16 October 2008: Attic Insulation

Today three men from Advanced Home Energy in Berkeley blew cellulose insulation into our attic.  They arrived a bit before 9 am and worked non-stop until a bit after 2 pm.  Due to some amazing rebates we only paid $500 for labor and materials for 1000 square feet of R-30 insulation!  That's a great deal.  If I had purchased the exact same insulation at Home Depot it would have cost me over $500 in material cost only.

The big truck arrives.

 

Even in a compacted form, the insulation takes up quite a bit of space.

 

This insulation is available at Home Depot and is made from some recycled material.

 

Before I let them blow the insulation into the attic I spent a cranky weekend building this platform so I could move around the attic after the insulation was installed.  The platform was required since the insulation would be R-30, or 8 inches deep.  The ceiling joists (4.5 inches) plus the 2x4's (3.5 inches) I put on top with upside down joist hangers equal this height.  Once the insulation is in place I can put plywood on top of my 2x4's.  The foil cylinder in the middle provides me with access to my electrical boxes.

 

During the cranky weekend that I built the platforms I also filled large and small holes so that the blown in insulation would stay put.  This photo shows the three materials I used to do this: from the left, bubble wrap within foil, fiberglass insulation, and foam in a can.

 

At some point I'll take a picture of the blown in insulation, but not today.

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