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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.

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The Blown-In Blanket Insulation Process

computer-generated transcript - may not be 100% accurate

" Here to tell us about blown in blanket systems hi Bob Murray Gloria nice to have you here thank you know much traditionally when you're doing a fast small affordable off this thing. It went it went. Firemen I don't know that's conventional insulation system. This there. -- work it has a little bit different this is the blown in blanket system it's a patented insulation system as you can see the -- putting up fabrics. Over the face of any area -- that needs to get insulation in the walls you have a cathedral ceiling here you have some fabric up there. Once they're done stretching that fabric tight we come back in and blow in some fiberglass insulation go to prep work right now -- laws getting all this fabric material stapled in place correct and they've got pneumatic staple gun got pneumatic staple guns to move very quickly yeah. And the secret is to get as you can see he's got it pulled very tight and you want the fabric as tight as you can get it. Oh really yeah. We've got a stable. -- blown in behind it YouTube you can for certain density and and that's what gives -- BR bury the population is the fabric itself some sort of moisture barrier in Africa not and moisture barrier. In applications where you are looking for a specific vapor barrier after the fact. You can come back including polyethylene over top of that okay. But in this situation it's strictly. There to hold cereal clinically there to hold them purely -- ground. All right so now the fabrics and I so we're ready to start blowing it ends are blown cement well why isn't -- blowing in I mean this looks different from we're used to pink or yellow. Bats of insulation and there's different looking. Blown insulation when and his -- like this is what they call a virgin product. I say it's no additional binders that are added to it which hold conventional bat insulation together OK so this is material that's manufactured by CertainTeed. CertainTeed and Johns Manville both manufacture products. That are acceptable for use in the blown in blanket system."

" Looks denser than what I'm used to when I think about fiberglass. It is it's blown and that's the secret to getting the as opposed to an. But with bat insulation we're always told not to compress it because it you compress -- to get rid of the air pockets absolutely so with blown material. When you achieve a higher density. Which -- be blown in up to a two pound density. You can still get an increased. OK what about the attic what do you do up there in the attic in this application we put some fabric up already it's going to be what we would consider an open -- we're trying to achieve an 38 -- which would be fifteen inches however you have cathedral ceiling situation here as well. You can also achieve an 38 in those again you're compressing and getting denser material so in two by twelve. You're still gonna have an 38 with the blown in system. Does this have any kind of sound deadening qualities and as a lot of sound deadening qualities to it we. Oftentimes will. Net the interior partitions around bathrooms. Around tubs. To quiet those down underneath drain lines. So we do an awful lot."

" So the truck is that out on the street and that's probably about everybody and got its. Being pressurized and blown in through there and in this system Israel simply just go up -- the cavity and yes let all the fabric crafts movement. Boy that goes quick city yeah. Now how does know what he's got enough in there Mike. The secret to this if you come to the side here Bobbie can see the netting bulges out yeah just about that probably an inch or so and that's you know. And that actually -- part of the patent of the system. They have enough in there that you're getting the densities that you want. You have to worry about rodents nest being in there or about humidity collecting in there and it all slump down no not at all it's -- as I said before it's a virgin fiberglass product that will not support. Any moisture at all any mold growth for these type of is -- tricks -- isn't treated with any kind of mountains. It's just the pure fiberglass. Who were probably. So indignant terms of people and allergies you have to worry about oh that is very quick gas -- Now can this also be retrofitted I mean if your doing it in a house that's already built it can be. I did the right outside. "

" He can do it either from the outside or from the inside. What we recommend is if someone is residing an existing house from the outside -- you can drill through the sheathing. As he's poking the holes in the fabric he would drill a hole in it and blow the material in that way gotcha or people remodeling from the inside you can drill through. Existing plaster do from the inside if they're going to pain every papers are important so the great thing as we're getting the highest. Absolutely in a two by four cavity you're not going to get. Really any higher an. That's really the beauty of it it's. Something that's. A little bit more costly on the front and a -- than conventional bat insulation -- house such as you have here right you probably looking anywhere between fifty to 60% more. For the insulation on the front end however the payback on that with the savings of your of your utility bills and so forth is probably going to be. Somewhere in the neighborhood of two years. Really that fast a fair question and a New England that makes a big difference in an affordable house it certainly does OK thanks Mike that's not a problem thank you."

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