blown in wall insulation
#11
looking to insulate our walls, they have no insulation, except in the addition.  Have already insulated the attic.

What we notice is on hot days, the south inside wall of the house (house is stucco) stays warm well past sundown, and the AC runs because (we think) the stucco is radiating heat into the house (and to the outside).  So insulating the wall will slow/stop that heat infiltration.  It should also help in the winter time to keep the house a bit warmer, though the attic insulation is going to do most of that.


contacted one company, they come drill 3" holes in the sheetrock and blow in fiberglass to the tune of about $3k.  Either I patch the holes, or they have a drywall company that will come patch them...for more $$...the sales guy said the drywall work is often as much if not more than their cost. so on the order of $6k, not sure its worth it for that much.

reading a bit on the web, and it sounds like dense packed cellulose it a better option for blowing in walls.

So I was thinking...

finding stud bays, easy enough 
drilling 3" holes, easy enough 
renting the machine and buying the insulation, easy enough...if you buy enough insulation, they don't charge you for the machine.
blowing in the cellulose, well from watching videos, that doesn't look too hard, though messy....but who knows never done it.
patching the holes, I have a retired contractor that knows how to do that.  (which he could also do if we paid the company...)

anyone done this for their house?

other suggestions?

Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. - Philip K. Dick

Mark

Reply
#12
Quote:So insulating the wall will slow/stop that heat infiltration.  It should also help in the winter time to keep the house a bit warmer, though the attic insulation is going to do most of that.


Yes, it will.



Quote:sounds like dense packed cellulose it a better option for blowing in walls


Depends on who you ask.  It's a hotly debated topic and I think in the end it comes down to the competence of the co. doing the work.   In your case, any insulation is better than none - so I wouldn't fret over choosing either material.


Quote:blowing in the cellulose, well from watching videos, that doesn't look too hard, though messy....
Yup, it's not terribly demanding physically or mentally, but knowing when / how to fill the entire cavity will be a challenge for a beginner.




Quote:so on the order of $6k, not sure its worth it for that much.
That's a personal question only you can answer.   There will be a payback from lowered utility bills that can be calculated.  The value of your time and the value you place on comfort and convenience of someone else doing the work is something you have to determine for yourself.


Keep in mind that most/all DIY rental blowers are not set up for blowing into 3" holes in wall cavities.  I'll bet you could modify them easy enough, but you need to factor the time and $ that will entail.
Reply
#13
the machines that HD have look to have a 2-3" flex hose, from watching the video's online, it looked like I should be using a smooth 2" clear tube/hose.

So I figured I'd buy a 10' section, tape that to the end of the machine's hose and go to town.


We're planning on retiring and moving out of state in a year or two.  so I'm not sure $3-6k is worth it.  spending ~$500 on insulation and doing it myself seems worthwhile.  might even make that back in 2 years on lower utility bills.

Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. - Philip K. Dick

Mark

Reply
#14
Around here they advertise foam insulation with a higher R value
Reply
#15
(09-20-2022, 01:57 PM)fixtureman Wrote: Around here they advertise foam insulation with a higher R value

how do they get foam insulation in an existing wall?

can they spray that in a smallish hole and get good coverage?  don't think I'd want to try that myself.

Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. - Philip K. Dick

Mark

Reply
#16
Look into retro-foam.

Ed
Reply
#17
well....retro-foam has no dealers in California.

Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. - Philip K. Dick

Mark

Reply
#18
I've used the machine from H.D. rentals. It's free with ??? bags purchased. (Rental is seperate from the Store and Rental doesn't care how much you return to the Store, so it's free rental.) On T.O.H., Tom drilled several holes in a bay and worked his way up. At my Church, the installers filled the open bays from the attic. (They were accessible because of the coffered ceiling.) They had very limited success because of diagonal bracing and windows, but on the open bays, it made it down to the sill. 

The machines I've used require two people. One to load and one to blow. I haven't done walls (only attics) but I can say that it can make a huge mess in your house in a heartbeat! 

If you do drill holes in the wallboard, save the pieces. They fit the holes with just the right amount of space for compound. You might as well budget for repainting at least the whole wall, if not the entire room too.
Sign at N.E. Vocational School Cabinetmaking Shop 1976, "Free knowledge given daily... Bring your own container"
Reply
#19
(09-20-2022, 02:24 PM)meackerman Wrote: how do they get foam insulation in an existing wall?

can they spray that in a smallish hole and get good coverage?  don't think I'd want to try that myself.

They drill small holes.  I rented one of those cellulose from home depot you need at least 2 people and the person running the hose gets zapped over and over from the static electric
Reply
#20
I figured I would number the drywall discs as I drilled them, get them back in the same spot, incase there's a big difference in drywall compound from one to another.

With this house, it wouldn't surprise me.

I figured on 3 people, one to keep the hopper loaded, one to run the hose and one to run the remote.

Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. - Philip K. Dick

Mark

Reply


Forum Jump:


Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)

Product Recommendations

Here are some supplies and tools we find essential in our everyday work around the shop. We may receive a commission from sales referred by our links; however, we have carefully selected these products for their usefulness and quality.