Do It Yourself Blown In Cellulose Insulation…

[tacklejunkie]

... in an attic.  I’m due to re-blow that cellulose insulation into my attic this spring. The first time I had a professional blow it in. I’m have heard that re-insulating it is a project you can do yourself you could just rent the machine/blower. Has anybody here done it themselves? 

I’m also getting my roof redone this spring. Should the cellulose insulation be blown in after the roofing is completed or doesn’t  it matter?

[rundrave]

I have rented a machine from the save big money store. I ran the hose in the attic while the wife fed the hopper. Was very easy job to do ourselves. But we did it for new construction in a garage attic. Only downside was the machine was super heavy so I would account for that. 

 

I dont think the order of that vs your roof matters unless your roof leaks? Are you losing insulation or is it just settling? Do you have soffit baffles installed?

[tacklejunkie]

3 minutes ago, rundrave said:

I have rented a machine from the save big money store. I ran the hose in the attic while the wife fed the hopper. Was very easy job to do ourselves. But we did it for new construction in a garage attic. Only downside was the machine was super heavy so I would account for that. 

 

I dont think the order of that vs your roof matters unless your roof leaks? Are you losing insulation or is it just settling? Do you have soffit baffles installed?

 

It just has settled over the years. Otherwise the roof is dry. We also did some remodeling and lost some insulation I suppose doing that. But the last time the cellulose insulation was blown in was 1994. Going up there it has definitely settled over the years

 

Once we close it up in 1994 I never had a reason to go up there again

[Grainbelt]

I had done it before when I was younger. Experience had taught me to pay someone this last time. It's a hot dirty dusty job up in the attic. Best suited for a small wiry guy. 

 

It doesn't make a difference in deciding when to roof.

[huntnfish]

I have done it a few times in the past. It’s not a hard job but you’re going to get plenty dirty and like grainbelt said, if can get hot during the warmer months. You used to get the blower for free after buying a certain number of bags but I’m not sure that’s the case any more. 

 

If if you do it be sure to think about your path out before you start. You want to start at the back and work your way to the access and not have to climb over any of the freshly blown insulation. 

 

I have heard that some people would go up in the attic with a sharpie and measure how deep you want the insulation to be. Then mark the rafters. I’ve never done it that way. I’ve used a paint stir stick or something similar and just spot checked as I went along to make sure I got it to the desired depth. 

 

The last time i helped helped a friend do this we had the blower in the back of a pickup and just backed up right under the access. One person in the box and the other in the attic. The machine we had didn’t have a remote shut off so the person with the hose would just plug it with their hand to signal the guy on the bottom to turn the machine off. 

 

If you go go through with it yourself I’d buy one of the white disposable cloth suits to wear and a few dust masks. If you wear contacts I would take them out and wear glasses. And like rundave mentioned, make sure you’ve got the chutes installed so you get airflow from the soffit. 

[Juneau4]

It's not that hard to do, but it is a dirty, miserable job, it takes 2 people-1 feeding the blower the other in attic.

See what the blower and insulation costs--then check the labor costs to have it put in..

Now you have to decide which way to have it done.

Transportation of blower and insulation is something else to consider.

[tacklejunkie]

Thanks to all who replied. Some good info here and I'll think I'll be able to tackle this myself

[Hoey]

The wife and I did this too.  All comments are pretty spot on.  I can only add that used radios or walkie-talkies to communicate during the procedure and that worked well for us....

[Mike89]

or just use your cell phone if those are not available....

[Big Dave2]

1 hour ago, Hoey said:

The wife and I did this too.  All comments are pretty spot on.  I can only add that used radios or walkie-talkies to communicate during the procedure and that worked well for us....

 

4 minutes ago, Mike89 said:

or just use your cell phone if those are not available....

 

Maybe they installed their insulation in 1986?

[Mike89]

49 minutes ago, Big Dave2 said:

 

 

Maybe they installed their insulation in 1986?

 

they didn't have bag phones back then either!!!