I spent 4 hours in the attic on Wednesday, sealing up drywall, light boxes, plumbing, vent fans, etc. There's not as much insulation up there as I'd like, so I think it's time to blow some more in. I currently have 8-10". I'd like to get to 20". The attic area is approximately 28x42 or so. According to the calculator on the Lowes website, I need about $200 worth of insulation or so, blower rental included if I buy enough. I called around to see how much it would cost to have a pro do it, and got a quotes for $1200 and $1400. One of the pros said that he would go up into the attic and " smash down all the fiberglass that was there, and blow new stuff on top. Huh? Why so expensive? Is that the going rate? $200 for materials and $1000+ for labor? I don't really have the time or help to do this myself, but I can't justify coughing up a grand for something I can potentially do myself. Guess I'm gonna have to find time and a willing helper.
If you have ever been up in an attic blowing that crap in you'd start to think $1000 is pretty cheap haha!
Just blew 400 bags in three different properties just me and another guy......it is extremely easy and fast. We had about 40 hours in the whole deal. You should be able to do it with you and one other guy in a morning.
You can blow cellulose insulation right over the top of the leaky fiberglass, not a hard job requires 2 people and rental of blower shouldn't take more than a 1/2 day tops. I didn't spend more than 4 hours even on this place which 2000ft ranch. Thing with cellulose is even after it settles/ or the temperature drops the insulating factor stays the same, Fiberglass loses insulation value as the temps drop due the huge amount of air currents it allows to pass through. ( you will never see that stated by a fibergass supplier but it is documented by people other than the mfg. or sales co.)
I was an inch away from starting a spray foam insulation business in the summer of 2008. A minor disturbance in the financial markets occured which caused me to hold off on starting the business. In any event.....IMO, fiberglass insulation isn't worth squat, particularly if it's old. While this methold will take more time and cost more, it will be well worth it. OK, you mentioned that you spent some time sealing up around light fixtures, wire penetrations, plumbing etc. By that, do you mean that you used cans of spray foam? If not, my suggestion would be to buy a foam gun and cartridges rather than cans of Great Stuff. The gun is very precise and can be used sporadically as opposed to Great Stuff which has to be discharged within minutes or else it clogs. you can find a foam gun for about $40.00 and the cartdridges are about $10.00 each. next, I recommend removing every single inch of the fiberglass and throwing it out. Dang stuff is as useless as boobs on a bull. After it's all gone, you will likely find a boatload more penetrations from the livings space, and that's where moist, heated air flows through the fiberglass and into your attic. If you find insulation that has been blackened, that means dirt-laden air was moving through it and that's a drop dead giveaway for where the is a significant leak. Seal it up. Next, an attic that's 28x42 is not a big job in terms of DIY cellulose. Homies and Lowes both sell the cellulose and give you the machine for free. Just make sure the machine is not a green metal box as those things are junk. They have newer machines. You're in northwest Ohio which is zone 5 for insulation and a suggested R-50 in your attic. You're looking at 15 inches of cellulose after it has settled. Get yourself some dust masks, goggles, a tyvek suit and gloves. When I did cellulose on my house and my dad's, I had a walkie talkie with me as to be able to communicate with my buddy who was loading the machine. You can do this no problem.
Ya, you do tend to come down out of the attic after blowing cellulose looking like the missing link snowman. It is treated for bugs and such ( Boron mostly ) and actually does a better job in that department than fiberglass also. There also ground up Denium ( cloth-cotton) don't know much about it as its not been around a super long time pushed as an alternative to fiberglass - as cellulose ,I do not believe, comes in bats- that's where the dense pak or damp/ wet application come in- best done by good contractor, different machines used for those applications. Not in the business of insulation - did my research years ago pre internet ( actually it was just starting to blossom.)
nate - I grew up on a farm. I've done much worse than blow dusty insulation around. At least insulation doesn't smell... StickBender - I know it's not complicated or difficult, but it's hard to find a spare 4 hours AND someone to help me. I work full time, and am on call 50% of the time I'm not at work. What little spare time I have is usually dedicated to family time or mundane things like lawn care/cleaning/other maintenance. I was hoping to spend 4-500 and call it quits. For the quotes I'm getting, I'm getting charged $2-300/hr in labor costs alone golf66 thanks for the input. I've already pulled the insulation back and foamed any crack I could find. I was surprised at how much black insulation I found above interior walls where the drywall came to the ceiling. The bathroom fans and other obvious spots were what I expected, although I was a bit horrified to see light around both fans, not to mention they were installed backward AND vented through the soffit.. I understand the suggestion about pulling the fiberglass out, but I just don't have the time for that. Is the 1200-1400 price in the right neighborhood for blowing more insulation in? I was pretty surprised by that amount.
Hire a handyman or two. You might be able to get at $15 to $25 per hr. Many times that will do it when there are no special skills needed.
I'm not saying it's all that bad, but some attics are no fun to be in. I guess now with temps in the 20s it wouldn't be too bad though. I was in mine one summer, 60* outside and it musta been pushing 85* up there. I got done and I was sweaty from t shirt to socks! I just did the math and your needing about 30 bags of insulation. Here it runs about $14 a bag, so around $400ish.
I just blew 100 bags in my attic this summer and it really wasn't hard although I would call it pleasant by any means. I think you will spend more than $200 on the insulation though. My house was about the same size attic area and it took 100 bags to get it roughly 16" deep. Shop around on the insulation prices though as I found the price varies widely even from on lowes store to another and the price at the lowes in my area was double what the price at the lowes 22 miles from my house was. That little find saved me close to $600 dollars. Here is the thread from when I did mine http://firewoodhoardersclub.com/forums/threads/this-is-going-to-be-a-blast.6347/
Per the lowes insulation calculator, it should take 29 bags of cellulose to get from 8 inches of fiberglass to R-60 levels. I know there are a few places of 8 inches, but there are also areas where there is more, so I think 29 bags is the max. Right now the bags are $7.34/bag at my local lowes. Will have to see if I can find a handyman looking for a little job to do.
Just blew 178 bales into my shop attic when the calculator said I would only need 105. This made the one day project a two day project. New construction. Glad my pickup can haul 40 bales.
Make sure that when you blow it in you keep the soffit vents clear. There are plastic sheilds that have to be added to stop the insulation from blocking them. If they get blocked there will be no circulation in the attic and that will cause it to get very hot in the summer & will promote the growth of mold & mildew up there. KaptJaq
