Anybody had any luck blowing cellulose or fiber rock type insulation into an
existing structure?
I recently bought an older home (1940's vintage). It's frame with brick
veneer.
I know you can rent the machines to blow this stuff in but is it worth it or
should this be left to a professional?
Thanks
Snappa

snapperhead wrote:

Anybody had any luck blowing cellulose or fiber rock type insulation into an
existing structure?
I recently bought an older home (1940's vintage). It's frame with brick
veneer.
I know you can rent the machines to blow this stuff in but is it worth it or
should this be left to a professional?
Thanks
Snappa

Assuming you're right about there being full stud spaces (2 X 4
framing),
the question becomes where do you bore holes to blow in?
The pros will sometimes drill thru the brickwork where there is no
alternative but obviously it's a lot of work and leaves scars.

You can bore holes thru the plaster on the inside (usually one hole
top and bottom of each stud space) and redecorate later.
On a one-story house, you can (maybe) drill thru the top plate
in the attic.

Also, give some thought to providing vapor barrier if this is
a wintry area. You can do it with lo-perm paint on the walls,
or wallpapers that act as a barrier.

http://www.cellulose.org/

http://hem.dis.anl.gov/eehem/98/980508.html



Jim

Yup - I contacted with a company to blow in and they drilled holes top and
bottom of each room every 16" and they were GOOD at patching their holes.
They drilled outside where they couldn't drill inside. It made a HUGE
difference in the temp of the house - like one could actually have their bed
against an outside wall and not wake up BLUE (from cold)!

Not a DIY, in my humble opinion.
______________________
Claudia
Totus Tuus
snapperhead wrote:

Anybody had any luck blowing cellulose or fiber rock type insulation
into an
existing structure?
I recently bought an older home (1940's vintage). It's frame with brick
veneer.
I know you can rent the machines to blow this stuff in but is it worth
it or
should this be left to a professional?
Thanks
Snappa

Jim,
Thanks for the links. Really good information.
Snappa

--
"Speedy Jim" wrote in message ...
snapperhead wrote:

Anybody had any luck blowing cellulose or fiber rock type insulation into
an
existing structure?
I recently bought an older home (1940's vintage). It's frame with brick
veneer.
I know you can rent the machines to blow this stuff in but is it worth it
or
should this be left to a professional?
Thanks
Snappa

Assuming you're right about there being full stud spaces (2 X 4
framing),
the question becomes where do you bore holes to blow in?
The pros will sometimes drill thru the brickwork where there is no
alternative but obviously it's a lot of work and leaves scars.

You can bore holes thru the plaster on the inside (usually one hole
top and bottom of each stud space) and redecorate later.
On a one-story house, you can (maybe) drill thru the top plate
in the attic.

Also, give some thought to providing vapor barrier if this is
a wintry area. You can do it with lo-perm paint on the walls,
or wallpapers that act as a barrier.

http://www.cellulose.org/

http://hem.dis.anl.gov/eehem/98/980508.html



Jim

I have a 1920's home, with similar construction. The previous owners added a
2x4 frame on top of the plaster, put fiberglass insulation in between the
2x4s, and then closed off with gyprock. This added about 3 1/2 inches to
the thickness of the wall. It was done in the front wall only, since the
side walls are attached to neighbors; also, there were no pipes or wiring in
that wall so that made things easier. You may want to consider this
solution, and you can probably do this work yourself. The thermal comfort is
pretty good; not perfect (just 3 inches of fiberglass), but certainly
acceptable.

"snapperhead" wrote in message
news:9lfdd.7073$oU3.5269@trndny04...
Anybody had any luck blowing cellulose or fiber rock type insulation into
an
existing structure?
I recently bought an older home (1940's vintage). It's frame with brick
veneer.
I know you can rent the machines to blow this stuff in but is it worth it
or
should this be left to a professional?
Thanks
Snappa

I recently was faced with similar question. My house has insulation in walls
but it is inadequate, is torn in many places that leads to many voids with
no insulation. I was replacing old windows in my 50 years old house with new
construction windows and had to enlarge rough openings. I also wanted to add
insulation. Against all advises I ripped old drywall from all walls facing
out. I then replaced old insulation with new fiberglass batts, put proper 6
mil vapor barrier and covered it with new sheetrock. I am glad I chose this
hard but rewarding way. If I had chosen to drill holes either from inside or
outside and blow insulation through holes I would never achieve results I
achieved. I have fire blocking here in there, voids above headers, etc. No
way you can find all these places to blow insulation into by drilling holes.
Needless to say you cannot install proper vapor barrier. In addition to
insulation with opened walls I changed old wiring, added several outlets
where I need them. Finally, I repainted rooms and they look both great and
warm.

"snapperhead" wrote in message
news:9lfdd.7073$oU3.5269@trndny04...
Anybody had any luck blowing cellulose or fiber rock type insulation into
an existing structure?
I recently bought an older home (1940's vintage). It's frame with brick
veneer.
I know you can rent the machines to blow this stuff in but is it worth it
or should this be left to a professional?
Thanks
Snappa

Man, that's a lot of work. Your suggestion would be the ideal solution.
However, it's not that cold in the house. I live in SW PA and the winters
can get nasty but the brick and plaster seem to do a decent job. The house
has newer Anderson wood windows and they don't leak and the house isn't that
drafty. But with gas prices what they are and where they're headed, I
figured some insulation might help.
Congratulations on doing it right.
Snappa

--


"Alexander Galkin" wrote in message
...
I recently was faced with similar question. My house has insulation in
walls but it is inadequate, is torn in many places that leads to many voids
with no insulation. I was replacing old windows in my 50 years old house
with new construction windows and had to enlarge rough openings. I also
wanted to add insulation. Against all advises I ripped old drywall from all
walls facing out. I then replaced old insulation with new fiberglass batts,
put proper 6 mil vapor barrier and covered it with new sheetrock. I am glad
I chose this hard but rewarding way. If I had chosen to drill holes either
from inside or outside and blow insulation through holes I would never
achieve results I achieved. I have fire blocking here in there, voids above
headers, etc. No way you can find all these places to blow insulation into
by drilling holes. Needless to say you cannot install proper vapor barrier.
In addition to insulation with opened walls I changed old wiring, added
several outlets where I need them. Finally, I repainted rooms and they look
both great and warm.

"snapperhead" wrote in message
news:9lfdd.7073$oU3.5269@trndny04...
Anybody had any luck blowing cellulose or fiber rock type insulation into
an existing structure?
I recently bought an older home (1940's vintage). It's frame with brick
veneer.
I know you can rent the machines to blow this stuff in but is it worth it
or should this be left to a professional?
Thanks
Snappa