Blown-in Insulation into Existing Wall

Hello,   can I insulate the interior and exterior walls with blown in insulation through the attice> Normally you drill holes into the walls in the rooms. Can holes be drilled into the walls from the attic? Thank you

mad-king

in Bath & Kitchen 12 years and 1 month ago

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energyaideofny | 12 years ago

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Hi. I’m an

Perry525 | 12 years and 1 month ago

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Houses are built with cavity walls, with good reason! The cavity is there to stop wind blown rain from crossing the walls and making the inside of the home wet. You should only fill a cavity with polyfoam or some other form of waterproof insulation. There are bumps and ties that hold the walls together, these catch insulation and let large holes form that then lead to condensation on the inner cold wall. Foam installers drill holes carefully spaced to ensure the wall is filled to the best of their ability. But a complete filling cannot be guarenteed. Fit your insulation on either the outside (keeps the rain off) or the inside. Never in the cavity, unless you can guarentee that there are no holes and the walls are dry and will remain dry for the life of the buiilding.

daveinbedstuy | 12 years and 1 month ago

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To the architects……is there usually fire stop blocking in the old walls of brownstones?????   This of course would inhibit the filling of the cavities between studs completely from above.

Bond | 12 years and 1 month ago

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James is correct in that the main reason why they go through the walls is they probe first (pretty low-tech, one step up from a coat hanger) and if there is any blocking, they measure where the blocking is and drill another hole below so they can completely fill the void.  Settling is not an issue any more, they’ve addressed that.  If you have a baloon framed house, you could theroretically go from the top, but between headers, rim joists, blocking, the space underneath windows, etc, you’ll have to put some holes in the walls.

mad-king | 12 years and 1 month ago

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Thank you

jcarch | 12 years and 1 month ago

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I’d think there would be several potential problems with the idea. First, is there access all the way around the perimeter of the house to get access for the men/equipment to be able to spray in the insulation?  If you have a pitched room, the eaves are usually almost sitting on top of the wall right where the attic floor is – at least at 2 sides of the house. Second, you’re assuming that there aren’t obstructions in the walls that would prevent the insulation from being blown in so that it fills the length of the wall cavity.  When they go in through the wall, it they  encounter this issues, they just drill another hole and keep going.  From the attic they’d be stymied. Third, are you only thinking of this for the top floor?  Obviously you won’t have access on lower floors where there’s no attic. Talk to some insulation installers and see what they say. jcarch ———————— James Cleary Architecture

http://brownstoner.staging.wpengine.com/jamescleary

mad-king | 12 years and 1 month ago

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Exactly my question. I have to drill holes, but why on the wall and not from above?

Rick | 12 years and 1 month ago

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I don’t think you will be able to fill the wall from above. You would need to drill holes in your walls to insulate them. You want the best coverage possible for insulation and you need to fill all voids.

mad-king | 12 years and 1 month ago

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Thank you for your reply and thoughts, but that wasn’t my question. If you use blown-in insulation you have to o, of course, dense packing it.

ela50 | 12 years and 1 month ago

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we recently bought a fixer-upper historic brick and contemplated various options for insulation. Blown-in insulation is not for the walls as it will settle and compress. The very best – Roxul type of insulation – does not burn, mold, or compress – superior but more expensive than fiberglass. If you have old brick walls, do not consider foam as it can lead to condensation issues – moisture can be trapped leading to fracturing of brick – if you research, you find articles about this issue.