A Look Inside A Wall: Dense Packing 

Just a suggestion... when mentioning how to densely pack the wall, that the guy listens for the machine to start to work harder before moving the hose...maybe it would be a good idea to mute the background music so the viewer can hear the machine/blower as well... so if attempting this job, there would be a little reference as to what to listen for.

Great video. Best one yet. Just a suggestion... How about trying the demonstration without the plexiglass and then pulling away the drywall just to see how it turns out. It's obviously easier when you can see it being blown in. Thanks!

thanks for the video. I just dense packed an 1894 plaster and lathe investment property and it worked exactly as the video shows. Thanks to the plexiglass view, I really had an understanding of exactly what was going on in the wall. I managed to stuff this house with an unbelievable quantity of cellulose! That's one less uninsulated house in the world. Thanks!

Thank you VERY much !! This is exactly the type of information/education I was looking for ! I've never done blown-in insulation before and I wondered what the differences were between loose pack and dense pack, and also the benefits of drilling low, medium, or high holes to install the material. Your video not only explained everything clearly step-by-step, but scientifically analyzed the amount of insulation material installed by each method. Again, thank you SO much !!!

Very thorough presentation, thanks- and it tells you enough about technique so you can see what kind of job you're getting when you sub out this work. Just blowing it in isn't enough, so it is a big help to watch this first.

This video was very helpful. Excellent.

Nicely done! thanks, I needed to explain this to someone and this is perfect

Absolute best video out there on retrofit cellulose

A terrific video that shows how important it is to choose a reliable contractor. In such a cavity you would prefer to use x-jet 63 blow-in nozzle from X-Floc GmbH, though. Świetny film pokazujący dlaczego wybór wykonawcy i narzędzi ma znaczenie. Przy ocieplaniu takich przegród korzystniej jest wybrać dyszę odpowietrzaną x-jet 63 lub igłę do wdmuchiwania Einblasnadel z firmy X-Floc GmbH.

I was really interested in learning how to do dense packing, and did find the video somewhat helpful. The problem is, at the beginning of the video, you mentioned listening for the sound change to indicate when the cavity is full. However, for each of the four different wall sections, there was music on the video that (to my ears) completely obliterated the sound of the machine as the cavity reached full density. Thus, we watchers/listeners were not able to learn the sound change for which we were instructed to listen. The problem is, when it is a previously-built lath or drywall constructed wall, one doesn't have the benefit of seeing the fill and density happen through clear plastic, but the installer can only rely on the sound change . . . which I couldn't hear because of the music. So, I was pretty disappointed that I was not able to hear the very specific sound for which you were trying to teach us to listen.

WOW... Brads really got a feel on how to pack those cavities... all he has to do is watch his progress through the plexiglass. I guess now I'll have to replace my sheetrock with plexiglass. What a stupid deminstration!

Great video so you know the people you may have doing are doing it correctly.

Thanks for this video, it has been very informative. However, I was wondering if you could you do the same demonstration, but with a wall with existing fiberglass batting? I would like to see the process and how well it actually works with existing batting obstructing the fill.

Which hose attachment would be needed to place on the blower hose in order to do this? Diameter, etc.

I have a house built in 1959 i need to insulate the walls and attic, but i have fount a fire break at about 40" forty inches on all exterior walls, there is a tar paper barrier on the exterior of studs with wood slat paneling. enjoyed your info video it has been very informative.

I'm trying to figure out how to calculate how much insulation it takes per cavity.

Would I be able to do this in a metal studded wall and if so how much of it do you think would blow to the next cavity.?

I don't see how he's going to get that stiff vinyl hose into a drywall hole if it takes that much pressure to get it in place. Working through a hole in a wood plank is one thing, but you put that much pressure on drywall and you're going to break out that hole.

That looks like vinyl tubing which is thick and not very flexible. Is there a better type of hose?

What about the common horizontal fire break ??

What is there is old fiberglass insulation already in the wall ?

Have a question! Why used all the holes?

Can you sense pack as you go?

what is this tool caslled\

4th cavity should have been filled starting with the hose at the bottom. That way it could be dense packed as the hose is being pulled up, and the upper portion is easier to fill.

