I've used this machine before. 10 bags is ALOT of insulation. What my Lowes store told me was to buy 10 and return what I didn't use. They wouldn't charge me for the machine that way. Tip to others.
Duct tape a broomstick to the end of the hose for additional reach; it’s great for low pitch roofs. Another good thing to have is walkie-talkies to signal the loader when to start and stop the machine; you will keep your living space cleaner when the loader can be in the garage or outside.
I just did my 2000 sq ft shop this past weekend. I have a few tips that probobly have already been covered in other comments but I stopped reading after 5 minutes. 1. Buy enough bags to get the bulk price and return the ones you don't use, you will still get the bulk price. 2. If you buy 100 bags like I did, just pay for delivery, they will unload the pallets anywhere you want that the fork truck can go (in my case they went in my paint booth). 3. Don't bother with their machine if you buy cellulose. We clogged up immediately, after searching online for the instructions for that machine I found that it will void the warranty if it's not used with their insulation. 4. Insulation makes a mess! If your bread and butter is automotive paint, don't setup the machine in a paint booth thinking the ventilation fans will magically make it more comfortable for the "stuffer". You will spend an entire day cleaning. 5. Spray paint lines on truss webs at the height you want before you begin. lastly, take a nice sturdy piece of lumber up to move around on. Moving from truss to truss when spaced 48" is not fun, stepping on a loosely attached piece of lumber is also not fun when it gives out and you have 12' of distance and a .5" piece of drywall between you and a concrete floor...always be ready to grab something even if you think you are on a secure framing member.
My wife, son and I did this years ago with cellulose. No directions on the machine. We used 18 bags. I was in ceiling, my son was managing the hose up to me and my wife was feeding the machine. We worked non stop until done. When finished I came down out of the rafters and died laughing. My wife was completely COVERED in cellulose! I asked her why she did not say something as we worked. She said she wanted to but realized we were making such good progress she did not want to slow us down. Glad she had a mask on! To anyone considering doing this, DO IT. Made a big difference inside the house.
I am a single mom and own my home and want to do this. I know I can manage it just by watching your video not too intimidated at all. I got this!!! Thanks so much for the video.
I did this about 8 months ago. Lowes had an amazing deal on blow-in cellulose. They were selling 100 bags for about $550. The total R value is way overkill, but 100 bags was cheaper than 70 at the time. You definitely want a high quality respirator and a very bright light. It took about 6 hrs to fill a 1200 sq ft attic to a depth of 2 ft. It is really important to make sure you don't block the soffit vents if your attic is vented. You can use rafter vents which extend the soffit vents. They cost about $1 each. If you want to get the best value out of the insulation take the time to seal all the gaps before insulating. It's a lot of additional work, but about half of the energy loss for a typical old house is convective rather than conductive. Sealing the gaps in the attic will go a long ways to reducing the convection loss. GreatStuff Pro is a good choice for filling the gaps.
Great videos on your channel. We used this machine to insulate both our attic and inside the walls of our 1937 Sears home. Owens corning has a video on how to fill the walls, I had to drill a lot of 3" holes and then patch them, but our heating bill was cut in half the following winter. You could also insulate from outside by removing and replacing your siding, which was not an option in our old house. TIP - I did the attic and the walls on separate days. So I bought 20 bags of insulation, had the cashier ring up 10 at a time and got two receipts = two free machine rentals.
Hey.. boys good job, just a fyi the machine party has a cutter on the inside for the bags. Then I did my attic 2 months ago, it was hot!! We blew in 30 bags.. at each 10 bag interval I took a 15 min break. I had to do 24 inch for the R60. We also dead in remote. I had to call tell him to stop sometimes he couldn't hear the phone. DYI Tip: Instead of blowing insulation straight up, you could just cup your hand over the nozzle or stop piece of cardboard. Cheers thanks for your videos
Jeff’s emotional presentation always seems like he’s already explained everything to six other beginner level classes in the same day, and he’s trying REALLY HARD to maintain his enthusiasm level
My grandfather was an electrician and we still have his old hopper for blowing insulation. He used to do walls in existing house too. He had an attachment for the hose that was a 1-inch nozzle. You'd drill a hole about a foot down on the wall and foot or two up from the bottom. Stick that nozzle in and let it rip. Then you plug the hole with a one-inch dowel. Usually we worked on the exterior but there were times we had to work from the interior. It's a lot of holes to drill and plug. Not hard at all but tedious. Attics in the summer were a bear though, if you were the guy manning the hose. Next time I'm at my folks, I'll take a picture of the hopper and send it to you. It belongs in a museum.
Just did this to my 1886 farmhouse! Used cellulose instead and omg the difference of comfort inside the house is crazy. Had zero insulation prior to this. Amazing!
I did it a year ago. Cleaning up the attic, sealing all the gaps and installing the soffit vents was quite exhausting. But then to blow in the insulation was soooo easy:) I did cellulose, but the same thing. And the insulation for the whole 1200sqft attic was like $1000. Contractors were asking for like 4-5k for the same.
