Attic Insulation
2008 October 16
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.