I installed a Clydesdale last winter and it was great. My house is a 1959 three bedroom ranch. Origanal insulation. Maybe about 4'' thick. The living room/dining room has a cathedral ceiling, which from the attic is about 2 1/2' from the roof. Not enough space for my old bones to crawl around in. The room is 650 sq/ft. and the insert is at the far end, typical. If I have the space insulated will there be a noticable differance getting the heat to the bedrooms? (cost effective) Is blown in insulation as effective as conventional rolls? Thanks in advance, Ken
INSULATION HELP
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newtothis said:
Insulation should make a noticeable difference, and blown-in can actually be _more_ effective than batts. Blown in cellulose lets less air through it than fiberglass, plus blown-in conforms to all existing shapes, without the voids and gaps that are the norm with batts.
When it comes to insulation more is always better ;-)
Blown in insulation comes in many forms and prices. The stuff that I helped my dad use fifteen or so years ago has now settled in wall cavities, leaving an uninsulated gap at the top of walls. I would not recommend it in walls. The other downside to walls is that in our farmhouse with the story and a half feature there was a very wide space between the outside wall and inside wall on the upper floor. What you might call the kneewall is now very well insulated, about two and a half feet thick with blown in insulation. So don't do blown in on a tight budget, you may have to go and buy a lot more than you planned on. The other downside to blowing in insulation in walls is that some walls are not meant to contain that much force. Some walls sag, bow, or flex when you get several hundred pounds of insulation pushing on them.
That being said, my aversion to blown in insulation in walls does not extend to ceilings. For the spot you are talking about blown in is probably the best choice. Blown in gives you fairly even coverage and also gives you a thermal break over the ceiling joists.
Costs are hard for me to estimate for you here. Maine is somewhat different from Long Island. Many of the tool rental places will rent you an insulation blower for a diy job. Shopping around is always worthwhile on this sort of thing.
I believe that the minimum recommendation is to pile the blown in insulation at least two inches over the top of the ceiling/ attic floor joists, but depending on the product you use more may be beneficial.
Blown in insulation comes in many forms and prices. The stuff that I helped my dad use fifteen or so years ago has now settled in wall cavities, leaving an uninsulated gap at the top of walls. I would not recommend it in walls. The other downside to walls is that in our farmhouse with the story and a half feature there was a very wide space between the outside wall and inside wall on the upper floor. What you might call the kneewall is now very well insulated, about two and a half feet thick with blown in insulation. So don't do blown in on a tight budget, you may have to go and buy a lot more than you planned on. The other downside to blowing in insulation in walls is that some walls are not meant to contain that much force. Some walls sag, bow, or flex when you get several hundred pounds of insulation pushing on them.
That being said, my aversion to blown in insulation in walls does not extend to ceilings. For the spot you are talking about blown in is probably the best choice. Blown in gives you fairly even coverage and also gives you a thermal break over the ceiling joists.
Costs are hard for me to estimate for you here. Maine is somewhat different from Long Island. Many of the tool rental places will rent you an insulation blower for a diy job. Shopping around is always worthwhile on this sort of thing.
I believe that the minimum recommendation is to pile the blown in insulation at least two inches over the top of the ceiling/ attic floor joists, but depending on the product you use more may be beneficial.
crawling around in an attic is no fun, i have seen people do damage to their ceiling etc, done a ton of houses over the years we have found that there is always a small guy who will do it as cheap [installed] as we can buy material to do it our self. [pretty close anyway] They use a big commercial machine and takes them two hours. depth: more is better, blown density always looks like there is to munch in there but it settles over time. a good foot is the old rule now they are doing 18 inches.The low heel height on your truss is something that you will have to live with, 99% of the houses built around here are that way. R-valve works as an average,thicker in the middle will help off set the thinner edges. Note: make sure there are air baffles between the trusses/rafters to allow air to circulate, the other big problem DIY have is a tendency to fill up the over hangs with insulation, not good
I found that was true when we had additional fiberglass insulation blown in the attic last year. Also, there was a big difference in the prices quoted by about three contractors for the same work scope.
if the insulation baffles are installed correctly they will help keep the insulation out of the overhangs. depends on the pitch, on how much room you have to move around. but blowing it to the eve edge is the normal process.
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