Blowing insulation into walls is best left to the pros because it involves drilling into stud spaces that may contain electrical.
Old brown attic insulation.
Once you ve decided which type is best for you examine the material options and prices to home in on the right product.
Blown in spray foam batts and blankets.
Insulation has come a long way.
Homes built before the mid 20th century were not built with the same techniques that we use today.
Believe it or not there are situations in a home when you should remove the old attic insulation before adding more over the existing and in this short video.
Foam insulation is sprayed into place and expands to fill the cavity.
Vermiculite insulation has a pebble like appearance and typically is a grayish brown or silvery gold color.
We offer our review of the three most popular types of attic insulation with a look at each one s pros and cons.
Brown insulation is made up of mineral wool which comes from either rock natural materials or slag the scum on the surface of molten metal.
Your options for attic insulation range from radiant barriers to sheets of mineral wool but most homeowners stick with products made from cellulose or fiberglass.
Handy homeowners can install blown in insulation in the attic.
Rigid insulation is extruded into board form and is often made of plastic.
These days you can stuff your walls with everything from recycled blue jeans to soy based foam to keep temps comfortable year round.
The problems with old home insulation.
For diy attic insulation you ve got two choices.
It is made from a natural mineral material that is mined from the earth.
Loose fill or batt the common term for blanket insulation.
Radiant barriers which are usually installed in the attic have aluminum foil backing to prevent heat from radiating through.
Loose lay greyish brown insulation with wood or paper chunks cant tell to scared to touch it also has green and pink red flecks like paper but looking atr iut in operson it looks greyish more so than brown but when i take a picture it looks more brownish in the picture could be the light playing tricks but in real like its a couple more shades.
Department of energy notes that 75 percent of mineral wool is derived from post industrial content.
Both can be added to uninsulated attics or layered over existing material.
I m not really talking about the problems with existing old home insulation but rather the topic of how and where should you add insulation to an old home.