I live on Long Island, NY, and I have a 58 yr old cape cod style house with no insulation in the exterior walls. I am considering having a guy inject Cocoon cellulose insulation in the walls from the exterior. He plans to drill 2″ holes around the exterior, inject the cellulose to a density of 4 pounds (I think), and plug the holes with plastic caps.
Is this a good option (considering this is a retrofit job and insulating from the interior is not an option)? Is there a better alternative?
I asked if the stuff would settle over time and of course the answer was no. The product literature indicates that chemicals are added to promote adhesion, retard fire, and repel pests.
Any insight on this product or alternative options would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Replies
Pretty standard, you're going to be amazed at the results.
Joe H
Thanks Joe,
I hope I am amazed, as you suggest...can you put some perspective on it for me...like what you think I can expect? Thanks.
Warm & quiet.
It will cut down on the little drafts that move through your walls, those little cold spots you notice but can't figure out.
Lots of info on it here, try searching for the "Mooney Wall" or google up Fred Lugano for more cellulose propaganda.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=fred+lugano+insulation&aq=f&oq=
Joe H
Cellulose has a natural settling density of somewhere around 2.7 lbs/cuft.
He's doing what is called "dense-packing", which is blowing it in at a density greater than that, and that will prevent settling.
I think you've made the best choice considering the limitations of the job.
Thanks Mongo...seems like you know the figures behind the dense packing...if you can think of any advice regarding potential pitfalls with the installation of this stuff, then please send it along...i don't know much about the process and would like to make sure my installer does it correctly...thanks again.
It can help to run a bag count to do some rough calcs so you know you're getting the needed density. You mentioned you have an old farmhouse, so you may have unconventional framing, but just modify the following:2x6 stud wall, framing 16" oc, 8' tall. 5.5" x 14.5" x 96" = 7700 cu in = 4.4 cu ft, at 4lb/cuft = 17.6 pounds of cellulose into each stud bay. Each bag of cellulose has a certain weight, so a bag count can easily be done.We're not looking for scientific notation here, you just want to do some quick mental math like the above example and make sure that you're not getting too low a density.If it's balloon framed, he needs to make sure the framing bays are not open on the bottoms or tops.You might want to consider a thermal scan of your house after the job is done. If there are any, it'll reveal any missed spots. You can write into your contract that he'll come back and top those areas off.An occasional wall cavity might have a horizontal framing member in it...fire blocking, whatever...it might take an extra hole to fill that cavity.If your guy is a good one he'll know all the tricks.
One other thing, I believe it is a federal regulation when retro blowing that the number of bags be discosed afer the job is done. This was passed in th 70's to combat the thieves that were blowing very little insulation.
Thanks for the good info Mongo.