Blown in dense pack cellulose

[J1m]

Anyone have experience with blown in dense pack cellulose? We're gonna do the walls in our 1880s farm house.

How much did it tighten up your house? Did you think it was worth it in the end? Any draw backs? Other feedback?

Edited to add: This is in the firewood forum because it'll help me burn less wood in theory.

 

[HD2010]

Anyone have experience with blown in dense pack cellulose? We're gonna do the walls in our 1880s farm house.

How much did it tighten up your house? Did you think it was worth it in the end? Any draw backs? Other feedback?

Good stuff. They seal all cracks and pack it in. Much quieter in house. I did not see any draw backs. Way better than doing the bats.

 

[Dirtboy]

BIL has it-house is much warmer. No problems.

 

[c5rulz]

Last year I had an energy audit done on the house. When they did the vacuum test on the house to check for air leakage it was quite interesting. The spots I thought would leak air like doors and windows did not. With the aid of a infrared camera air leakage was plainly evident. What I learned was that most of the air leakage in the house comes from penetrations in the ceilings do to wiring boxes and the tops of the drywall where it goes into the attic. The sill boxes in the basement allow the air to come in and it then goes up between the sheetrock much like a chimney. So the fix is sealing sill boxes and moving the insulation in the attic to seal the top of the drywall in the attic. If you have recessed light fixture remove them and seal. Most heat is lost through air penetration not lack of R value although increasing that will help a bunch too.

 

[Clarkbug]

Anyone have experience with blown in dense pack cellulose? We're gonna do the walls in our 1880s farm house.

How much did it tighten up your house? Did you think it was worth it in the end? Any draw backs? Other feedback?

Had it done this spring. Previously had no sheathing on the house, just claps, and no insulation. Added sheathing, dense pack cellulose, and house wrap. HUGE difference so far in comfort and wood consumption.

Make sure you specify dense pack, that's where the air sealing benefits come in. Some blower machines can only just fill attics, they can't do a sidewall.

Don't do it if there might be any knob and tube wiring in the walls.

I also had bricks in the walls that were there from original construction. Had to pull those to insulate.

I'm very happy with the results so far.

 

[johnzski]

I'm a builder and recently started specifying dense pack in our homes . We have a company come and do the whole works , air and fire stops and then dense pack . Very happy with the performance and the cost is less than half of spray foam .

 

[lapeer20m]

Cellulose is some of my favorite insulation. Excellent r value, excellent noise reduction, non toxic, doesn't make you itch, works regardless of whether it is compressed or not, works when wet and has a tendency to dry itself out.

We had cellulose blown into the walls and attic of our 100 year old house and the difference was night and day.

 

[OhioGregg]

I agree! its well worth it. Old farm house here also, just not as old as yours. First thing we did nearly 30 years ago, was put the blown in cellulose insulation in walls & attic, new windows & doors. Over several years. Eventually a new roof, and 2 years ago did full house wrap & vinyl siding.

We use to go through 7+ cords of wood, just burning the 3 coldest months of the winter. Would usually start around Thanksgiving and burn till March sometime. I can tell you now with all the above upgrades, we burn about half that amount over a longer time. Used 3 1/2 cord last winter, burning from Nov. 1st. till middle of April.

The house feels 100% better than the old days. So yes...its worth it! Along with any other improvements you can make. Didn't happen over night. Was spread out over the years. The blown in insulation will help big time, by itself. But a lot of other things along with it is the real trick.

Gregg,

 

[hardpan]

Cellulose is a good choice over fiberglass Gregg. Be watchfull of mice finding a way to also make it a warm home, they are masters at tunneling through it and setting up camp. Burning less wood is a goal we all share but for me it also meant more low burning, creosote producing fires, I've had 2 of them. Keep an eye on the possible new characteristics of your flue. It's diet has been changed. For dudes our age we might think of it as less activity = cholesterol build up. LOL

 

[OhioGregg]

Cellulose is a good choice over fiberglass Gregg. Be watchfull of mice finding a way to also make it a warm home, they are masters at tunneling through it and setting up camp. Burning less wood is a goal we all share but for me it also meant more low burning, creosote producing fires, I've had 2 of them. Keep an eye on the possible new characteristics of your flue. It's diet has been changed. For dudes our age we might think of it as less activity = cholesterol build up. LOL

LOL, Good points. We unfortunately have cats here...Havn't seen a mouse in years. As far as the furnace burning different.. Back in 2008, I put in a 8" stainless flex- liner in the brick chimney. The old brick chimney was un-lined in any way before. Always kinda worried me in the past. Obviously it worked for many years. But, I like this better!!!

Gregg,

 

[Jim Timber]

Did loose pack in my shop's attic and have been very pleased with the results for heat loss and sound isolation. I keep it no less than 55F out there all the time. I have snow on the roof all winter long, while the house has ice and melt.

 

[Guswhit]

Dense packing cellulose has really gotten a full head of steam in my area recently, but it is not be undertaken by just anyone with a blowing machine. You really need to watch you air volume settings and the gate openings on the machine. I have seen some really amazing results in both homes and pole barns when it is done correctly. http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/Conservation/MooneyWall/MooneyWall.htm, here is some good reading material of a proven house system that goes into some detail. Good luck with what ever you choose.

 

[J1m]

I've read a lot about moisture problems in older homes like water on windows, condensing in the walls and extensive paint problems. For those of you with older homes, did you experience any of this and if so, how'd you handle it?

 

[7sleeper]

I've read a lot about moisture problems in older homes like water on windows, condensing in the walls and extensive paint problems. For those of you with older homes, did you experience any of this and if so, how'd you handle it?

That is an important factor that many do not understand. Forcing air ventilation is very important when insulating older structures, because if you don't you can get mold build up in areas you don't see with the potential of structural damage over the years. Further mold is a well known allergen! And if a beam has mold in it there is no way you can save it!!! It has to be replaced.

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