H-O-L-Y cow that sucked! It took roughly 2 hours to fill 225sq ft that must be the most gutless worn out insulation blower at Home Depot. I crawled in there with hose a flash light and a stick taped to the hose. I almost couldn’t crawl back out! BUT it’s done and looks pretty good! I fit 30 bundles insulation a blower and bucket with hose in the bed of the truck.
The walls are insulated and I am getting ready to do the ceiling now It’s a total pain to insulate because it’s an uneven old house. I’ve found a neat solution for the small gaps. Spray foam into them and tape over it to hold the foam until it sets. It works great! Other spots are butted together insulation and taped for strength. It’s noticeable the difference in temps already.
Really looking good. I think jobs like this are much more satisfying than new const. Things like this really tap your ingenuity, creativity.....and lots of patience. The bath room addition I did when we moved back is nothing compared to what you have done.....and I love it everytime I go in there. You will to. Hammer on!
I love this. With several insulation/sealing upgrades I've done you can feel the effects immediately - incredible satisfaction. Its kind of like a freshly mowed lawn but with lasting effects. The energy savings should continue ad infinitum as long as the house stands. The last time I experienced this was when I was insulating our basement. As I worked I imagined the heat from our pellet stove going into the living space rather than into the soil outside our basement walls. Warm wife happy life.
think hard about adding plastic over the insulation, especially in a bathroom with lots of moisture. There are a lot of variables to consider when doing this. I am in the process of remodeling a 115 yr old house and I will not be doing this. The house was designed to breath and adding the plastic over the insulation is going to choke it. Causing condensation issues within the walls and eventually creating mold/rot. I have read some even discourage adding insulation into these old homes because of this as well. In those days the wall cavity allowed air circulation and the condensation to dry. They also had cheaper heating as well.. The paper on the insulation acts as a barrier, so I am going to stick with that. Age of house, how it was constructed, exterior of the house and the layers all play together. (clapboard, wrapped in tyvek or not wrapped or foam board with vinyl/aluminum siding?) I'm no expert though so I'm still learning and adjusting my thinking process on this constantly. Air tight though isn't as good of a thing as it sounds though. Unless it is a modern home with all these things and more taken into consideration.
A good article on where vapor barriers (like plastic sheet( belong - and more importantly, where they don't. What Happens When You Put a Plastic Vapor Barrier in Your Wall? - GreenBuildingAdvisor
In some areas but not all, and I wasn't trying to infer there is anything wrong with using them but you can't just slap it up and call it a day on some houses. You need to have circulation/air drying or other means to shed vapor and not let it sit inside the wall. That code may also only refer to new construction be it a new house or an addition. Remodeling old houses is a different game.
Thanks. I guess when you are talking about old houses in our area, they are only 50 to 70 years old. Not over 100 years anyway.
I don't think builders started really insulating until the 60's sometime maybe even the 70's when fuel became a lot more expensive. So up until that point almost all housing was built with the same mindset, wall cavities allowed for circulation and dryed up any condensation. My house built in 53 didn't have any, it was added on with the blown in cellulose some point in the past before I moved in.
You probably don't have extended periods where the wrong side of the vapor barrier is the warm humid side. As you head towards the equator the warm humid air can be on the wrong side of a plastic sheet barrier. There can be problems with condensation on the sheetrock/plastic sandwich with air conditioning.
No vapor barrier on the drywall areas. Where we did have a barrier was the worst mold. It did no good at all in this house and that was the one thing they did correctly go figure... The cement board is all getting waterproofed with roll on sealent under the tile. It’s expensive but totally worth it... Here’s the progress so far! Taped last night and doing the first floating today.
Looks pretty good. What type of cieling light did you install? Every light fixture i replaced I went with LED lights.