Home > Video Channel > Blown-in Insulation

Blown-in Insulation

If you need to insulate your attic, blowing in cellulose insulation is an easy job you can do yourself by renting a machine at your local lumberyard. To install the insulation, blow the cellulose in up to the level of your floor joists. Cellulose is made from recycled newspaper and treated with Borax, a natural pest repellent and fire retardant. For best results, be sure to distribute the cellulose in an even layer. In an attic with two-by-six joists, you can achieve an insulation factor of R-19.
Get Adobe Flash Player to see this content.

Clip Transcript For:

Blown-in Insulation

  computer-generated transcript - may not be 100% accurate

" Hi! I'm Bob Vila from Home Again. If you need to insulate your attic, blowing in cellulose installation is an easy job you can do yourself by renting a blower. To install the installation, blow the cellulose in up to the level of your floor joists. Cellulose is made from recycled newspaper and treated with Borax, a natural pest repellant and fire retardant. For best results, be sure to distribute the cellulose in an even layer. In an attic with 2 X 6 joists, you can achieve an insulating factor of R19. I'm Bob Vila. Good luck with your home improvement project."

 [-]


More Videos »Related Videos

Blown-In Insulation for an Older Home
Blown-In Insulation for an Older Home

Bob talks with Nick Beasley about insulating his 100-year-old home. Insulation contractorsare installing Pro Pink blown-in fiberglss insulation from Owens Corning. Joe Arrigo from Owens Corning talks about installing insulation in an old house where conventional batt insulation is often not suitable for odd spaces. To remedy this problem, a piece of fabric is stapled in place and then loose fiberglass is piped in through a hose into the space behind the fabric. This spray-in, loose-fill insulation is effective and will translate into big savings in heating costs next winter.

Blown-In Insulation in the Plaster Walls
Blown-In Insulation in the Plaster Walls

Bob again meets up with insulation contractor Joe Sheridan in the main house where the Cocoon insulation in being blown into the original plaster walls. To accomplish this, Joe's crew has drilled holes every 16 inches so that they are into every stud cavity. They drill one high and one low to acheive the proper density. First they apply it to the bottom and fill till it's solid in there - about 30 seconds on a bottom cavity. The installer can tell when it's filled from the pressure of the hose. The product will start backing into the hose. With experience you can hear it. Thge goal is to create maximum density in the cavities - leaving no air pockets. When the insulation process is complete a plasterer will have to come in and patch each hole individually.

Blown-In Insulation
Blown-In Insulation

Mark Long and Bob Roundtree blow in Guardian Ultra Fit fiberglass insulation.

Reviewing the Nursery Project
Reviewing the Nursery Project

Bob recaps the work done so far in the Melrose remodeling project. A new nursery has been created for the soon-to-arrive baby, blown-in insulation has been installed in the attic, and some of the windows have been replaced. The family lives on the second and third floor of a two-family home and Bob shows how baby safety gates have been installed at the top and bottom of the stairs. Bob reviews some of the safety products in the kitchen designed to make the room safe for toddlers. Safety latches, dial covers for the stove, and sliding electrical outlet covers have all been installed. An elegant new powder room has been created featuring a porcelain sink and toilet from Porcher, elegant lighting from Bellacor, and iridescent blue tile from Daltile.

More Content »More Content

3" drain pipe across floor joists

…basement, the in-between two floor joists between the first floor and the…
…existing drain and run it across 5 floor joists, making a 3.5 inch hole through…
…joist. We have 12 inch engineered floor joists. Do I need to put in any type…

questions regarding old house floor joists

I moved in this 1920s built house at the end of last year. The floor joists look brittle. Recently i found some cracks on the floor joists ( I am sure they were there for a long time), some are long, some are short, some…

Floor joists

We purchased a 50 year old cape cod with an unfinished upstairs. The floor joists are 6 inches. Are these sufficient to hold the weight of two bedrooms? The floor joists on the first floor are 8 inches. Why the difference?

sagging floor joists

I need some tips for leveling an older kitchen floor. the subfloor is composed of diagonal planks. my floor joists are not cracked or broken but, they appear to be uneven. I have a post jack under the house where the sag has occurred and I…

Browse Topics

Click on a letter to browse content by topic alphabetically.



About  | FAQ  | Contact  | Sitemap  | Privacy Policy  | Terms of Use  | Help

© BobVila.com 2009