Now I understand!

Jeff Horton

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The Heart of Dixie
Since it is starting to warm up here I figured it was time to get in the attic and take care of a couple of things before it got hot and I wished I had done these. The first was to level the HVAC unit. Nimrods that put it didn't level it and we discovered this last year when my buddy serviced the unit. Condensation was not draining properly and was going in the over flow pan instead of out the drain line like it should have been. Being in the attic that was a disaster waiting to happen. I got that fixed and moved to project #2.

We love to sit on the front porch at night. I installed a couple of decorative lights besides the door and we put in 15 watt bulbs in these. They are tied to the same style lights over on the garage on a photocell switch. So when someone comes up there is nice soft light to keep your from stumbling in the dark to get to the door(s).

I had put in switch to kill those on the porch but I had made a mistake and it didn't work. So while in the attic I wanted to go over and rewire the connections. I knew exactly what I had done wrong and it would only take a few minutes to fix. But it required crawling on the joists through a small opening to get to the the porch area. Not something I was willing to do in the summer time and of course that is when I would remember it.

I was sitting there on a joist splicing wires when something occurred to me. There was no insulation over the porch ceiling and of course no need for it. But the area behind me was over the bump out in my office! There was no insulation in about a 6 foot wide area all the way across my office! No wonder it was always cold (or hot) in there. It was all escaping up into the attic.

I understand how the guys that insulated missed it. I hadn't caught it in 3 years myself and I watched them install it and made sure it was right before they left. (So I thought) I thought about calling and having them fix it but I don't remember who did it and they probably don't remember my house by now either. I was going to buy batts and install them. But I am thinking that the simplest way is probably just buy a bag of loose fill. Stuff it in this area and then cut it open, dump it out and take a rake and just spread it around. Probably more than I need but I think that it simplest way.
 
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...I hadn't caught it in 3 years myself and I watched them install it and made sure it was right before they left...

And you call yourself an Inspector. :rofl:

Reminds me of the time I was adding a greenhouse wall to a back patio, and when I was pouring the shallow concrete footings I ran out of wood for the forms, so the last foot or so of one side of the concrete form was a cardboard box filled with dirt. I was laughing at myself, because at the time I was a concrete inspector on the largest civil works project in the history of the state (NM) at the time. I'd have never signed off on it at work. (Actually, I probably would have. It worked just fine.) :D

I agree with Royall...you're making me tired just reading about all this work. (And I spent part of the day wrestling with a weed whacker on a 30 to 45 degree hillside.)
 
Good catch. Just so you know, in the past couple of years they've figured out that fiberglass bat insulation looses effectiveness as the temperatures drop. I don't recall the exact numbers, but a typical ceiling install of 6" R19 will lose 8 or 9 r value points by the time the temperature hits zero. Wet blown cellulose doesn't do this. It holds its R value pretty consistently across the temperature range. I'm not sure on the numbers for dry blown, like you're considering. I suppose the best thing to do would be to put more in than tradition dictates.
Paul Hubbman
 
Good catch. Just so you know, in the past couple of years they've figured out that fiberglass bat insulation looses effectiveness as the temperatures drop. I don't recall the exact numbers, but a typical ceiling install of 6" R19 will lose 8 or 9 r value points by the time the temperature hits zero. Wet blown cellulose doesn't do this. It holds its R value pretty consistently across the temperature range. I'm not sure on the numbers for dry blown, like you're considering. I suppose the best thing to do would be to put more in than tradition dictates.
Paul Hubbman

ok paul seeing as how you up on insulation:thumb: i got a couple questions fer ya.. does blown in fiberglass have the same trouble as batt insul? and the dry blown cellous has a tendency to burn after a few years the fire retardant wears off.. so how is the wet blown cellous different? is thw wet application mainly for walls rather than attic's?
 
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