I live in an 85-year townhouse in Washington, DC with an
underinsulated attic. I am considering cellulose insulation (DIY) as
a cost-effective fix.

I've got a flat roof with a narrow attic -- 2.5 ft above the joists at
the front of the house, down to 1.5 ft at the back. I went up today
to explore and discovered two massive beams parallel to the joists,
effectively dividing the house into thirds, front to back. I should
be able to get around the front beam. But there is no way around the
back one, to the back third of the attic. To my horror, this back
third is COMPLETELY uninsulated (and has been for 85 years!).

The questions:

* Has anyone tried cellulose insulation in such a tight space?

* How far does the blower shoot the stuff and with how much control?
The problematic beam is about 15 ft from the back of the house. I've
never done this before, but figure, extending the blower over the beam
as far as I can, I could get the insulation about 5 or 7 ft past it,
leaving the back 15-20% of the attic uninsulated. Or am I over- or
under-estimating the ability to shoot this stuff further back in
crammed quarters?

* Is this even worth my effort and money if I don't get full
coverage? I figure I'll notice an improvement, even if it's not
perfect.

* Any ideas on how to get at this back third of the house? Here are
some thoughts I've had:
1) Shoot massive amounts of the crap indiscriminately in the back in
hopes that at least some settles towards the back of the house.
2) Try to use some sort of stick to push piles of it towards the back.
3) Put a hole through a ceiling at the back of the house large enough
to crawl up.
4) Disconnect the HVAC duct (6 ft from the back of the house) and just
blast away upwards, knowing I still won't get full coverage.

Any thoughts or reaction would be most appreciated. Summer's here...

Perry

On May 28, 11:13 pm, wrote:
I live in an 85-year townhouse in Washington, DC with an
underinsulated attic. I am considering cellulose insulation (DIY) as
a cost-effective fix.

I've got a flat roof with a narrow attic -- 2.5 ft above the joists at
the front of the house, down to 1.5 ft at the back. I went up today
to explore and discovered two massive beams parallel to the joists,
effectively dividing the house into thirds, front to back. I should
be able to get around the front beam. But there is no way around the
back one, to the back third of the attic. To my horror, this back
third is COMPLETELY uninsulated (and has been for 85 years!).

The questions:

* Has anyone tried cellulose insulation in such a tight space?

* How far does the blower shoot the stuff and with how much control?
The problematic beam is about 15 ft from the back of the house. I've
never done this before, but figure, extending the blower over the beam
as far as I can, I could get the insulation about 5 or 7 ft past it,
leaving the back 15-20% of the attic uninsulated. Or am I over- or
under-estimating the ability to shoot this stuff further back in
crammed quarters?

* Is this even worth my effort and money if I don't get full
coverage? I figure I'll notice an improvement, even if it's not
perfect.

* Any ideas on how to get at this back third of the house? Here are
some thoughts I've had:
1) Shoot massive amounts of the crap indiscriminately in the back in
hopes that at least some settles towards the back of the house.
2) Try to use some sort of stick to push piles of it towards the back.
3) Put a hole through a ceiling at the back of the house large enough
to crawl up.
4) Disconnect the HVAC duct (6 ft from the back of the house) and just
blast away upwards, knowing I still won't get full coverage.

Any thoughts or reaction would be most appreciated. Summer's here...

Perry

The blowers I've used would shoot about 6 feet. You can turn up the
air pressure, but it gets incredibly dusty. You might try duct taping
a 1x2 to the hose to get further.

"marson" wrote in message
oups.com...
On May 28, 11:13 pm, wrote:
I live in an 85-year townhouse in Washington, DC with an
underinsulated attic. I am considering cellulose insulation (DIY)
as
a cost-effective fix.

