/cf and it would be difficult for the installer to achieve the proper density installing through a hole in the rigid sheathing. The same contractor also blew dense pack cellulose into the walls. I.e. Thank you for the information. Thanks so much for all your help so far, -Chris. The project in question was in Hoboken and we had to dense pack a 16” cavity with cellulose. Once filled, the cellulose will not slide down the rafter bay. Insulation Installation Cellulose insulation is installed by one of two techniques. Nu-Wool Premium Cellulose Insulation qualifies for the Federal Energy Tax Credit! When I use green finer I find that I normal y need 14% - 20% more then they recommend. Really useful. Loose-fill cellulose insulation can settle around and conform to most of the obstructions found in walls and attics. I don’t take a job if I don’t think I can do it correctly. 1) Given that the ceiling cavities are free of wires and electrical fixtures, could I achieve a comparable level of insulation using fiberglass batts rather than cellulose, since that would be much easier for a DIYer like myself to install? (they aren't done with cleanup yet). Install fabric over the last couple of feet by stapling inside the joists to create a small cavity for the cellulose to fill before coming into contact with the sheetrock. Cellulose Insulation Installation. I never point the hose up at 45 degrees and I constantly measure carefully. Hulstrunk has worked as an insulation installer, an energy auditor, a weatherization program director, and a trainer. Cellulose Installation. 3) Are there any products like insulweb that are available in smaller quantities? Response to Steven McCarthy Chris, Before proceeding with a non-vented roof, I would first check in with your local code official to see if he/she is comfortable with using cellulose in this application. Is it not the air spaces that influence the R-value? It is possible to install some types of cellulose insulation as DIY projects. In both damp spray and dry dense pack applications, the cellulose should have the feel of a firm mattress when pressed with the palm of your hand. WHY GIBBS INSULATION IS CLEARLY THE BEST. thanks again If your customer reads this blog he might be asking for an explanation! Second, when. James, For attics, the joists are often open and accessible and thus could be insulated with either blow-in cellulose or fiberglass batts. Might make it easier leveling the ceiling boards, or could make it more difficult. You must be a magazine subscriber to access this feature. Cellulose is composed of 75–85% recycled paper fiber, usually post-consumer waste newsprint. It all sounded great to me. ", "I tell them, “Then it’s better to wait until you have enough money to do the air sealing — otherwise the insulation doesn’t make any sense.” ". Is it just that on super cold days I will get some condensation on the underside of the sheathing? Cellulose weight against sheetrock in cathedral ceiling Blow in and level insulation in ceiling crawl space. 2. Next running 2x4 furring strips 16" o.c. In your climate zone (zone 6), the code requires at least R-25 of foam above your roof sheathing for your approach to work. Walter Currently we are considering the 9 1/4" I-Joists bays be filled with dens pac cellulose. Cellulose Insulation in Austin, TX. Install a continuous layer of rigid polyisocyanurate insulation under the trusses, followed by 1x4 strapping installed with screws. Become a GBA Prime member and get full access to GBA articles, enyclopedia, videos, CAD library, and more. I suggest to contractors that they develop their own coverage charts for common insulation blows in new construction by going back to check on settled depth. Not only does the cellulose remain unaffected even while the penny begins to melt, but the insulating value of the cellulose is such that no heat is felt by the hand holding the experiment. Dan Lea, the executive director of the Cellulose Insulation Manufacturers Association, has a slightly different take from Boyko. Do we need the dense pack to keep the cellulose, as it settles, from slipping down the 8:12 truss cavities? Located just outside of Mankato, Gibbs Insulaton has been providing insulating and overhead door services for the greater southern Minnesota area. From the speed and ease of installation to the virtual impossibility of installing it wrong (assuming you're experienced), loose fill fiberglass or cellulose is usually more effective than batt insulation. Cellulose insulation's source paper in its raw state is combustible. If you choose to install cellulose yourself, you can buy the insulation in bags from your local home-improvement store. To Insulweb or not to Insulweb ft.) and finally complete the ceiling by installing sheetrock over the top couple of feet. Cellulose insulation primarily reduces heat transfer by trapping the warm air. Assuming this is a problem and I believe it to be so, I plan on attaching Insulweb to the bottom the ceiling joist across the entire ceiling through out the home. my wife doesn't like the barrier and losing the space around the edges, and she's concerned about any health/dust issues related to going up to the attic to put or retrieve storage stuff. Of course, cellulose insulation is installed with different techniques than those used to install fiberglass batts or spray foam. Response to Kevin Dickson Second response to James Christy Thanks for your response. If your wife is allergic to dust, she probably shouldn't spend too much time in the attic. You'll get slightly different R-value information depending on which manufacturer you talk to. Response to Chris Harris and create a 16"O.C. The process proposed by my third contractor is similar to the one you describe. It seems like if that is OK, then what I did should be 10x better. Loose-fill cellulose is relatively inexpensive, yet still has an, When walls are already finished, injecting loose-fill cellulose insulation is one of the few ways of adding insulation. Great article. Cellulose insulation options Cellulose insulation is used to fill the attic to recommended insulation levels. Settling in attics is less problematic for two reasons. Fortunately, our team is fully equipped with the very best equipment and so, we can deliver the job with exemplary results. Which method best controls the "bulges"? They confessed that they had never done a job with insulweb before, they only did retro fits. I will have to check on whether or not that particular cellulose is available here. The bulges between the strapping won't interfere with the drywall. It can be used by itself to fill in joist cavities that have no insulation or laid as a thick layer over the top of existing batts of fiberglass insulation. ", Q: "Is there a way to confirm the appropriate density of a damp-spray installation -- I.e., should you be able to compress it with your hand?". 4. So if you are installing the product at a very high density, you will probably see the R-value per inch start to drop off. If I have a dense packed rafter cavity 11 1/4" thick is there really going to be any interior heat getting to sheathing? Some of the most common places to install cellulose insulation include attics and new open walls. construction details. For overhead applications, slopes and flat ceilings, than the Insulweb will need to be stapled up in order to support the dense pack cellulose overhead. We are the leading choice for blown in, loose fill cellulose insulation installation across Toronto, the GTA and Southern Ontario. The installation process for dry cellulose insulation looks like this: There are a number of advantages to using cellulose insulation over other types: There are also a few drawbacks to cellulose insulation: With cellulose, eco-friendliness is a debatable issue. Is my roof doomed to premature failure? Install the fabric, and then strap the ceiling with 1x4s or 2x4s. To get the right amount of insulation and make your home ideal, choose the right insulation installation and insulation removal specialists. 2. One thing I have learned over the years is that when we get to thicker walls, we have to increase the density a little more — to just over 4 pounds per cubic foot for a 12-inch thick wall, and to as much as 5.1 pounds per cubic foot for a 27-inch-thick R-100 wall." Types of Cellulose Insulation. James, Is it typical to do loose packed on the sides and dense pack under floorboards this way? Anderson Insulation is New England’s expert when it comes to cellulose installation. We started installing their product over this past summer and fell in love with the product right away. Conclusion: "We're never going to do that again.". When cellulose soaks up moisture in enclosed areas, it can take a long time to dry out. Dennis, Unlike fiberglass insulation which improves with the increase of density, cellulose insulation offers the same protective values across the board regardless of material density. Concerning whether you will get the same performance with fiberglass batts as dense-packed cellulose: no, you won't get the same performance. This won't delete the articles you've saved, just the list. A pic, the cellulose from migrating between truss bays plastic bags and inconsistent texture blowing... Inches to equal an R-19 batt articles, enyclopedia, videos, library! The tricks of the most popular insulation options cellulose insulation one of two.! 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