insulation helps

i firmly agree!! bang for the buck , insulation is still the biggest lower comparative cost energy saving addition you can add to your home , and the best part is it can be done in most cases by the homeowner so an expensive contractor while some may opt for one due to the "itchy" nature of some insulations, may not be necessary. another angle , if you own or are buying your home , home improvements may in a lot of cases be written off as a tax deduction , so save your reciepts!!

BTW daksy, i havent had a chance to say hi, welcome to the hearth! glad to see another member of the service crowd on board , looking forward to "working with you" in the hearth.

So right.
Recently had the house resided. The installer put on another layer of insulation plus sealed the house. I also added stormwindows to the double panes Even found a set of storm doors for the double atrium doors. Then we try to limit access to the door with the double entry. Have insulating blinds on some windows.
I had my oil tank filled 9 April, used oil for heat and hot water for the rest of the heating season, then oil just for hot water. Put the pellet stove in by Sep. Had the oil filled last week when I thought the price was reasonable. Took 100.6 gallons! I have burned about 1 and a half tons of pellets so far. Bought them @ 249.00 a ton. Heating about 2100 feet. Temp never lower than 72 most anywhere in the house. Have learned a lot from this forum. Looking forward to getting better at running the stove.

Has any one blown in insulation through the walls like this.

http://www.easy2diy.com/cm/easy/diy_ht_index.asp?page_id=35720202


any tips..? I need to do this.

chrisasst said:

Has any one blown in insulation through the walls like this.

http://www.easy2diy.com/cm/easy/diy_ht_index.asp?page_id=35720202


any tips..? I need to do this.

Click to expand...

HI chrisasst,

I actually built an in-law and a 28'x28' addition recently at my house and used blown in insulation. For us the walls weren't already up so we ended up using a netting over the studs to hold the insulation in. It made it much easier to see what was going on while we did it. Here are a few tips:

1) make sure that the hose goes in the wall all the way down to the floor. If you just stick it in the hole at the top of the wall, the insulation will clump and won't get all the way down.

2) when the hose is all the way down, keep blowing until the insulation isn't moving through the hose any more. You'll hear the difference through the hose. This will make sure the insulation is packed well. If it isn't packed well, it will settle down after a few years.

3) once the insulation is no longer moving through the hose, pull it back a few inches. Keep repeating this process until the hose is all the way out. (It usually takes about a minute per stud space.

4) I used the hose from my shop vac and duct taped it to the hose that came with the blower. The shop vac hose was smaller and sneaks between the wires and wall easier. The junction between the blower hose and shop vac hose does block up once in a while, but not very often, and it's well worth the maneuverability.

5) Don't skimp on the insulation. All it takes is a small air hole to ruin all of the hard work you did. I blew 18"+ on top of my great room and I don't think that we used more than 50 gallons of oil extra compared to when we didn't have the room (before my pellet stove!).

6) Be extra careful on very narrow spaces. It's really easy to have the insulation blowing into a clump and to leave a gap from the floor to where the insulation is. It may be worth cutting extra holes on the narrow stud space to make sure you get everything.

BLOCK ALL OTHER ROOMS and cover everything that is exposed. IT WILL GET EVERYWHERE!!

Have fun! We bought the insulation and did it ourselves and are very happy with the results!

I'd be more than happy to answer any specific questions you have. I'm not a construction worker, just a handy homeowner who likes to help!

Good luck!