Insulation Question
 

On Feb 27, 12:29*pm, (fwfrog)
wrote:
(I had been posting in another thread, but I kept getting error messages
when I tried to add another reply. *As such, I'm seeing if a new thread
will take my submission.)

We are thinking of adding insulation to our old home in Fort Worth, Texas..
*There's a subsidy program where the state pays for part of the insulation
if you use a participating vendor.

Here are the price breakdowns for blown-in fiberglass*:

R-30 (12 inches) - $200
R-38 (17 inches) - $460
R-49 (18.5 inches) - $709

*I don't know any more about the composition of the fiberglass, other than
it's blown-in, it's white, it's non-itchy, and it's very lightweight.

The 1,000 sq. foot house is 80+ years old with maybe a couple of inches of
old cellulose in the attic. *The attic is completely "open".

There's a gas furnace in the attic and a new electric A/C unit (14 SEER)
outside. *We're more concerned about insulating for the heat vs. the cold.

What's the best deal? *(I've used online savings calculators--but they
don't seem to give consistent answers.)

Maybe I'm a little confused on R-values. *Is the value # determined by how
many inches you have blown-in? *In other words, 12 inches provides R-30
protection. *I couldn't have 12 inches of R-38... I'd need more inches to
get the stronger R-value, right?

Or is the R-value an inherent quality of the fiberglass (like the SPF
value of sunscreen) where a higher R-value equals more "protection"? *In
other words, 18.5 inches of R-49 is greater than 18.5 inches of R-30.

Thanks again for everyone's help. *I think I'm eventually going to
understand all this -- but you've got to start somewhere, right? :)

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A different perspective is, Google, Fiberglass Loosing and "looses"
R Value At Low Temperatures, its reported to be up to 50%. 20-30% is
proven. So I over insulated, insulation is cheap labor is not. But I
go to -22f. The theory still applies, into you wallet.

Insulation Question
 

On Feb 27, 4:26*pm, ransley wrote:
On Feb 27, 12:29*pm, (fwfrog)
wrote:





(I had been posting in another thread, but I kept getting error messages
when I tried to add another reply. *As such, I'm seeing if a new thread
will take my submission.)

We are thinking of adding insulation to our old home in Fort Worth, Texas.
*There's a subsidy program where the state pays for part of the insulation
if you use a participating vendor.

Here are the price breakdowns for blown-in fiberglass*:

R-30 (12 inches) - $200
R-38 (17 inches) - $460
R-49 (18.5 inches) - $709

*I don't know any more about the composition of the fiberglass, other than
it's blown-in, it's white, it's non-itchy, and it's very lightweight.

The 1,000 sq. foot house is 80+ years old with maybe a couple of inches of
old cellulose in the attic. *The attic is completely "open".

There's a gas furnace in the attic and a new electric A/C unit (14 SEER)
outside. *We're more concerned about insulating for the heat vs. the cold.

What's the best deal? *(I've used online savings calculators--but they
don't seem to give consistent answers.)

Maybe I'm a little confused on R-values. *Is the value # determined by how
many inches you have blown-in? *In other words, 12 inches provides R-30
protection. *I couldn't have 12 inches of R-38... I'd need more inches to
get the stronger R-value, right?

Or is the R-value an inherent quality of the fiberglass (like the SPF
value of sunscreen) where a higher R-value equals more "protection"? *In
other words, 18.5 inches of R-49 is greater than 18.5 inches of R-30.

Thanks again for everyone's help. *I think I'm eventually going to
understand all this -- but you've got to start somewhere, right? :)

##-----------------------------------------------##
Delivered via *http://www.thestuccocompany.com/
Building Construction and Maintenance Forum
Web and RSS access to your favorite newsgroup -
alt.home.repair - 342640 messages and counting!
##-----------------------------------------------##

A different perspective is, Google, Fiberglass Loosing *and "looses"
R Value At Low Temperatures, its reported to be up to 50%. 20-30% *is
proven. So I over insulated, insulation is cheap labor is not. But I
go to -22f. The theory still applies, into you wallet.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -


Am I the only one wondering how blown-in fiberglass at 17 inches is
R38, yet at 18.5 inches it's R49? Something there doesn't compute
because I don't think that 1.5 inches should make that big of a
difference.

Insulation Question
 

fwfrog had written this in response to
http://www.thestuccocompany.com/main...on-361705-.htm
:
I kind of wondered the same thing. Seems like a big price jump for 1.5
inches.

Also, I should edit a previous post... our average electric bill right now
is $160-$175 a month (not $60-$75, as I mistakenly calculated).


---------
Am I the only one wondering how blown-in fiberglass at 17 inches is
R38, yet at 18.5 inches it's R49? Something there doesn't compute
because I don't think that 1.5 inches should make that big of a
difference.





