Balloon Framed Blow insulation technique for walls? Can I go in through the top plate from the attic?
j99t99
| Posted in Energy, Heating & Insulation on
Anyone see any issue with this technique? I have access to the top plate in the attic, and was considering this rather than exterior/interior holes in the walls.
Thanks in advance.
Tim
Replies
The issue is........
you cannot fill a stud space with just one hole. In many/most cases there's a need for the displaced air to be expelled. To do it from the attic down one floor would be close to inaccessible if rafters sit on the plates (in many balloon framed houses there isn't a top plate, so theoretically, it would be easy to fill from above if the pitch was right).
If a two story, next to impossible (tho it sure comes out when you're doing a remodel). Flooring was run long into the stud spaces to keep from having to cut it. Backside of platering lost a bit of mud down till it landed on something. Too small a gap for the insulation to fall through.
Fire blocking might get in the way
Many times in baloon framing, there will be blocking between the studs, especially between floors of a house. I don't know about yours, but it would likely depend on when it was built and local codes at the time (if any). just something to check out before you start filling stud bays.
Also, do you have a method to know if you got a bay completely full, or if you had left a big void with no insulation?