But in reality you do not see if the space is already filled up or not! And ... will not the weight of the cellulose after some time having pressed down from above to below, making gaps above and to much densly packed cellulose below? Also variations in temperature and humidity and possibly some airflow from tiny gaps may dislocate or deform cellulose distribution or its isolation properties.

Thanks for the great vid. Seems so easy because in the demo you can easily see the cavity being filled. Not the case in real life...unfortunately

To echo what others have said... Most of us... Well, none of us have a plexiglass wall in our homes and cannot see how well we are packing. How about a video that applies to most of us where we have a hole at the top or center of a cavity, or perhaps the upper 6" of the cavity cut away because we had to run electrical or data wires thru the wall but want to insulate it before putting the rock back up? In the latter example (which applies to me), how would you recommend keeping the insulation from blowing out from the large opening at the top? Would you put the hose all the way to the bottom? And then slowly pulled up as it fills? Would you go ahead and close up the hole and then cut a smaller one for just the hose? Would you maybe make a temporary 'cap' for the top opening so you can fill to the too, then remove the cal and replace the rock? What about using this in an exterior wall cavity (like in Texas)? Would you recommend, or not? What about vapor/moisture barriers? How do you go from a bigger holes which is normally the host that you get when you rent from Home Depot or Lowe's, down to a smaller size hose? Great video, but still many unanswered questions.

why wouldn't you just start from the top, put the hose down to the bottom and dense pack it all the way up and not have to reinsert the hose ?. I ask this because I don't know anything about doing this. Thank you.

I wish they could do a sound pass thru test

What means "Dense Packing"??? Why?

Why don't you run the tube from the top to the bottom and wait for it to labor and pull it up a little at a time? Wouldn't that dense pack the wall? Or am I missing something?............. Good vid...

What is the diameter of the plastic hose at the end? The only machine I can rent from local big orange has a 3" corregated hose and I suspect that this hose would be too flexible to allow the dense packing that we are aiming for.

not a bad idea. but those wooden 2x4 still act like thermal bridges and transport cold temps.

Dose this help with sound???

In reality there will be not always straight walls without any blocking things. How do you cope with this?

More information which might be handy:. What were your are settings to get that capacity? How much insulation did it require to fill that one wall? How do you calculate how much insulation you will need? Nice music by the way, thought I heard it in a porn video.

I think if we could watch Brad without noise we could figure it out.

In the world where, unbeknownst to you, friction exists and makes the whole freakin' difference between glass and drywall paper backing. Opaqueness, also. But that's just crazy, right?

I realize that this is a pretty old comment, but it would actually be helpful if you could explain WHY you understand that Green Fiber is one of the worst cellulose products and maybe recommend another manufacturer or two.

ur beard could have insulated the whole wall good vid

Easy when you can see where the gaps are but in the real world all the installer can do is guess

Gooo Brad

Everywhere you see cellulose on the face of those studs, consider that blown off sheetrock.

If that was a plaster wall there's no way he could force that tube up the wall.

The grey color of the cellulose shows that poisionous print colors are still in the insulating cellulose. Is it so expensive to wash out those poisons?

That's gotta be hard on the wrists and fingers if you're doing that all day long. Arthritis and carpal tunnel syndrome anyone?

God help the poor SOB who has to open these walls.

like the bolts to hold together.. "typical house wall"...you wpould've blown the drywall off in a 'normal' house.. '

For the first time I'm really seeing potential problems with inexperienced DIYers doing this job on their own. If you don't know what you're doing you could really have a serious issue before too long as things settle.

I've had to go back on a 14 ft wall and redo a settle of 2 ft

I`d like to see it done where the installer cant see what he`s doing as he`s doing it. This does not represent anything actually.

I don't know where you are getting your calculations from but 8lbs 10oz is not a density of 4.1 lbs per cu ft if those cavities are 14.5"x3.5"x96". The weight would have to be 11.55 lbs of cellulose.

Cannot see a company spending that much time on every cavity. You're just not going to get that result in the real world. And probably not even close to the result on the first hole. Sure, if you had a see through wall and stood there watching him, you'd be able to argue about when it is full. But in the real world, this is not going to happen. And this is why I prefer spray foam.

"And just a lot of different factors." A completely MEANINGLESS sentence; Definitely not informative.

What means "Dense Packing"??? Why?

In reality there will be not always straight walls without any blocking things. How do you cope with this?