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Installing Sound Attenuation Insulation

George Saylor from Owens Corning is on location in this episode to discuss the insulation products that will be used in the Waterfront Warehouse Rehab project. Before work begins, Bob notes the importance of wearing protective gear including gloves, hat, long sleeve shirt, pants, particle mask, and eye protection when working with fiberglass insualtion. Owens Corning has provided a fiberglass insulation that delivers an insulation value of R15 in only three and half inches of thickness. The material's higher density creates smaller more uniform cells of trapped air to provide a greater degree of insulation in a tighter space, making it more efficient. Saylor also explains how to insulate around outlets and other building infrastructure. On the exterior walls, extruded polystyrene insulation is being installed between the studs and wallboard to prevent thermal transfer from the metal studs to the building's interior. The additional material will create a R20 wall. In the living spaces, interior walls are filled with fiberglass batt insulation to prevent the transfer of sound from room to room.

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Residential Electrical Wiring for the Warehouse Rehab Now Playing

Residential Electrical Wiring for the Warehouse Rehab

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Installing Sound Attenuation Insulation

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Installing Sound Attenuation Insulation

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" George sailors here -- this and we're gonna get started talking about insulating techniques what best products to to use that thought. George Eminem and I'm an interrupt you here if -- man ask you to take off some -- your protective garb so we can see you. And okay. There is. But it is a good idea when you're putting in any kind of insulation to wear a particle mask gloves long sleeve shirts I happen and I protection is there are. Though part handsome men see we've had a hidden in there god. Now what we're doing here is we want to get an idea of what the best approach is to insulating this particular type of a building except a break. Urban building with you know up an old roof. Situation like this and if you are putting in what looks like pretty traditional pink fiberglass right."

" Well yes I am -- like this is our specially made insulation it's an. Com and it's still three and a half inches thick well I just exact I was only. 113 and a half inches or thirteen and the difference being that we put more fiberglass in the because the insulation is using trapped there right insulation value -- The smaller the cell of trapped air and more uniform and more efficient it is normally. That -- fifteen and three his engine uses a high density product. And it's maximum. Thermal performance you can see by squeezing it it's a very dense bat. Now it is this used more in commercial applications than in residential regular residential construction. Yet typically. What you're doing is you're trying to optimize the thermal value of the wall protecting this particular case. Because we're dealing with -- nobility and we have metal studding metal conducts temperature right and therefore some. Temperature is going to transmit through the metal stud."

" What you want to make sure is that you're facing the insulation is tight against the interior finish yes and you do you you don't want to compress the material. That is correct let's watch as you fit this one and is here you've gotta do the same thing. To it fitted up against that edge of the metal stud you've also got to cut around. A box right now what I would do. It is I would provide a guideline for where my cuts should day."

" And then using it using a straight edge. Notching out. -- your electrical boxes. I'm going to split is that."

" Our -- gets some of it behind the box. Exactly some of it behind the armored cable -- any wires or plumbing in there you want to split the bat so it goes on both sides that's a good tip. They're in there then. What I'll do is. Open it up on the ends up along the edge. So that it fits in the back lip of the metal studs my next question is just that the metal studs. Metal conducts the cold. And when you add up all the surface. Involved in a whole big wall like this. There's a lot of un insulated. Space even though you've gone to all this trouble -- How do you loved how do you address that issue. One of the things that we're doing Bob when this particular job because of the metal are framing is were going with a high density. Extruded polystyrene. Sheathing board. And this carries an. That's what we're installing a what the obvious what the fund does is it provides a thermal break. For the metal stud. Which increases the effectiveness. Of the insulation. In there. So this could just be tacked on to the studs and a couple of places until just don't wallboard comes up just thought lord that was really right -- fit with the with the metal stud here what you have it is. You can screw the metal the drywall directly through the phone right into the metal stud. And that gives you that extra thermal protection what's the status of I mean fiberglass and prize dairy products like this terms about -- these products here. And think products I had the green guard certification -- and so therefore are are not just wanted to let Bob all chemicals that might provide a hazard. Within the indoor air environment good I've been tested as low emission. Products -- now what are we doing in the roof situation and she got one bat up there is that. I twelve inch bat yep that's -- a twelve inch 38 typically in his ceiling we did go with a low density bat and anytime you are insulating you want the insulation to touch the interior finish okay okay. In the walls as well as the ceiling that if you don't want cold air to go between the insulation and the interior finish that would then short circuit the effectiveness of the insulation. "

" Great -- and one last question -- know we've got concerns especially in tight apartment situations about. Sound attenuated and OK what do we do if you want to try to insulate say the bathroom cavity so that the noises of the plumbing are not heard in the bedrooms or in the living space what's the best product to use."

