"Lawrence" wrote in message
oups.com...

Eigenvector wrote:
None of the studs in my walls are evenly spaced. I think one section is
actually a standard space apart ( whatever that is, 24" or something),

Standard distance is 16" on center. Some are 24", but its' rare.

rest are too close together and one is about 1.5 times wider than normal.
This is due to the cross beam placement in the ceiling I suspose. How do
I
know it's too close together - when installing the insulation I have to
bunch it up in the space. Is that a bad thing to do? Right now its all
scrunched up in there, nothing too tight, but definitely compressed to
some
degree.

if your spaces are irregular then you have to cut bats to fit. It's
better to have it be a bit too large than too small so a certain amount
of scrunching is inevitable. It is not ideal but nothing is,
especially with regards to fiberglass bats.

When working insulation around boxes, should I cut the insulation short
of
the box, then mold a bottom piece of insulation to fit around the box,
and
continue down the wall? I have a notion of just shoving it in there, but
I've been warned about hotspots by doing that.

I like to cut a notch slighty smaller than the box so it will fit
around the box snugly. I then cut a small piece of glass to fit under
the box. I size it to overlap the large piece and tear it in half to
reduce the thickness.

Lastly, in some sections I have romex running down the stud from the
ceiling
to outlet boxes and such. Should I do anything with the insulation along
the stud where the Romex is routed?

One other thing, is it easier to work with insulation with a pair of
scissors or a cutter? I'm using a cutter, but I notice that while the
paper
is cut evenly, the insulation is typically raggedy. The pink stuff isn't
the best medium for a box cutter.

I use a breakaway style utiliity knife. they can be found usually in
the paint section and sometimes with the other utility knives. This
style of knife can be extended and retracted. It gives you a nice long
blade to work with, several inches. But the real trick for cutting
insulation is to press the insulaton down at cut line down with a 2x4.
This compresses it and makes it a lot easier to cut regardless of what
type of knife you use.

It helpful to have an improvised workbench. I use a hunk of plywood
over sawhorses. Then you can cut straight through the glass to the
plywood using the edge of the 2x4 as a guide for your knife. When
measuring for fiberglass recognize that it is impossible to make a
perfect cut. Recognizing that, shoot for having your piece be ever so
slightly larger that needed. Then you can do a little scrunching if
neccessary to be sure there are no gaps or cold spots. Avoidance of
cold spots is a very big deal compared to a small amount of scrunching.

Thanks all for the responses. For the sounds of it I need to change my
knife, and maybe get a better work surface. I'll figure it out.

I've been trying to do everything while in place, but I guess once the wall
has been measured the rest can be done on a better work surface.