Just got updated Attic insulation installed!

[CorCentral]

(1972 home bought 3 years ago........ 2000sf)

The insulation was up to (even with) the 5 1/2 ceiling joists originally, with nothing over the 2 car garage that we have. VERY VERY inadequate for the house, because that heat pump was running constantly!!!!!!!! (Summer or Winter)

I had them blow another 9"+ of it over what was up there to make it R40+, and 6" over the garage to help the situation.
I can already tell the difference. The Heat pump hardly ever comes on anymore!

Not knowing the cost savings yet, but I'll tell you in a couple mths. or so.
So far, I cannot express what $1,000 can do to your heating/cooling bill!!!



Tell your Attic insulation experiences..........

 

[DrPizza]

I've been considering insulating my attic; only have 3 1/2 inches of insulation up there, and at 50 years old, it's somewhat compressed & is actually only about 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick. Congrats on cutting your heating costs.

 

[FP]

Stupid question... Is the old insulation toxic at all? I own a 30 year old house with blown in insulation and I swear when I go up there I cough for a week.

I have dragged some non-blown in stuff up there to shore up some areas but am not sure if I should just have more blown in stuff put up there. Can they put new stuff over old stuff or do they have to take the old stuff out?

Additionally, can too much insulation be a problem in the summer? Our attic fan is already constantly coming on. I would hate to cause it to become more hot up there.

 

[CorCentral]

Originally posted by: DrPizza
I've been considering insulating my attic; only have 3 1/2 inches of insulation up there, and at 50 years old, it's somewhat compressed & is actually only about 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick. Congrats on cutting your heating costs.

Spend the cash to save cash in the long run. I should see the difference within' a week. When you can I suggest it.
Pizza, I thought I'd lend some info after being banned by the LEFT of this forum for 2 mths. I'm not a harsh man, just a very opinionated.

I don't think any Mods should post in the P&N forum if they want to obey the rules of this site. Please pass this on to the upper Conglomerates.

 

[CorCentral]

Originally posted by: FP
Stupid question... Is the old insulation toxic at all? I own a 30 year old house with blown in insulation and I swear when I go up there I cough for a week.

I have dragged some non-blown in stuff up there to shore up some areas but am not sure if I should just have more blown in stuff put up there. Can they put new stuff over old stuff or do they have to take the old stuff out?

Additionally, can too much insulation be a problem in the summer? Our attic fan is already constantly coming on. I would hate to cause it to become more hot up there.

I recommend R-39-R49 to everyone!

All insulation companies have thier own set R-VALUE.
Just keep this in your head.......... No matter what anyone tells you what R-means-------

Fiberglass= about 2.2-R for every inch.
Cellulose/blown= 3.0-R for every inch.

 

[tallest1]

I want to blow more insulation in my 50-year old attic but I also gotta remount my ceiling fans. Sucks that I gotta do one task before the other..

Edit: typo

 

[iGas]

Estimating the Payback Period of Additional Insulation

ZIP-Code Insulation Program

[add]

Types of Insulation

 

[boomerang]

I had my home built in '87. At that time I had the insulation contractors blow in above the bats. (The builder thought that was stupid) I don't remember how much I had them put in, but I think I could benefit from more.

We had about a 7" snowfall last Monday which is pretty unusual for this time of year. I noticed that the furnace was hardly running and the house felt more comfortable for a number of days afterwards. I think the heavy accumulation of snow on the roof was providing an additional layer of unsulation.

 

[DaveJ]

I had 12" of insulation blown in my attic a few years ago, and the difference is night and day... so far I've saved 30-50% on my monthly electric bill. I had about 3-4" up there before, and when it got hot you could feel the heat radiating off the ceiling in the hallway. With the insulation my AC runs a lot less in the summer as well. Definitely an excellent improvement. With the state rebate at the time it only cost me about $650 for 1600 sqft, which was an awesome deal.

 

[lxskllr]

Originally posted by: FP
Stupid question... Is the old insulation toxic at all? I own a 30 year old house with blown in insulation and I swear when I go up there I cough for a week.

Insulation's very bad for you. I don't know what's out now, but asbestos, rock wool, and fiberglass are hard on your lungs, and can cause problems years down the road.

 

[Newbian]

Originally posted by: lxskllr

Originally posted by: FP
Stupid question... Is the old insulation toxic at all? I own a 30 year old house with blown in insulation and I swear when I go up there I cough for a week.

Insulation's very bad for you. I don't know what's out now, but asbestos, rock wool, and fiberglass are hard on your lungs, and can cause problems years down the road.

Thirty year old stuff is more then likely but most of the newer stuff, within the last 10 years or so, is really not that bad and I have worked with normal strips of it and the blown stuff and have no reactions to either compared to the older stuff.

