Episode 007 1995 - 96 Season
| Selecting a Roofing Contractor | Composition Shingles | Steel Shingles | Cleaning Roof Vent Stack | Adding Attic Insulation | Home Furnishings (design) | VA Loans | |
To order a Video Tape, call 1-800-TO-BUILD and ask for Episode #007.
M.H.: One guarantee with utilities, they're always going to go up. So we need to find a way to keep 'em as low as possible. We've got someone here to help us, Mark Smith, an installer with Home Depot. Good to have you here Mark.
Mark Smith: Michael, thanks for having me.
M.H.: Hey, tell me about the cellulose insulation and how are we going to get it up in the attic.
M.S.: Well, it's probably one of the most inexpensive and easiest methods of getting an extra bit of insulation in the house and older home, or even a new home. It's virtually simple to install. A couple of fail-safe methods is to wear a mask to prevent the dust from getting in your lungs. Some cotton gloves are handy as well, but that's essentially the only tools you need for this job.
M.H.: Where do we go from here?
M.S.: First what we're going to do is get all the bags in position because once you start the process, it's more convenient if you've got all the bags in the right location. One person's feeding a machine. The other person's in the attic. So, it is a two person job.
M.H.: Even as a do-it-yourself.
M.S.: Exactly. It certainly makes it easier. It's difficult to put the bag in, run upstairs and blow it out.
M.H.: That makes sense. What does it cost to rent a blower?
M.S.: Well, most home centers and hardware stores offer the blower at no charge.
M.H.: Okay.
M.S.: When you're doing the job, you purchase the bags of blow insulation and the blower does come with it. Obviously you couldn't do the job without that.
M.H.: Yeah, they're going to lend it to you for a day or so and it's just going to take a few hours.
M.S.: That's true. It's a 24-hour rental period and most jobs can take anywhere from two hours to five hours and you're done.
M.H.: Why can't you just go up and spread the insulation by hand?
M.S.: Good question, but there's two factors involved. First of all, if you open the bag up, it's going to be in a brick-like form. Much like a bale of cotton. It's compressed and therefore when you open the bag up, it does need to be sifted and infiltered through the machine which blows and disperses the product out into the attic.
M.H.: I don't think most people understand that it's not the insulation fibers that insulate the attic or the rest of the house. It's actually the air pockets in between the insulation and you really need to spread it, like you said, grind it up.
M.S.: That's correct, and that's what the machine does. The blower that you're able to have with the cellulose insulation does all of that work for you.
M.H.: What is the blown cellulose made out of?
M.S.: Eighty-five (85) percent of the product is manufactured from recycled clothing items, newspaper, they're organic materials which of course is very friendly to the user because you don't walk away from the job feeling like you've just been bathed in steel wool.
M.H.: Yeah, no itch.
M.S.: Exactly.
M.H.: What point should we watch for not to blow insulation?
M.S.: Be careful to avoid an over-concentration in areas around recessed lighting, places where electrical lines might heat up and in and around vent pipes. You don't want to have a high concentration in that particular area. Other than that, it's pretty much just filling up the spaces between your joists.
M.H.: And you can just look at a chart then on the side of the bag and tell how much insulation you'd like to add to your attic.
M.S.: Right. And it's very easy to follow. It shows you that if you add three and a half inches, you're going to be getting an R-11 factor. If you add six inches, say it rises exponentially for that R factor.
M.H.: The house we're working on is about 1800 square feet. We're going to put an R-11, or about four inches worth of this in there. About what does that cost, typically?
M.S.: Most of the bags that you find around in you home stores and hardware stores are ranging between three and four dollars a bag.
M.H.: Okay. So we're under $200 for this project.
M.S.: Exactly.
M.H.: And it's a project that you can do yourself. And the savings you recoup on your utility bills within one to two years depending on what part of American you live. So go to your local home center or hardware store, check out the insulation, see about adding it yourself.
Episode 007 1995 - 96 Season
| Selecting a Roofing Contractor | Composition Shingles | Steel Shingles | Cleaning Roof Vent Stack | Adding Attic Insulation | Home Furnishings (design) | VA Loans | |
To order a Video Tape, call 1-800-TO-BUILD and ask for Episode #007.