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Discussion Forum

Blow insulation before finishing drywall

Tbakes | Posted in General Discussion on July 13, 2006 05:41am

I have about 850 sq feet of ceiling open to attic in the remodel I am doing.  That means it is hot as sh*t in there…  Drywall is arriving this Sat, so I hope to have the ceiling hung by the end of Sunday if the wife’s muscles keep up…

Quesiton – can I blow the loose white fiberglass (insulsafe I think?) back up in the attic after the drywall is hung, but before it is finished?  It would be much more desireable to finish the drywall if the house were 80 instead of 98… 🙂

Thanks!

Tony

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Replies

  1. MSA1 | Jul 13, 2006 06:00am | #1

    Get one coat of mud up first. Otherwise you'll get bits of insulation in the mud and boogers everwhere.

  2. MikeSmith | Jul 13, 2006 06:05am | #2

    once the drywall is hung you can go ahead and blow the attic.. we often do that so we can turn on the temporary heat

    just do a good cleanup after you blow

    Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
    1. Piffin | Jul 14, 2006 12:17am | #9

      Wouldn't you use a membrane/VB 

       

      Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

  3. cowtown | Jul 13, 2006 09:48am | #3

    If stuff like this was of little inconvenience, houses would be real cheap. Just look at it as goin to the sauna, without having to pay an admission fee.....

    Hey, the mud dries faster at 98 than it does at 80...... Yer more uncomfortable, so the work progresses faster, the mud dries faster, the job gets finished faster....what could be better!!!!

    Eric.
    in Cowtown

  4. User avater
    McDesign | Jul 13, 2006 01:50pm | #4

    Yes - I've done this, and didn't tape the drywall first.  Very little, if any, came through.

    Forrest

  5. User avater
    BossHog | Jul 13, 2006 02:15pm | #5

    Forget the Wife's muscles - Rent a drywall lift.

    Much, much easier on the muscles and the marriage.

    Bumpersticker: Driver carries no cash - he's married
    1. Tbakes | Jul 13, 2006 02:23pm | #6

      Drywall lift is coming today!  I would never dream of hanging 12 footers only with my little wife's help!!  I just need her muscles to help me get the sheets from the pile onto the lift! :-)

      Appreciate all the advice guys- I think I'll get the sheets hung and see how bad the heat is before I decide.  I have a ton of can lights to cut around, so no doubt I will mess some up and have holes that the insulation could fall from.

       

      1. davidmeiland | Jul 13, 2006 09:05pm | #7

        My insulators staple up a lightweight fabric under the ceiling joists if the rock isn't already in, then blow the insulation on top of that.

  6. Mooney | Jul 13, 2006 11:45pm | #8

    Caution:

    Drywall doesnt have near enough strength wet to hold weight  as it does dry.

    Also depends on whether you are using fire/5/8s board, ceiling board , or regular 1/2 on what centers? What type of finish?

    If you are using reg 1/2 board on 2 ft centers and you spray accoustic , it will be one saggin sombich. I would not do that to a 5/8s fire ceiling and warrant it . The best job is to get the drywall done and then call the insulators . Then they have to warrant it . If you are going to ask a taper to warrant it then you better leave him alone till hes done .

    I wont warrant a ceiling thats been insulated prior to taping it . If its regular 1/2 inch on 2 foot centers I walk. Doesnt matter how they installed it or whats above it .

    Whose supplying the warranty?

    Tim

    1. Notchman | Jul 14, 2006 12:34am | #10

      I've always had the attic blown in new construction after the drywall is done....the insulators are OK with that.

      The last custom I built had about 1800 sq. ft. of attic.  They had it done in about two hours, including setting up and cleaning up after.

       

      1. Mooney | Jul 14, 2006 01:33am | #11

        Its not the insulators that would have a problem. They dont care .

        Its the drywall company that has to warrant it unless its written as not .

        Lets give two examples to make it easiar to understand .

        I come out and hang a house for you and you have it blown. Theres three in it so far not counting an owner. You hire another guy to tape and finsih it which includes a coarse accoustic. . The ceiling comes loose and falls or partially  turns loose or at least has loose drywall. My question is who pays fot stripping it out and redoing the whole job? Ive seen the senarios several times . If you are willing to sign up for it just so the insulstion guy can meet his schedule then we are good to go. But sign here ........................