It is cool how much they are able to squeeze in one of those bags of the blown insulation when you feed it in the blower and you watch as it turns into almost cotton candy appearance.

 

[Dirigible]

I gotta get around to insulating my attic. 100 year old house with nuthin' up there.

 

[Mojoed]

Sounds like some of you got some sweet deals. I paid $1500 for my 1400 sq. ft. attic to be brought up to R-39. It had 2" of old insulation when I bought the house.

And yeah, huge difference in energy consumption. My house holds 65 degrees easy now, even when it's quite cold outside. The heat pumps only stay on for a few minutes every few hours or so to maintain.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: CorCentral

Originally posted by: DrPizza
I've been considering insulating my attic; only have 3 1/2 inches of insulation up there, and at 50 years old, it's somewhat compressed & is actually only about 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick. Congrats on cutting your heating costs.

Spend the cash to save cash in the long run. I should see the difference within' a week. When you can I suggest it.
Pizza, I thought I'd lend some info after being banned by the LEFT of this forum for 2 mths. I'm not a harsh man, just a very opinionated.

I don't think any Mods should post in the P&N forum if they want to obey the rules of this site. Please pass this on to the upper Conglomerates.

Maybe you should post that in the right forum before you get yourself banned again. :Q

 

[CorCentral]

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: CorCentral

Originally posted by: DrPizza
I've been considering insulating my attic; only have 3 1/2 inches of insulation up there, and at 50 years old, it's somewhat compressed & is actually only about 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick. Congrats on cutting your heating costs.

Spend the cash to save cash in the long run. I should see the difference within' a week. When you can I suggest it.
Pizza, I thought I'd lend some info after being banned by the LEFT of this forum for 2 mths. I'm not a harsh man, just a very opinionated.

I don't think any Mods should post in the P&N forum if they want to obey the rules of this site. Please pass this on to the upper Conglomerates.

Maybe you should post that in the right forum before you get yourself banned again. :Q

Probably true, but I'm sure it's already been passed around multiple times

 

[amdskip]

I think I've got 20" in my attic. 700 sq foot so it wasn't too pricey and it will pay for itself. I blew the new white fluffy stuff in right over the old nasty cellulose.

Pics: http://www.facebook.com/album....=30402409&l=1e87194f9d

 

[DrVos]

Originally posted by: amdskip
I think I've got 20" in my attic. 700 sq foot so it wasn't too pricey and it will pay for itself. I blew the new white fluffy stuff in right over the old nasty cellulose.

Pics: http://www.facebook.com/album....=30402409&l=1e87194f9d

Would you mind sharing details like how much it cost, how much time it took, and the overall experience? I'm considering doing the same.

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: DrVos

Originally posted by: amdskip
I think I've got 20" in my attic. 700 sq foot so it wasn't too pricey and it will pay for itself. I blew the new white fluffy stuff in right over the old nasty cellulose.

Pics: http://www.facebook.com/album....=30402409&l=1e87194f9d

Would you mind sharing details like how much it cost, how much time it took, and the overall experience? I'm considering doing the same.

I did blown in, in the walls of the last house I owned (before I put on new siding.) It was dirt cheap. If you purchase 20 bags (or some minimum number of bags), they let you rent the machine for free. It's a pretty easy do-it-yourself job. So that you are consistent, get some sticks or something to attach to the floor to use to measure the depth as you fill it. i.e. tack up some cheap yard sticks & use them to gauge the depth, rather than guess. I might do it this year, but it would probably take a while to break even. Coal heat is cheap.

 

[bctbct]

Originally posted by: DrPizza

Originally posted by: DrVos

Originally posted by: amdskip
I think I've got 20" in my attic. 700 sq foot so it wasn't too pricey and it will pay for itself. I blew the new white fluffy stuff in right over the old nasty cellulose.

Pics: http://www.facebook.com/album....=30402409&l=1e87194f9d

Would you mind sharing details like how much it cost, how much time it took, and the overall experience? I'm considering doing the same.

I did blown in, in the walls of the last house I owned (before I put on new siding.) It was dirt cheap. If you purchase 20 bags (or some minimum number of bags), they let you rent the machine for free. It's a pretty easy do-it-yourself job. So that you are consistent, get some sticks or something to attach to the floor to use to measure the depth as you fill it. i.e. tack up some cheap yard sticks & use them to gauge the depth, rather than guess. I might do it this year, but it would probably take a while to break even. Coal heat is cheap.

did you say coal, like the stuff in the 1800's? :Q

 

[amdskip]

I think my insulation costs were around $600. I installed the styrofoam insulation baffles to keep air flowing into the eaves first. This took the longest amount of time crawling around and stapling them in place.

