Cellulose insulation in attic

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

It turns out that the incompetent laborers who built my house failed to insulate the roof over 1/3rd of my master bedroom.  So now I have to insulate it myself. 

Fiberglass messes up my skin something fierce, so I'd like to use cellulose insulation instead.  I don't have the appropriate blower gun thingie, I don't want to go get one, and I don't want to use one.  Is it possible to get an acceptable result by adding cellulose by hand, just by tossing balls of fluff everywhere?  Or, is there some way to improvise the same affect of the blower gun, some way to fluff up the cellulose properly without the machine?

[ilbob]

the answer is that you need the blower. you can rent them for not a whole lot, usually from the place you buy the insulation.

around here, you can often get an insulation company to do the work for you for about what the insualtion and rental would cost.

[41magsnub]

Not quite answering your question, but have you looked at the sealed fiberglass insulation?  It is basically the same insulation in plastic bags so there is a lot less stray fiberglass floating around.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

cellulose is good!  machine is free if you buy a certain number of bags,  one person down below dumps em in machine you can do attic in a couple hours knee deep  dust mask required

[Grandpa Shooter]

There is a type of insulation, while still fiberglass, which can greatly lessen the problems with the stuff.  Go and get some Owens Corning Pink Plus.  It is covered on the back side with a gauze like material which traps the fibers in place.  It is slightly wider and will stay in place as a press fit. They don't give the stuff away, but is a great help if you are sensitive to airborne particles.

[roo_ster]

cellulose is good!  machine is free if you buy a certain number of bags,  one person down below dumps em in machine you can do attic in a couple hours knee deep  dust mask required

Man, I wouldn't tackle that with anything but a full-face respirator.  But, maybe my attic is just extra-dusty, since it has been making dust since 1959.

FTR, I use a half-face respirator if I spend any time in my attic, a bandanna if it is a quick in & out.  If I were to disturb existing insulation or blow stuff around, I'd go full-face.

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

Thanks for the suggestions, y'all.  I found a few ways to get the job done that are almost as good as the blow gun. 

[mfree]

I think this is the stuff I already have in mine, about 4-6" deep over the outer ceilings.

I'd like to find out if I can use something like a barrier board over the rafters and increase the R values significantly... but I'd have to ensure airflow, etc.

Tricky, these attics be. Tricky indeed.

[K Frame]

What do you mean, barrier board?

If you mean laying rigid foam insulation over top of the cellulose that's already there, NO!

You'll trap moisture between the ceiling and the board and cause yourself no end of grief.

If you want more R value, you add more cellulose, loose fiberglass, or unfaced fiberglass batts.

[HankB]

Isn't cellulose insulation just shredded newsprint? Treated with something (boric acid?) to give it a little fire retardance?

[mfree]

No, I was thinking reflective faced foam up across the face of the rafters with room for airflow behind it. The cellulose is on the floor.

[K Frame]

If you have a proper layer of insulation on the attic floor, no, not really.

And yes, cellulose insulation is generally shredded news print type paper that has been treated with fire retardant chemicals and anti-crittercides.

I keep threatening to add about 15 inches of insulation in my house, but I just never get around to it.

I think that now that the attic space isn't so incredibly hot I'm going to at least get the rafter channels in.

[Marnoot]

The local power and gas companies here offer a $0.35/sf rebate each for adding at least R-19 to the attic if it has less than 8". As ours only has about 5" in it we're getting that done and shouldn't have to pay anything out of pocket for it. You may want to see if the gas or power companies have similar weatherization rebates where you're at.

[Firethorn]

My parents had a couple feet blown into the house when they lived in Nebraska.  After that ours was the only house on the block to have snow on the roof most of the winter.

It also cut the heating bills in half.

Paid itself off in under two years.

[K Frame]

Proper insulation and ventilation in the attic space will not only save on your heating and cooling bills, in cold weather it can also virtually eliminate the chance of ice dams along the eave lines.

Nothing is quite so special as having hundreds of gallons of water come flooding into your attic on a very sunny, but very cold, winter day.

A couple of winters ago I got to be very adept at putting salt snakes on roofs for several neighbors.

They supplied the pantyhose and calcium chloride and I placed them.