Shake and Rake insulation.

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dingeryote

Blueberry Baron
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Anybody used the stuff?

I'm fixing to add an R19 layer on top of the existing insulation and am trying to avoid the whole blown in process and mess.

Getting rolls up there is out of the question.

Any hints or tricks would be much appreciated.

Thanks much!

Stay safe!
Dingeryote
 
Can't you rent a blower? Lowes around here rents them for cheap, if you buy the insulation from them.
 
Yep!

Same deal here. Buy 25 bags and the blower is free.

But wish to avoid the whole blower mess, and issues with having the blower in the same area as a Ladder on a 5'X6' landing, and of course, fighting the hose though that many trusses.

If the shake and rake stuff works as advertised, it'll be worth the couple of pennys difference per square ft. in saved headaches(Literally).

Stay safe!
Dingeryote
 
Searching shake and rake reveals that it's just loose fill fiberglass. What a pita that will be.

Dinger, when I moved in my 1000 sq ft house fifteen years ago and was much more ambitious, I pushed 38 bags of the cellulose crap through a 2x2 attic access above a closet shelf, crawled up there, broke it up and raked it everywhere with a garden rake. G o o d g r i e f do not do that to yourself. If fiberglass loose fill is 1/2 as dusty as the cellulose any respirator that you use will be instantaneously overwhelmed. I switched to the sandblasting type with the corrugated (like car air filter) type and that thing screamed uncle after about five minutes. Switched to wet rags around my face and finally came out of the attic looking like Jacob Marley from the George C scott Scrooge movie. I can't imagine what it would have felt like if that had been all fiberglass, not cellulose.

The trick with blowing it in, I think, is that you're DONE before you asphyxiate. I'd say wet the stuff down lightly to keep dust down but wetting fiberglass might be a big no-no.

So in summary, I did what you are proposing except with cellulose, not fiberglass. It was terrible. I would not do it a second time without a hazmat suit.
 
Blower is a two man opp., in my experience. haven't tried shake and rake, but I can imagine it. Nothing fun about insulation. My favorite anymore is encapsulated batt or blow in foam. you'll be fine, I wouldn't hassle with the blower, just pin your ears back and get it done. Might want a coffer dam around your attic hatch.
 
Searching shake and rake reveals that it's just loose fill fiberglass. What a pita that will be.

Dinger, when I moved in my 1000 sq ft house fifteen years ago and was much more ambitious, I pushed 38 bags of the cellulose crap through a 2x2 attic access above a closet shelf, crawled up there, broke it up and raked it everywhere with a garden rake. G o o d g r i e f do not do that to yourself. If fiberglass loose fill is 1/2 as dusty as the cellulose any respirator that you use will be instantaneously overwhelmed. I switched to the sandblasting type with the corrugated (like car air filter) type and that thing screamed uncle after about five minutes. Switched to wet rags around my face and finally came out of the attic looking like Jacob Marley from the George C scott Scrooge movie. I can't imagine what it would have felt like if that had been all fiberglass, not cellulose.

The trick with blowing it in, I think, is that you're DONE before you asphyxiate. I'd say wet the stuff down lightly to keep dust down but wetting fiberglass might be a big no-no.

So in summary, I did what you are proposing except with cellulose, not fiberglass. It was terrible. I would not do it a second time without a hazmat suit.

LOL!!
your description reminded me of our last house and doing the blown in inulation. I ended up wearing an M9 Gas mask and it took us WEEKS to chase down all the tufts of escapee cellulose.

In this case we are gonna be adding to the existing cellulose so there will be all kinds of dust, and a long time going at it in between heavily reinforced trusses. Tyvek jumpsuit and a heavy particulate filter with pre-filter on the MSA respirator/mask either way.

The stirring around loose fiberglass is why I am curious. Never done it before and it sounds kinda iffy other than bieng able to stage the bags and just run down the line cutting them open and raking a bit. If it's gonna be a huge mess, we might as well just go with the blown in.

Thanks!!

Stay safe!
Dingeryote
 
Well, we went with 30 bags of the shake and rake and got 'er done Sunday afternoon.

Not bad at all!!!

Hardly any fibers going airborne, very easy to bust up the clumps and spread out, and a hell of a lot less of a mess than blown in cellulose.
Apparently they coat the stuff to keep the dust down.

Got another section of the house to do, and will definately be going with the Shake and Rake stuff there as well.

Thanks for the info and laughs as well!

Stay safe!
Dingeryote
 
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