How to Use Blown-In Insulation
If your hollow exterior walls are allowing cold air to seep into your home, why not take a long weekend and insulate them? No, you don't have to rip open the walls. Your local home-improvement store can rent you an insulation blower and the loose cellulose insulation that it uses. You cut holes between every stud on the exterior wall, pump in the insulation and patch up the holes. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- A helper
- Respirator
- Goggles
- Electronic stud finder
- Pencil
- Rented insulation blower with hose
- Enough loose cellulose insulation to fill the wall
- Rag
- Drill
- Hole saw (slightly larger than the diameter of the hose on the insulation blower)
- Mesh drywall tape
- Drywall compound
- Drywall knife
- Drywall hand sander with sandpaper
- Paint to match the wall
Instructions
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Use your stud finder to locate each stud on the wall. They should be positioned every 16 inches. With your pencil, put a mark approximately between every two studs, about four inches down from the ceiling. With your hole saw, cut a hole at each mark. Take each cutout circle, and mark on the back of it to indicate which hole it belongs to. Set the circles aside.
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Put the end of the hose from your insulation blower into the first hole. Push the end all the way to the bottom of the wall cavity. Press a rag in around the hose where it enters the hole, to seal it. Have your helper fill the blower with insulation and turn it on. Hold the hose while it fills the wall cavity, gradually raising the hose. Continue until the end of the hose is right at the hole and insulation is starting to spill out. Stop the machine. Move to the next hole, and repeat.
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Once all the wall cavities are filled, take the cutout holes and place them back where they came from. Cover them with mesh drywall tape to hold them in place. Plaster over them with drywall compound, using your drywall knife. Let the patch dry for a few hours, then sand it smooth and re-top it with more compound. Repeat for a third layer of compound. Sand the final layer smooth, then repaint the patched section of the wall.
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Tips & Warnings
If you've been thinking about repainting the house, this would be a good time to do it.
Always wear your respirator and goggles when using the insulation blower, as it fills the air with insulation particles.