" Well 88 the fiberglass bat. Absorb Sam. Any -- sound is vibration when the sound gets into that fiberglass it's converted from sound energy to heat energy and it absorbs it. So if you insulate interior partition walls can reduce levels in the wings with in the house."

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Insulation Basics

Here's another great tip from BobVila.com. How much insulation does your home need and where? It depends on your climate and the energy costs in your area. The basic principle is that you want to keep heat energy from doing what it does best: dissipating to colder areas. The best way is to trap a layer of air next to the heat source. In new framing, sprayed-on polyurethane foam, fiberglass or cellulose do a good job of providing this layer before the drywall goes up. If you re retrofitting your insulation, you can still spray in cellulose through holes cut from the interior or the exterior. To find out what insulation will work best in your home, you ll want to know the recommended insulation r-values in your area. R-value is the measure of a material s resistance to heat flow. The higher the value, the more effective it is. To see the recommended insulation r-values and cost estimates in your ZIP code, visit the Department of Energy s web site. Even a small draft can make your insulation less effective. Seal any gaps around electrical outlets, ducts, windows and doors with foam sealants, caulking or weatherstripping. The most important area to insulate is your attic. Make sure you ve got at least the attic floor insulated with blown-in or batt insulation to your area s recommended r-value, and consider insulating the roof and attic walls as well. This can provide a fully insulated buffer zone to keep heat where you want it and keep the lid on your energy costs. Find out more at BobVila.com: The ultimate home improvement web site! BobVila.com 2008

Insulation to Conserve Heat and Reduce Noise

Bob joins Buddy Loxley from MAP Insulation to talk installation in the master bedroom. The crew is using R-15 fiberglass insulation from Owens Corning in the home's exterior walls to meet Energy Star standards. The high-density batt insulation is the highest R-value possible for two-by-four cavities. To achieve maximum R-value, it's important not to compress the insulation. It must remain fluffy in order to trap air and prevent infiltration. The crew will install an R-38 insulation in the ceiling. Owens Corning QuietZone interior wall insulation, a sound attenuation material, is placed in the interior walls to reduce noise transfer from room to room.

The Blown-In Blanket Insulation Process

Bob is joined by Mikde Hobson of Westchester Insulation as the crew prepares one of the Mashpee houses for insulation installation. Hobson explains that this is a patented insulation system that uses special fabric stapled and drawn tight across any cavity that needs to be insulated. The crew works with pneumatic staplers to get the fabric in place across all the walls and the joists of the cathedral ceiling. The fabric is not intended as a moisture barrier of any kind and is just there to hold the insulation in place and prevent it from settling. Hobson shows Bob the white fiberglass that will be blown into the cavities. It is white because it is a virgin product, completely free of treatments, binders, or chemicals. Certainteed and Johns Manville both produce fiberglass insulation that is suitable for the Blow-In-Blanket installation. Once all cavities have been enclosed, the insulation contractor cuts a slit in the fabric and inserts a hose through which the fiberglass is blown. The cavity is filled to a density of two pounds per cubic foot which is visible to the eye by a slight bulge in the fabric. At this density, an R-value of 15 is achieved in two-by-four cavities like walls. In attics and ceiling cavities that are two-by-six, an R-value of 38 can be achieved. This insulation is inert and will not support moisture, mold, animals, or insects. It also serves as a sound insulator and can be blown in around drain lines, in interior partitions, and around tubs and showers. Blo-In-Blanket insulation is suitable for new construction or retrofit applications where it is blown in through the sheathing from the outside or through interior drywall to fill wall cavities. Blow-In-Blanket insulation costs about 50 to 60 percent more to install than traditional batt insulation, but offers such energy efficiency that it pays for itself within two to four years.

Spray-On Closed-Cell Insulation

This NCFI polyurethane spray-on insulation sets up as a rigid product. It will be sprayed in to about 3 1/2 inches in depth and will provide an insulation value of R21. It is sprayed directly onto the back of the sheathing and sticks to it, swelling to 25 times its liquid volume. The foam itself is filled with microscopic bubbles. Since air molecules transport heat energy rapidly from the warm wall to the cold wall, the goal is to stop them or impede their movement with a web of cells inside the insulation. This insulation is also enhanced with Enovate, a Honeywell chemical that is added to the spray to create a new, slower, larger molecule that moves inefficiently to pick up and transfer heat. Heat transfer is therefore retarded in two ways, making for an extremely high insulation value. The foam comes as a two-part product, delivered as a liquid from two drums that mix the components through a sprayer. The liquid is sprayed at a very high pressure, about 2,000 pounds per square inch, to mix the chemical with the hardener and deliver it to the building cavity.