It took around 3 hours to actually blow the insulation in place by the time you snaked the hose and cleaned everything up. Once you get started it's very easy. It's best to have 1-2 people feeding the blower and 1 person inbetween the operating for communication purposes.

The blower was free to use with the insulation purchase. They will probably make you place a deposit on the machine.

 

[randomlinh]

Originally posted by: amdskip
I think my insulation costs were around $600. I installed the styrofoam insulation baffles to keep air flowing into the eaves first. This took the longest amount of time crawling around and stapling them in place.

It took around 3 hours to actually blow the insulation in place by the time you snaked the hose and cleaned everything up. Once you get started it's very easy. It's best to have 1-2 people feeding the blower and 1 person inbetween the operating for communication purposes.

The blower was free to use with the insulation purchase. They will probably make you place a deposit on the machine.

I've been meaning to do this for a year or so now. I just have no easy way of transporting all the stuff from the store to home.. closest home depot that rents out the blower is a good 35 min away. I haven't had the time to just go rent a cargo van or something.

 

[amdskip]

I purchased my insulation from the local lumber yard. I believe it was $5-10 for delivery and they picked the machine up. You will not be hauling the blower in a normal truck. It is extremely heavy.

 

[randomlinh]

Originally posted by: amdskip
I purchased my insulation from the local lumber yard. I believe it was $5-10 for delivery and they picked the machine up. You will not be hauling the blower in a normal truck. It is extremely heavy.

hrm, home depot tells me i can.. hah. but I take it they probably aren't as good.

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: bctbct

Originally posted by: DrPizza

Originally posted by: DrVos

Originally posted by: amdskip
I think I've got 20" in my attic. 700 sq foot so it wasn't too pricey and it will pay for itself. I blew the new white fluffy stuff in right over the old nasty cellulose.

Pics: http://www.facebook.com/album....=30402409&l=1e87194f9d

Would you mind sharing details like how much it cost, how much time it took, and the overall experience? I'm considering doing the same.

I did blown in, in the walls of the last house I owned (before I put on new siding.) It was dirt cheap. If you purchase 20 bags (or some minimum number of bags), they let you rent the machine for free. It's a pretty easy do-it-yourself job. So that you are consistent, get some sticks or something to attach to the floor to use to measure the depth as you fill it. i.e. tack up some cheap yard sticks & use them to gauge the depth, rather than guess. I might do it this year, but it would probably take a while to break even. Coal heat is cheap.

did you say coal, like the stuff in the 1800's? :Q

Yes, it's making a comeback. Like the wood pellet stoves, there are coal stoves that automatically feed in the coal. Per ton, it has much more heat content than wood pellets, and at about the same price as wood pellets. I think we've gone through 3 tons + 7 bags at this point, and it was a very cold winter - the thing has been running since October. We keep the temp at 75 or so while we're home, and back to 65 when we're gone. For 6 months of heat. (wow, it really has been a long winter), it cost me less than the first 2 months would have cost if I used oil or propane.

And, that's what makes it difficult to financially justify insulating the attic. Although, then I'd have to empty the ash pan only once or twice a week.

 

[randomlinh]

Originally posted by: DrPizza

Originally posted by: bctbct

Originally posted by: DrPizza

Originally posted by: DrVos

Originally posted by: amdskip
I think I've got 20" in my attic. 700 sq foot so it wasn't too pricey and it will pay for itself. I blew the new white fluffy stuff in right over the old nasty cellulose.

Pics: http://www.facebook.com/album....=30402409&l=1e87194f9d

Would you mind sharing details like how much it cost, how much time it took, and the overall experience? I'm considering doing the same.

I did blown in, in the walls of the last house I owned (before I put on new siding.) It was dirt cheap. If you purchase 20 bags (or some minimum number of bags), they let you rent the machine for free. It's a pretty easy do-it-yourself job. So that you are consistent, get some sticks or something to attach to the floor to use to measure the depth as you fill it. i.e. tack up some cheap yard sticks & use them to gauge the depth, rather than guess. I might do it this year, but it would probably take a while to break even. Coal heat is cheap.

did you say coal, like the stuff in the 1800's? :Q

Yes, it's making a comeback. Like the wood pellet stoves, there are coal stoves that automatically feed in the coal. Per ton, it has much more heat content than wood pellets, and at about the same price as wood pellets. I think we've gone through 3 tons + 7 bags at this point, and it was a very cold winter - the thing has been running since October. We keep the temp at 75 or so while we're home, and back to 65 when we're gone. For 6 months of heat. (wow, it really has been a long winter), it cost me less than the first 2 months would have cost if I used oil or propane.

And, that's what makes it difficult to financially justify insulating the attic. Although, then I'd have to empty the ash pan only once or twice a week.

just justify it environmentally and you're good 3 tons sounds like a lot... but I live in a townhouse fueled by natural gas so I have no idea, heh