I've got a flat roof with a narrow attic -- 2.5 ft above the joists
at
the front of the house, down to 1.5 ft at the back. I went up
today
to explore and discovered two massive beams parallel to the joists,
effectively dividing the house into thirds, front to back. I
should
be able to get around the front beam. But there is no way around
the
back one, to the back third of the attic. To my horror, this back
third is COMPLETELY uninsulated (and has been for 85 years!).

The questions:

* Has anyone tried cellulose insulation in such a tight space?

* How far does the blower shoot the stuff and with how much
control?
The problematic beam is about 15 ft from the back of the house.
I've
never done this before, but figure, extending the blower over the
beam
as far as I can, I could get the insulation about 5 or 7 ft past
it,
leaving the back 15-20% of the attic uninsulated. Or am I over- or
under-estimating the ability to shoot this stuff further back in
crammed quarters?

* Is this even worth my effort and money if I don't get full
coverage? I figure I'll notice an improvement, even if it's not
perfect.

* Any ideas on how to get at this back third of the house? Here
are
some thoughts I've had:
1) Shoot massive amounts of the crap indiscriminately in the back
in
hopes that at least some settles towards the back of the house.
2) Try to use some sort of stick to push piles of it towards the
back.
3) Put a hole through a ceiling at the back of the house large
enough
to crawl up.
4) Disconnect the HVAC duct (6 ft from the back of the house) and
just
blast away upwards, knowing I still won't get full coverage.

Any thoughts or reaction would be most appreciated. Summer's
here...

Perry

The blowers I've used would shoot about 6 feet. You can turn up the
air pressure, but it gets incredibly dusty. You might try duct
taping
a 1x2 to the hose to get further.


Or just attach a length of plastic pipe.

Bob

On Tue, 29 May 2007 09:38:56 -0700, "Bob F"
wrote:


"marson" wrote in message
roups.com...
On May 28, 11:13 pm, wrote:
I live in an 85-year townhouse in Washington, DC with an
underinsulated attic. I am considering cellulose insulation (DIY)
as
a cost-effective fix.

I've got a flat roof with a narrow attic -- 2.5 ft above the joists
at
the front of the house, down to 1.5 ft at the back. I went up
today
to explore and discovered two massive beams parallel to the joists,
effectively dividing the house into thirds, front to back. I
should
be able to get around the front beam. But there is no way around
the
back one, to the back third of the attic. To my horror, this back
third is COMPLETELY uninsulated (and has been for 85 years!).

The questions:

* Has anyone tried cellulose insulation in such a tight space?

* How far does the blower shoot the stuff and with how much
control?
The problematic beam is about 15 ft from the back of the house.
I've
never done this before, but figure, extending the blower over the
beam
as far as I can, I could get the insulation about 5 or 7 ft past
it,
leaving the back 15-20% of the attic uninsulated. Or am I over- or
under-estimating the ability to shoot this stuff further back in
crammed quarters?

* Is this even worth my effort and money if I don't get full
coverage? I figure I'll notice an improvement, even if it's not
perfect.

* Any ideas on how to get at this back third of the house? Here
are
some thoughts I've had:
1) Shoot massive amounts of the crap indiscriminately in the back
in
hopes that at least some settles towards the back of the house.
2) Try to use some sort of stick to push piles of it towards the
back.
3) Put a hole through a ceiling at the back of the house large
enough
to crawl up.
4) Disconnect the HVAC duct (6 ft from the back of the house) and
just
blast away upwards, knowing I still won't get full coverage.

Any thoughts or reaction would be most appreciated. Summer's
here...

Perry

The blowers I've used would shoot about 6 feet. You can turn up the
air pressure, but it gets incredibly dusty. You might try duct
taping
a 1x2 to the hose to get further.


Or just attach a length of plastic pipe.

Bob


Or cut a hole in the gable at that end, and stick a vent/grill
over the hole when done. Or go up through the ceiling of whatever
room is underneath. Personally, I'd cut an access hatch at the
far end, because I dislike having places I can't get to.

Is your attic vented? If so, how are you going to keep from
blocking the vents?