Wow, as an insulation contractor I’d charge (Minneapolis, MN area) approximately $2300USD for the insulation and the air sealing. Then the utility companies will send a refund of between $450 and $565. I guess I need to charge more! Lol. Granted I’m in the micro company group, not the big operator category.
Kevin Green no, removal would add about $2500 additional due to the dumpster ($500~) the bags are approximately $30ea and the rental of the vacuum is about $200/ day.
@@koryleach9660 that is probably where the 4-5k comes from. I have also gotten quotes and contractors that I've gotten quotes from want to completely remove your old stuff before air sealing.
Hey Jeff I have used that on alot of jobs and it works great. One thing to point out is that if they are blowing into their attics , be very aware of the soffits, they way you showed it it looked like you covered the soffits which will stop the airflow into the attic and out the roof vent. You know as well as i do that if thats not explained correctly some fool will blow it all over his vents and cause a ton of damage down the road... keep up the videos, i catch a thing or two from you ever so often. that comes in handy....
Hey handyt butler, How do you keep it from going in your soffits? I would like to put more insulation in attic but I am afraid that I will close up my soffits. Thanks
@@MrHuberb one way to do it is use a piece of luan and a small board to nail it to so you can hold that out and keep it from going into the soffits... i use a paint guard for spray guns also just to keep it from flowing in... if it does go in usually you can get something to pull it back out...
Use baffle vents. They can be made of cardboard, plastic or thin styrofoam that you can pick up at Home Depot (Owen Corning has pink ones) or other such places. You slide them in toward soffit and between the rafters and leave them there. They have a channel in them to allow the flow of air. You then surround the outside of them with insulation. The baffle should be higher than the amount of insulation you put on the outside of it so you don't get insulation falling into the open channel.
Good video here in Texas we nail little markers around in attic so we have know how to maintain the depth of insulation we want, they have an inch scale on the markers.
Yep, although watch out! One of my coworkers had his attic insulated and on a whim he pulled up one of the rulers they nailed down and the bottom two inches were cut off!
Hey Jeff! I just wanted to give a huge thanks for all the hard work you and your crew do. I found you about 3 weeks ago while looking up some information on sound proofing and have been binging all of your videos ever since. So many useful tips and tricks!!! I've been working on some big plans that have only gotten bigger and better with your help. But more on that later...
Look up gvt rebates. Here i was looking to do it myself. But i wont be eligible for the rebates if its not a professionnal. At the end, it makes it very inexpensive (still few more bucls) to let someone do it. I wont go throught all that hassle to save 175$.
big box stores will give you a free 1 day rental with the purchase of a certain number of bags of insulation. I strongly suggest buying cheap long sleeved coveralls. You'll get a lot less itchy and can just toss them rather than clog your washer with fiberglass/cellulose.
Hi Jeff! Your videos are a tremendous source of valuable information to the DIY community. Thank you! Related to the topic of attic blow insulation: may I recommend that you post a video showing how to create a walkable attic over that blown insulation? The particular case I have in mind is that of new homes (in US) where the roof support structure, as well as long trusses over rooms/garage seem to use "skinnier" lumber than the standard 2x4 and, more, they connect all over the place using Simpson's mending plates. All that seems to me quite flimsy, and one would need to build some good support structure tied in to the roof rafters for a tentative walkable attic floor. There are very few postings on the topic, and your contribution to illuminating it is very much appreciated.
Thanks man for all your videos, I live In Ottawa and bought an old 1930s house (first time home owner in Vanier) I have done so much work and was so nervous doing the work from change toilets, to electrical, to demo, to drywall - You have made it so much easier for me and have gave me so much confidence when doing projects - I cannot thank you enough. I still have so much more to go I do believe a have asbestos in my attic on my second floor of the 1930s part, I believe they sprayed blown insulation over top of it - Ceiling has newspaper as vapor barrier. Not looking forward to that project. THANK YOU
did it myself 2 years ago. Was the easiest job I've tackled since i bought my house. Anyone can do it paying someone to do it is a waste of money, unless you don't want to get dirty.
Looks fairly straight forward and cost wise tops. Can’t find hire mob in Australia but it may eventually get a run. Who knows right. Great video and your tips and shows get people motivated. Keep smiling.
Getting ready to close on my first house at the end of the month. There is a section of the attic that no longer has insulation after a repair was done. I think now I feel confident enough to just do it myself. Thanks
Over time I've become convinced there's NOTHING that you can't do!! You take the definition of "Jack of all of all trades" to another level! Impressive, helpful & pretty cool!
Thanks for the step by step. I think I could totally to this to an attic when I get my own house. I like that I can leave the machine in the morning truck, that really makes in DIY.
You have to use one of those huge vaccum that restoration company have. Youll also need a truck preferably with close box like the uHaul ones. Talk to your landfill before to show up there with it, they all have different rules and preferances with this kind of stuff.
If we have a bathroom fan in the attic, should we put a vapor barrier (plastic) on top of it before insulating like this? Love your videos btw, keep up the good work!
Great information. I own a home built in 1955, the insulation looks old, and I've been considering doing this to at least add to what's there. Thanks for the video!
Great video brother, it is exactly what I needed, I'm in the process of insulating my garage attic since I want to make it usable in the winter, thank you so much, keep them coming.
