ADDING INSULATION
The homeowners in this house already have insulation up in their attic, but it's
not adequate, and so we're going to add some today. We're going to show you how easy it is
for you to add it and also you ought to know that the attic is the best place for you to
go about adding insulation because as heat rises that's how it escapes. Now this is a
two-person job. I'm downstairs feeding this hopper with a loose fill cellulose insulation
while Michael's upstairs blowing the insulation.
Michael Holigan: We're using cellulose insulation for a couple of reasons. The homeowners installed some fiberglass insulation a few years ago, but they wanted a better barrier between the inside and the outside of their home. With cellulose we don't have to start from scratch. We just spray the insulation right on top of the fiberglass and by adding more insulation we're boosting the ceiling's resistance to heat flow. That increases what's known as the "R" value - the resistance to transfer of heat and cool. In an older home, increasing the R-value can save you up to $100 a year on energy bills. In a newer home, figure about $40 in savings. Not bad for an investment today. Under $50 to insulate our 250 square foot attic. While I take a breather let's check back with Al and our insulation expert.
AC: Well Richard, while we got a break in the action here, let me talk to you a little bit about this insulation. Now, what type insulation is it?
Richard Chapman: This is cellulose fiber insulation. It's a blown insulation product. It is made from recycled newspapers.
AC: Whoa! Newspapers. That sounds like it'd be dangerous to have up there.
RC: No, actually it's not. It's sprayed with a fire retardant chemical that inhibits it from being caught on fire. It does need to be kept away from light fixtures, can lights, things like that.
AC: Now Richard, how do you know when you've got enough insulation in your attic?
RC: Well, you're going to know when you have enough insulation in there, depending on what R-value you're trying to achieve. There's a certain depth for each R-value. R-11 is about three inches once it's settled. An R-19 is about four and a half to five inches once it's settled. R-25 and R-30 is about eight and a half, nine inches.
AC: Call your utility company to get the proper R-value for your part of the country. Figuring your cost depends on whether you have existing insulation and how many square feet you need to cover.
RC: Each one of these bags covers 25 square feet for an R-19 value and it's about four dollars, little over four dollars a bag.
AC: That's not bad at all. As a matter of fact, you'll get your money back in energy savings before too long. There's a trick to feeding the cellulose into the hopper.
RC: Actually you want to keep it about half to three-quarters full. If you get it too full it's hard to make it fall down into the hopper and into the feed motor.
AC: The blower and hopper setup can be rented. But many home improvement stores will lend it to you free if you buy the insulation there. You know, Michael ought to be almost done by now.
MH: Spraying insulation isn't difficult at all. The hose is lightweight and easy to direct. But it does get very dusty up here as all the cellulose particles fly into the air. So it's a good idea to use a plastic mask, like the one I'm wearing. Well adding insulation is definitely a do-it-yourself project. You may think it's one that you can't see the results on, but you will see the results every month that you get that utility bill. We spent about $50 doing the whole attic, less than half an hour. We're probably going to save more than $50 every single year that we're in the home. So, go out and get some insulation and do it yourself.
AC: One advantage blowing cellulose insulation has over fiberglass is there's no crawling or kneeling in the attic, and none of the skin irritation you get from fiberglass. In about 10 years, when the cellulose settles down, just spray more in on top of the old insulation. It's that easy. I think this is a project you're going to like each time you get your utility bill and see the difference.
Episode 67 1997 - 98 Season
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