Ask Me Help Desk - What kind of insulation?

What kind of insulation?

Have insulation in walls and attic that is contained in a package that easily punctures and when opened reveals a brown kind of sawdust? Anyone know what this is? I think it is useless for the walls as it settles making it useful for only the lower 1-3 feet of walls. House was built in the 60's.

Sounds like it could be a cellulose, treated, ground up newspaper. Perhaps an idea abandoned because it didn't work very well? You could leave it in place in the walls and have more cellulose blown in the top to fill the cavities left by the settling. The covering may have served as the vapor barrier too. If so, you don't want to blow insulation in between it and the wall board. The attic may be OK, needing only more insulation to meet today's rising energy prices.

Quote:

Originally Posted by labman

Sounds like it could be a cellulose, treated, ground up newspaper. Perhaps an idea abandoned because it didn't work very well? You could leave it in place in the walls and have more cellulose blown in the top to fill the cavities left by the settling. The covering may have served as the vapor barrier too. If so, you don't want to blow insulation in between it and the wall board. The attic may be OK, needing only more insulation to meet today's rising energy prices.

Thanks, Labman.
My concern is that the covering is stiff enough to impede a blow-in type install but this is the way (your suggestion) I was leaning. This leads me to the anxiety of removing it all! Not a fun idea.

I had that stuff in my house before I found out that you need about a good 12" thick layer before it has any significant R value, and what I found also was that in most areas of the house it just acted as a sponge for moisture.

Quote:

Originally Posted by theBigkill

i had that stuff in my house before i found out that you need about a good 12" thick layer before it has any significant R value, and what i found also was that in most areas of the house it just acted as a sponge for moisture.

Did you replace it? It's in the exterior walls and it looks like quite an undertaking to remove it and replace with batts.

I've taken most of it out of the walls and replaced it with roxul, the stuff in the attic I left alone for the time being (its not doing much up there, there's only a 6" layer). The real problem area was in the basement, since I have a stone foundation it gets pretty moist down there so I ripped all the insulation out that was in the basement ceiling and left it bare until I get a dehumidifier.

Oh and id use a respirator and long sleeves if you're going to handle the stuff, its like ripping open a bee's nest, I was up all night scratching and itching

Quote:

Originally Posted by theBigkill

oh and id use a respirator and long sleeves if youre going to handle the stuff, its like ripping open a bee's nest, i was up all night scratching and itching

Thanks. Now I have to find an easy way to rip off shiplap siding without breaking many planks.

Wall insulation

Probably a insulation called vermiculite. Ship lap? You have some very careful work ahead of you.Hopefully they did not put nails/screws in the ship part of the siding.

Cellulose insulation is not at all akin to sawdust. And, it is usually grey and is made from ground up newspaper.

I had it blown into my attic last year and have had good results.

Currently, I am in a major addition/remodeling project and I had to remove a bathroom ceiling. I got rained on by a bunch of insulation. But, even though I was in shorts and a t-shirt, I wasn't at all bothered by it. The insulation that was under the cellulose was fiberglass batts, and under that was something called rock wool. Now, THOSE were itchy.

In the past, cellulose wasn't typically used in walls as it does tend to settle. Now, they do something called dense packing, which stuffs as much insulation as possible into the cavity, or they spray it on with an additive to prevent it from settling (glue).

Depending on where you live, I would do as Labman suggests and add more insulation to the attic and not worry much about the sidewalls. With the exception of doing a good job of sealing off bypasses. (Outlets on the exterior walls, leaky windows, etc) Remember the old addage about wearing a hat when it is cold.

But, if you do need/desire to remove it, I would suggest starting at the top to remove the shiplap siding. Our house was sheathed in that (in 1957, they didn't use no stinking OSB or Bild-Rite panels to sheath houses. They use WOOD <grin>) and I had to remove the sheathing to open up the wall.

I started at the top and using wonder bars, I worked my way along the studs, prying out the boards carefully. I only broke a few. Like Tongue and Groove flooring, shiplap is usually blind nailed.

Good luck, Dan