I had plan on adding 70 bags of cellulose insulation to the attic this weekend but we had a nor'easter come through yesterday so it put my plans on hold. I hadn't picked up any materials yet and luckily I had not because I ended up finding someone local selling 50 bags of it for $200! Same size and brand I was going to pick up from HD for $12.60/bag. Saving myself almost $500! So now I'll just need to pick up 20 bags from HD now and borrow their machine. Attic will be going from r10 to r42 with the 12" blown on top of the existing batts. I prepped and air sealed what I could. Just waiting on nicer weather now.
Remember to have a helper breaking up the cellulose into smaller chunks. The job will go about 75% quicker, and you will get more fluff/ insulation value out of it. Good deal by the way. It always seems I find a score 5 minutes too late.
Excellent score! I used the same stuff in South Carolina, and it really did the trick. The house will be a little dusty for a little while, but it will stop.
This will be the 3rd time using this stuff. I insulated my old house w it and last year I did my in-laws attic. I like it even though it is very dusty.
nice thing about Cellulose as it settles it does not lose R value nor as the temps fall unlike Fiberglass .
It also provides some air sealing. And it is actually claimed to be more fire resistant than fiberglass.
yep no air movement through properly applied cellulose also treated for bugs and rodent mitagation. Greener than fibergass as well for those into that movement. Something like 80% recycled material.
I’ve never given one before, but I’m pretty sure this deserves a “You suck!” Great score. Congrats! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Not to be negative, but my understanding was, these attributes have a relatively short duration in the product. I think the fireproofing and rodent repellant properties leaches out after only a few years. The product itself carries a warning that it is not fire rated. When my father's house burned, cellulose insulation was one of the reasons why it spread so quickly, but it was also 35 years old. It only stands to reason, 35 year old shredded newspaper is going to burn. Edited to say: I think it is a great score, and I would still use it myself, just saying I think the insulation needs to be renewed for these properties every few years.
Hmmm I hadn't heard about the fireproofing leaching out but you make a great point. I'd imagine that the cellulose tech has changed over the last 35 years to address this issue. The product's website says its class 1 fire rated and has fireproofing properties that lasted over an hour in a test, 68% longer than fiberglass batts.
I was thinking of a report by the University of California-Berkley, Combustion and Fire Processes Laboratory that did a test and found a fault with the "fireproofing". Basically it is that smoldering is not considered a "fire", but they have found that cellulose insulation will ignite after smoldering for a period of time. In other words; the "fireproofing" came by way of a technicality. This actually killed a few children as depicted on an episode of Forensic Files. On a really cold night, a mother used a electric heater to keep the kids warm, but the fire retardant leached out of the cellulose. Combined with a heavy amp load on the wiring, the cellulose smoldered until it caught fire. The mother got out, but was charged with arson and manslaughter of her children. Only when she obtained help from private fire investigators did they see what really happened and she was acquitted of all charges. The chances are slim of that happening, but it does and did happen. Again, I would not be opposed to using it myself despite seeing the carnage it did at my father's house.
Great score BCB and a great thread! For whatever reason insulation gets me going, I guess because of the difference you can really see in your home. We had our prior home air sealed and insulated heavily, wow what a difference! Good deal on air sealing as much as you can, that really helps! Really great information on the Cellulose, I really like what I hear! My current home really needs air sealing and added insulation in both attics badly. If I can figure out someday if am coming or going I'd really like to tackle the job. I fell in love Roxul years ago but laying batts in both attics is going be a ton of work. I like the idea of air sealing and blowing something in as I don't have to be as tedious with the coverage/cut the batts as the blown in stuff is going cover well.
Not much way I can see boron leaching out and that was old school. I've used celulose since the 70's, never had any issues even when that xyz low voltage transformer burned up in the attic ( house was built in the late 50's and low voltage switching was all the rage )
