insulation question

Chuck Beland

Member
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800
Location
Rhode Island
Guys I've got a question on blown in insulation. I've seen houses getting it while I was delivering the mail & some houses are the same type as mine, a Ranch house with a full basement. They cut holes on the outside under the siding at about 1-1/2' above the foundation and again near the top of the roof.We also want to do this. We also are going to have blown in added in our attic. I've seen episodes of "Holmes on Homes" where insulation didn't let the roof breath & the sheathing got covered in condensation which caused massive mold & rot he said If I remember right they should have had baffles so the soffitt's could breath.

Questions are:

1. Why cut two sets of holes?

2. with a Ranch house with a full basement we have no soffits so how will / does the roof breath.?

3. How do we know when to use those roof baffles & where to correctly place them?


I know there is more questions I should ask but I don't know the correct questions to ask you guys. Any help or advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks
 
Ok here's pics of my roof. Like I said I have a Ranch house with a full basement single level no stairs inside house. My roof goes directly to the gutters.


Click pics for full size.


 
well the cheapest way to get good air flow is to install roof vents at the eave area and then near the peak. you could run a continuous ridge vent and thats not a real costly job and one you can do chuck.. the eave area is the worst headache..the cheap roof vents need to be as close as possible to the eave to get proper air flow. look up air flow for roofs in a google search and you will see some examples of what i am referring to.
 
Larry,
That is beyond my comfort level to do. I would be to afraid of screwing it up & besides my wife would NEVERlet me do it.

Until I have the money to have a ridge vent installed I was trying to get advice on having the blown in insulation close to the ends of the rafters where they connect to the outside walls. This is where I am afraid of the house not breathing. Our sheathing has no mold & I don't want to have mold grow after we have the blown in done.
 
well if you get a reputable installer he can make sure its done right chuck,,use that ask nancy site that has only good contractors listed by real consumers,, not sure if the site name is correct but someone here will know the right one
 
Chuck if this is just blown in insulation,not this new spray foam insulation you shouldn't have any problems at all. The reasons they drilll holes top and bottom is to make sure the insulation fills the cavaties, and not bunch up on a nail or a block hidden in the wall. As far as you having your roof vented i see from your pics you do have gable vents. So if you ain't spraying foam on the rafters there well still be plunty of air flow up there and if you havn't had any problems by now you shouldn't have any. Larrys recommendation of getting your ridge vented is a real good thing to do. It will save on your shingle life, by not letting them get so brittle so soon. Hope this helps
Steve
 
Just a caution.

Cellulose...... we used to vacuum this out of buildings because it loses it's fire retardants in about 5 years then it's just ground up paper like product that goes up like a roman candle. I know several contractors that wouldn't install it with out a signed release of responsibility in case of fire. We had sales men come calling trying to sell us on cellulose all we ever did is get a hand full from the vac truck & drop a match on it poof gone in a flash & so was the sales man. Two words for batt insulation & blown in insulation fiberglass or rock wool. Kraft faced face it inward with the tabs against the sides of the studs & staple it.
 
Bart,
I didn't know that. So I should say I don't want cellulose.

i have done that test,chuck with my old cellous,, and it burnt not poof but burnt.. i used fiberglass blown i my shop attic and and i think i redid my house with cellous last time,, the stuff from older times did loose it fire retardency..
 
My house has had cellulose insulation for over 25 years and the house that my parents lived in has had it for over 40 years.

My questions:

1. Is there research supporting that cellulose insulation loses the fire retardant in 5 years? If so, where can I find it?

2. Is there research indicating that there is a higher incidence of fire in homes insulated with cellulose as opposed to other types?

3. If it is so dangerous, I wonder why cellulose insulation would be accepted in the building codes.

Thanks,
Ike
 
You can do your own research take some out & try & light it that should be convincing enough. Personally I hope it doesn't burn. The big question in my mind is when does the fire retardant no longer retard fire & where am I and my family when this happens? I used to know a few insulators who required a consent to install form signed that released them form any responsibility should a fire occur. The only reason they would install it is if the customer insisted & the reason the customer insisted was because it was the cheapest insulation available. Cheap isn't always safe. I personally never saw a load of Cellulose that we vacuumed out of a house that wouldn't light & burn real easy . Steel wool & fiberglass have been around a long time & are proven insulations.
 
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