Insulating balloon frame 2 story
Hi all,
I’m putting insulation in the walls of my 2 story balloon frame house. At the first floor ceiling, there is a let-in 1×6 ledger upon which the 2×8 ceiling joists sit. I believe there is no blocking between these joists, so insulation blown into the top of the wall cavity on the first floor goes into the ceiling.
How does one properly insulate this? One answer may be to ignore the 8 inches at the top and call it way better than it was. I’ve also thought of cutting a slot as wide as the cavity, just below the ledger board and shoving a length of faced batting up there, though I am not sure that the batting will stay put and not fall between the joists. The same slot might be used to put a piece of 1/4″ plywood, securing it to the ledger by driving a pair of screws from the plaster side, through the ledger, then the plywood. Has anyone found a good way to do this?
Thanks,
Scott
Replies
Maybe you should just go ahead and insulate the ceiling.
The first floor ceiling is the floor of the second floor, so I see no point in insulating it. My concern is that giving the insulation somewhere else to go may result in a poor packing job in the whole area, so around the joist and the ledger below it. Below that is the hole for shooting insulation, so I can see how well the fill is going there. Also, I measure the cavity volume and weigh out how much insulation should go into that space as per the instructions on the bag. Adding some unknown volume between floor joists means I don't really know the resulting fill density.
Do you see a point in NOT insulating it, given the cost/difficulty of blocking the cavity? Don't need to insulate the whole thing, but just let insulation flow into there until it backs up.Or insulate the whole thing -- good for sound damping. (It's a feechur!)
A strong nation, like a strong person, can afford to be gentle, firm, thoughtful, and restrained. It can afford to extend a helping hand to others. It's a weak nation, like a weak person, that must behave with bluster and boasting and rashness and other signs of insecurity. --Jimmy Carter
I think I saw a video on youtube where they used a mesh bag pushed through a hole.
In fact I did:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SG6nThxPcXU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsgT7D0GzwA
Yeah, you could easily fill the ceiling w/ lots of $ if you don't figure out how to block it. Are you tearing into the walls at all (i.e. are they open?). I've not done this, but I bet there are a bunch of creative ways to do it. Maybe talk w/ your BO about this. There may be some fire code issues that you may need to think about.
You mentioned ignoring the 8 inches at the top. ?? You can't do the second story and the first and ignore the 8 inches in between. You mean just do the first floor up to the ceiling and leave the second floor? This may create some comfort disparity between the two levels that MAY be very significant.