Hello,

I live in an 80 year old bungalow with quasi-balloon framing. The
exterior walls currently have no insulation and I'd like to remedy
that. The stud cavities are open to the basement along the foundation
plate due to the framing technique. I was wondering what the
possibility of using an insulation blower from home depot to blow
insulation into the cavity from below would be. Obviously I'd have to
install some blocking after blowing it in to keep it from falling back
into the basement but that would be no big deal.

I was thinking I could shove the hose all the way up the wall, blow it
in and keep blowing as I pulled the hose out.

Any suggestions? Other methods? I know I could pull shingles on the
outside and drill holes but If I can avoid that, it might be better.
The windows in my house go almost to the ceiling so missing the spaces
above the windows would be no big deal.

Matt

wrote:

Hello,

I live in an 80 year old bungalow with quasi-balloon framing. The
exterior walls currently have no insulation and I'd like to remedy
that. The stud cavities are open to the basement along the foundation
plate due to the framing technique. I was wondering what the
possibility of using an insulation blower from home depot to blow
insulation into the cavity from below would be. Obviously I'd have to
install some blocking after blowing it in to keep it from falling back
into the basement but that would be no big deal.

I was thinking I could shove the hose all the way up the wall, blow it
in and keep blowing as I pulled the hose out.

Any suggestions? Other methods? I know I could pull shingles on the
outside and drill holes but If I can avoid that, it might be better.
The windows in my house go almost to the ceiling so missing the spaces
above the windows would be no big deal.

Matt


I'll give your scheme a qualified "maybe".

Bungalow = single story?

Do this as an experiment:
Get a length of the hose you think will fit
and be stiff enough. Try pushing it up the
wall/stud space. Have someone upstairs to
listen for its travel.

It will be a little slower with the reduced
size hose but the stuff will blow.

Caveats:
You'll probably have a dusty mess in the basement.

Especially if you use a humidifier in winter,
consider adding vapor barrier (paints/wallcoverings)
to walls, otherwise you could have significant
moisture problem in the walls/insulation.

Jim

Thanks Jim,

It's a story and a half but the upper floor was recently renovated and
is fully insulated. We don't humidify and we use hot water heat.

Matt

wrote:
Hello,

I live in an 80 year old bungalow with quasi-balloon framing. The
exterior walls currently have no insulation and I'd like to remedy
that. The stud cavities are open to the basement along the foundation
plate due to the framing technique. I was wondering what the
possibility of using an insulation blower from home depot to blow
insulation into the cavity from below would be. Obviously I'd have to
install some blocking after blowing it in to keep it from falling back
into the basement but that would be no big deal.

I was thinking I could shove the hose all the way up the wall, blow it
in and keep blowing as I pulled the hose out.

Any suggestions? Other methods? I know I could pull shingles on the
outside and drill holes but If I can avoid that, it might be better.
The windows in my house go almost to the ceiling so missing the spaces
above the windows would be no big deal.

Matt

How about the expanding foam like you can buy in cans to fill cracks?
It'll expand to fill all the space/cracks better than the blown will and
won't settle over time. It'll stick to the inside so blocking at the
bottom shouldn't be needed.

Not sure if this is a DIY project though. The installer has to be
careful not to put too much in a space so as not to blow the wall apart.
Although the open bottom may provide enough of a relief for the pressure.

Dense packed cellulose is the material of choice for exterior walls. I'm not
sure if the machines you rent from the home improvement store have the power
to dense pack the walls. You may want to call in the pros for this job. Good
luck.




wrote in message
oups.com...
Hello,

I live in an 80 year old bungalow with quasi-balloon framing. The
exterior walls currently have no insulation and I'd like to remedy
that. The stud cavities are open to the basement along the foundation
plate due to the framing technique. I was wondering what the
possibility of using an insulation blower from home depot to blow
insulation into the cavity from below would be. Obviously I'd have to
install some blocking after blowing it in to keep it from falling back
into the basement but that would be no big deal.

I was thinking I could shove the hose all the way up the wall, blow it
in and keep blowing as I pulled the hose out.

Any suggestions? Other methods? I know I could pull shingles on the
outside and drill holes but If I can avoid that, it might be better.
The windows in my house go almost to the ceiling so missing the spaces
above the windows would be no big deal.

Matt

On 5 Oct 2005 05:29:27 -0700, someone wrote:

Any suggestions? Other methods? I know I could pull shingles on the
outside and drill holes but If I can avoid that, it might be better.


Drill the farking holes. You are going to twice as much trouble to
save half as much trouble. With SHINGLES for heaven sake this is easy
as you are not damaging a many feet length of siding with each hole,
just a single shingle here and there.


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