Blown In Wall Insulation

There are few things homeowners can invest in that return as much over the life of the home as blown in wall insulation. Regardless of the region of the country in which you live, properly insulating your home can consisently and dramatically lower your energy costs. With increased regulation of power companies by the Obama administration, energy costs will continue to rise, as the industry adopts the necessary changes. These costs are then passed on to the consumer. As a result, any means of making your home more energy efficient is sure to pay big dividends down the road. The benefits of blown in type insulation for walls are many.

Several Materials To Choose From
When it comes to blown insulation for your walls you can choose from cellulose, expanding foam, or fiberglass materials. Cellulose is made up of recylced newspaper and cardboard type materials. This material is then treated with chemicals to make it more resistant to both fire and moisture. Since it is comprsied of mostly recycled materials, the overall cost is fairly low. In many cases, loose fill cellulose insulation can be half the price of competitive fiberglass insulation products.

Blown cellulose insualation can be used in both unfinished areas or in a room that already has drywall installed. When insulating a room without sheetrock stabalized cellulose insualtion can be used. It contains a moisure additive that allows it to stick to the walls. It is blown onto the wall filing the spaces between each of the studs. Once the insulation has been finished, it must be allowed to dry for up to 3 days to ensure that there is no moisture remaining in the material that could get trapped inside the walls. Then the sheetrock can be installed.

In a room that has already been finished, a hole is cut into the top of the wall between each stud. Then the insulation is blown into the wall cavity. To get the highest R-Value you want to ensure that the insulation is packed in tight.

Fiberglass isn’t quite as flexible as cellulose. It can’t be blown directly onto the wall before the sheetrock is installed. So it has to be installed after the walls are in place. It does have one major advantage over cellulose though, and that is it’s ability to allow moisture to pass through. If cellulose insulation gets wet, it will compress, leaving part of the wall without insulation. Fiberglass allows the moisture to pass right through. The same method of installing fiberglass is used as with loose fill cellulose.

The final option is expanding foam insulation. This will need to be installed by a professional. It offers the highest R-Value of the three, but it is also the most expensive. Often times it is 2-3 times the price.

Higer Overall R-Value
All three types of blow in insulation offer excellent performance. Since the material is loose it can be blown in and compacted into the tightest and hard to reach spaces, ensuring that no heat transfer takes place. This is a major advantage over batt type insulation that is pre-formed. If not installed perfectly, air that is allowed to seep through will reduce the overall R-Value of the product significantly.

Less Work In New Homes and Remodels
Blow in wall insulation offers another big advantage. Because it can be blown in, it can be installed more easily into both new and exisiting homes. Batt type insulation would require removing the sheetrock to install the insulation materials between the studs. Both cellulose and fiberglass can be installed without removing the sheetrock and with only minor patching necessary. This makes the price of installation significantly lower than with traditional batts.

No Settling
Because of the nature of loose fill insulation it settles over time. When used in wall applications this is not the case. Because it is compacted when installed, there is no room for settling. So where you might need to add an additional 20% of loose fill insulation in an attic, this is not a concern in walls.

So whether you are building a new house or looking to squeeze some cost savings out of your current home, your first step should be better insulation. Blown in wall insulation will ensure that you are getting the proper R-Value from the biggest surface area on your house, the exterior walls.

Related posts:

1. Blown in Insulation Cost
2. Blown In Cellulose Insulation
3. Loose Fill Insulation
4. Blown In Insulation Guide