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Insulation Question
 

fwfrog wrote:
....
Am I the only one wondering how blown-in fiberglass at 17 inches is
R38, yet at 18.5 inches it's R49? Something there doesn't compute
because I don't think that 1.5 inches should make that big of a
difference.

I kind of wondered the same thing. Seems like a big price jump for 1.5
inches.
....

I really hadn't paid any attention to the actual quotes, etc., as it's
such a generic question and I would still recommend the energy audit
from an independent particularly if the utility company has them at
minimal cost as many do.

But, the answer to the specific question is the estimates aren't right.
I don't know the particular product but a typical blown fiberglass R
value is 2.5/inch and that is fixed for a given product. So,unless they
quoted a different insulation material the R values should be directly
proportional to the installed thickness within roundoff.

As someone else noted, cost would be expected to go down on an
incremental basis as the material cost goes up compared to the fixed
costs as time differential is pretty small.

One additional thing to be noted in blowing into an attic -- be certain
the soffet vents don't get blocked cutting off the necessary circulation.

--

Insulation Question
 

dpb wrote:

... unless they quoted a different insulation material the R values should
be directly proportional to the installed thickness within roundoff.

Perhaps both include the fixed cost of showing up.

Nick

Insulation Question
 

On Feb 28, 12:41�pm, wrote:
dpb wrote:
... unless they quoted a different insulation material the R values should
be directly proportional to the installed thickness within roundoff.

Perhaps both include the fixed cost of showing up.

Nick

expandiong foam is far better as it expands it seals air leaks that
make up much energy loss.

fiberglass cant seal holes

the foam will seal the air leaks around wiring boxes

Insulation Question
 

On Feb 27, 6:37*pm, wrote:
On Feb 27, 4:26*pm, ransley wrote:





On Feb 27, 12:29*pm, (fwfrog)
wrote:

(I had been posting in another thread, but I kept getting error messages
when I tried to add another reply. *As such, I'm seeing if a new thread
will take my submission.)

We are thinking of adding insulation to our old home in Fort Worth, Texas.
*There's a subsidy program where the state pays for part of the insulation
if you use a participating vendor.

Here are the price breakdowns for blown-in fiberglass*:

R-30 (12 inches) - $200
R-38 (17 inches) - $460
R-49 (18.5 inches) - $709

*I don't know any more about the composition of the fiberglass, other than
it's blown-in, it's white, it's non-itchy, and it's very lightweight.

The 1,000 sq. foot house is 80+ years old with maybe a couple of inches of
old cellulose in the attic. *The attic is completely "open".

There's a gas furnace in the attic and a new electric A/C unit (14 SEER)
outside. *We're more concerned about insulating for the heat vs. the cold.

What's the best deal? *(I've used online savings calculators--but they
don't seem to give consistent answers.)

Maybe I'm a little confused on R-values. *Is the value # determined by how
many inches you have blown-in? *In other words, 12 inches provides R-30
protection. *I couldn't have 12 inches of R-38... I'd need more inches to
get the stronger R-value, right?

Or is the R-value an inherent quality of the fiberglass (like the SPF
value of sunscreen) where a higher R-value equals more "protection"? *In
other words, 18.5 inches of R-49 is greater than 18.5 inches of R-30.

Thanks again for everyone's help. *I think I'm eventually going to
understand all this -- but you've got to start somewhere, right? :)

##-----------------------------------------------##
Delivered via *http://www.thestuccocompany.com/
Building Construction and Maintenance Forum
Web and RSS access to your favorite newsgroup -
alt.home.repair - 342640 messages and counting!
##-----------------------------------------------##

A different perspective is, Google, Fiberglass Loosing *and "looses"
R Value At Low Temperatures, its reported to be up to 50%. 20-30% *is
proven. So I over insulated, insulation is cheap labor is not. But I
go to -22f. The theory still applies, into you wallet.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Am I the only one wondering how blown-in fiberglass at 17 inches is
R38, yet at 18.5 inches it's R49? *Something there doesn't compute
because I don't think that 1.5 inches should make that big of a
difference.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Good question , but I bet its not 17"

Insulation Question
 

On Feb 28, 12:41*pm, wrote:
dpb wrote:
... unless they quoted a different insulation material the R values should
be directly proportional to the installed thickness within roundoff.

Perhaps both include the fixed cost of showing up.

Nick

Two points:

1 - He said the R values should be proportional to the installed
thickness, which is true and costs don't factor into that

2 - If you allow for fixed costs, then getting 2X the inches of
insulation should cost less than 2X the price. In his quotes, in one
case, it costs MORE per inch for the thicker blown-in insulation.