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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.

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Clip Transcript For:

Blown-In Insulation for an Older Home

computer-generated transcript - may not be 100% accurate

" So nick I guess the first step for you was to figure out how to get that whole roof insulated right that's right about the house there's no insulation at all on this when did the warmest room in the house was the -- book which was supposed to be cold storage. Cold storage that's her -- so last week you had the fellows from Owens Corning -- pink running through the house yes. -- the blown in insulation. Upstairs that when they can do without damaging any of the plaster the walls and the ceilings was great that's a good approach."

" Full house can be difficult to insulate the odd spaced framing really creates. Difficult thing for us to use conventional Batt material. The batts themselves are pre manufactured to be normal spacing sixteen or 24 inches on center. This house has a lot of nineteen or seventeen inch on center framing. And a two by four's are actually too real to life force and so it makes it difficult burns insulate."

" Yeah well the idea is that you want to fill all the nooks and crannies in there so that the insulation works well. The loose fiberglass is mixed with air and blown up through a hose into the house. Wherever they can get a small hole into a cavity they can blow insulation in through walls under the attic floorboards and they can even apply it to open stud work. As in the new construction or in the attic roofs like this. Up under the -- pure -- by stretching a fabric across stapling it. It. And blowing the insulation in through the holes. --"

" ER factor up there. But they are lies about four point 25. Per -- and -- since about eight inch. Rafters we get over thirty and."

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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.

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.

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

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.