        I finish a job for you  but the ceiling  was blown before I could get to it . I finish up a slick job on the ceilings and every thing is painted . We are talking about slick work , ceilings and walls . The ceilings are wavy by customer complaint . They arent paying . Who does ? Me the complete drywall company? NO because you signed the dotted line ..........................................................

        If you want me to warrant it with out disclaimer then keep the insulator out of the house till I get done . If somthing happens to the ceilings after Im gone then I guess it goes on the builders warranty. Ill warrant faulty material or workmanship. I wont give it an insurance policy for HVAC guys to walk on it or insulators .

        I went to bid a contractors painting once . He wanted me to come back after everything was done and touch up the whole job making me  the goat for what ever anyone did after I was gone all in the same set bid  . hahaha , I dont think so.  That was a good try though.

        Then again this is why Im not good at customer relations when Im being related on.

        Tim

        1. MikeSmith | Jul 14, 2006 02:12am | #12

          tim.. we don't do popcorn ceilings so our ceilings never get that wet

          smooth, textured,  or skim-coat plaster.. don't matter... if the ceiling is going to fall it won't be because the insulation was done out of sequence

          and no piffen .. we no longer use a vapor barrier, because we no longer use fiberglassMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore

          1. Mooney | Jul 14, 2006 02:55am | #13

            tim.. we don't do popcorn ceilings so our ceilings never get that wet

            Not to be difficult , but what does that mean? Did you mean that you refuse to do accoustical texture anytime any where ?

            This house is being lived in . Not that its an issue to this one but he didnt mention either way.

            As to what ceilings will do , did you get my point ?

            Its not my job to argue it either way . Its up to who ever is expected to warrant it .

            Tim

          2. Tbakes | Jul 14, 2006 04:21am | #14

            Clarifications:

            1) 1/2" DW, 16" center joists.

            2) Screws, not nails.

            3) No texture of anykind.  3 coats of mud.

            4) This house is 18 years old, the blown fiberglass insulation (~20") was previously installed with no VB...  Didn't think it was required with blown in??  With all the "building science" articles, I figured these days, Poly was a no no??   (I am outside of philly in the country BTW_

            5) This is my house, so no warranty! :-)  I'll have to fix probs, so I want to do it right.

            I think I will just wait till after I get atleast the tape coat on, prob till it is totally finished...

             

            Thanks!

          3. Mooney | Jul 14, 2006 05:00am | #15

            OK.

            Everyone read this thread ; http://forums.taunton.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=tp-breaktime&msg=76028.21

            All I ever got is how cheap can you do it ? If yer not thinkin when you give that bid stuff can happen.

            You first asked in general so when you do that youll get an array of answers from different trades . Mostly you got contractor responses as GCs . One blows his own insulation at least.

            As far as I know for a fact Im the only one that had a drywall company.

            Since its for you and you are doing it , nothing would probably happen although ceiling board would be better in 1/2 than regular. It has fibergass strands that will give more  strength. However , reg 1/2 has always been speced for 16 inch centers with no added weight . But those times have changed as they used to staple fiberglass insulation over head to the joist bays holding it off the rock. Now drywall is expected to hold up insulation although drywall manufactors dont warrant it unless they started after I checked. While we are there its good when in question to check manufactor specs . If you ever get involved in a court case the comapny might back you if you were with in their specs and they will help with warranty issues. They wont if you ride out side then you have to warrant it your self with out their help. You are with in their specs spacing for that product. Also building inspections go with out a hitch if you can provide information from the company.

            When I said I wont warrant a ceiling for insulation blown before finishing , it stopped it . It was never an issue except for a few jobs and those were easy to leave . Theres no reason to take sh^d that you dont have to take when others are loading it on you and then expect you to back the work with their foot prints on top of it .

            The first place I got the idea was hvac . If I used the unit while finsihing drywall , they would not warrant it because of the rock dust in the A coils. Believe you me contractors stopped me from using those units . They in turn stopped the insulators from covering my rock up before I was done .

            Tim

             

          4. MikeSmith | Jul 14, 2006 05:30am | #16

            acoustical  ceilings are pretty hard to come by in RI...

            i wouldn't even know who to call anymore.. we did our last one in about 1980

            and yes , i got your point... but that would be as a sub... i'm  a GC, and my plaster guys don't care if i insulate on top of their blueboard before  they skimcoat..

             matter of fact , like i said, they prefer it in the winter becuase the temperature is more constantMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore

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