Excellent, thanks! I really want to do it, but have some wiring to do. That and spending time in the attic always sucks. I dread going up there. Getting better slowly, but have lots more OSB to put down first.
Hey Jeff thanks for the info dude. My wife and I just brought a 4500 sq ft home and our bedroom is FREEZING. Our attic is roughly 500 soft of open space. I’m going to try the blow insulation.
I just want to say that blown in insulation helped me save a ton of money and make our house more comfortable during the summer/winter. I was also able to take advantage of energy efficiency grants through our electric utility that made hiring someone to do it just as cheap as doing it myself. I think the cost to rent the equipment and buy the insulation was going to be close to $600 at the time and to have someone do it would cost close to $800 with the grant. Something to look into if you have a tough space that would make doing it yourself challenging.
I had my attic sealed and insulated with open cell spray foam. It was very expensive but worth it in my opinion. Central Air conditioning run time has been cut in half from 10 hours a day of run time to now only 5 hours.
your house needs to breathe, hopefully you crawled up there and checked their work. Because I know what it costs to do a 1400sq ft ranch, it’s a Fuckn scam.4200$
Hi Jeff , how does this product perform fire rating wise. I am a firefighter in Australia. Over here people have been using a cellulose blown in insulation. During my time as a firefighter I have had several fire roof fires. The cellulose product is treated with a fire retardant, however overtime the retardant leaches out and the product become combustible. I really enjoy watching your great Videos ,thank you.
My father and I used to do this in Maine in the late 90s. Our material was shredded newspaper and we funneled ours through 3" holes we cut at the top of the walls between the studs. It meant a lot of drywall repair. I always wondered if we could have saved time and just put a crown molding over the holes.
Is putting plywood down in attics to create storage space/ safe spaces to walk not a thing anymore? Also, if you later need to put in can lights into the ceilings below the attic, how do you maneuver through all of that to clear out where the cans go and not end up falling through the ceiling because you can't see the joists?
Hi Jeff, I will be going to Hone Depot and reserving one for next week. Thanks for your video. I’m going to clean out the old insulation and just put in all new.
I have watched multiple videos on this now. Air sealing 1st was not mentioned in this one. The need to use foam sealing on all joints and light fixtures with proper covers. Then add insulation. So really, it is important to remove the old insulation and put new in. Also, for Ontario, Canada, they changed min. R value from r50 to r60 in 2019 or about 16-22 inches depending on cellulose (higher r value) or fiberglass. On one of the videos that I saw, they did a blower door test to see how much air flow was stopped. After air sealing and redone cellulose blown in insulation...the whole saving was only 20 percent. So I guess that I'm saying I'm leaning towards this video for initial cost saving :)
Thank you! I actually need to do this and wasn't 100% certain on the task and if it was more involved. This appears significantly less complicated than I initially thought.
Hey Jeff, any recommendations with attics that have soffits? Do you recommend those soffit vents that hold the insulation, so it won't fall into the soffit?
I did this with cellulose at my place. I had R5 value in the attic and recieve a government grant from Quebec to insulate. I had to put cardboard baffles to keep the ventilation from the soffits to the attic. The machine I rented was similar but unfortunately it was beaten up pretty badly. It sounded awful due to the bearings being shot. Since the bearings were shot, it seemed as if it was forcing to turn; which would result in a slower output inside the tube and... You guessed it; clogged the tube up! This part was a nightmare as I had to come back out from the end of my house and start unclogging this monstrosity in the driveway. In any case, the hardest part out of all of that was to install the baffles (no room and your face is real close to mouse crap). Rest was a piece of cake even though the machine needed some maintenance. Oh and that grant I received... I actually made 400$ to insulate my own place up to R50!!
Would you recommend using a radiant barrier in the attic along the top 2x6 rafters or putting more of the pink insulation up there? The goal is to keep the attic cooler in the summers
The Christmas jingle edit was funny. I was just looking at getting some bags and that machine from the local big box so thanks for the video example. I was also wondering how far it sprayed laterally and you answered that in this video too. Thanks a bunch!
We did this a year ago and it came from HD without directions. I’ve got to show my husband, we fed it so poorly and had the hose in backwards. Can’t stop laughing
@Heidi Kagarakis, hey... You learned a lot. Now you can help others do it right. A great experience and some good laughs. Bonus, you got to spend time with your husband 😉
Do you think blowing in fiberglass or cellulose is better, what ever you think I will do, when I rented the Machine it had a hole in the hose, our attic is long, so we didn’t now until we got to the spot.
Jeff can you do one for a bonus room over garage and doing finished ceiling over it. I have what looks like R 19 on in bonus floor joists and R 19 in ceiling. Also crawl space needs some under 1st floor. Thanks
Is it something I could do or feel confident doing? Yes. Is it something I want to do? No I know for a renovation or touch up project you are limited which options to use. My preferred method of insulation is a continuous building envelop or rigid foam insulation (EPS or the like).
I like the light mounted on your hat. Suggest a respirator for lung protection and goggles (like swimmers wear) for eye protection. Finally, a set of cheap overalls to protect your clothing.
