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Posted: 2/26/2021 11:26:46 PM EDT
[#1]
Think of insulation as a bowl of water. More holes=more water leaks. Ideally you want complete coverage on the ceiling. Then you have to deal with walls and windows.
Old homes aren’t built for efficiency because energy was cheap. |
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Posted: 2/26/2021 11:35:41 PM EDT
[#2]
If you can make sure the insulation is completely under the boards before you keep filling the rest you will be fine.
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Posted: 2/26/2021 11:36:46 PM EDT
[#3]
The installer can probably get insulation blown under the walkways as well as on top.
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Posted: 2/26/2021 11:37:24 PM EDT
[#4]
Sealing air drafts from the conditioned space to the attic is every bit as important as the insulation.
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Posted: 2/26/2021 11:37:42 PM EDT
[#5]
I too have an old house, not as old as yours, but.....
I had a company vacuum the old dead blown insulation, they put in batt insulation Do it right and you won't regret it |
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Posted: 2/26/2021 11:41:36 PM EDT
[#6]
As mentioned above if you can get the blown in insulation under the boards then no need to pull them up. If there's dead space under the boards after you blow in the insulation it will lower the R value of what you're shooting for. Though anything is definitely better than nothing.
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Posted: 2/26/2021 11:43:21 PM EDT
[#7]
A hole saw will make a perfect entrance for the hose for blown in insulation if you need it, the hole should be small enough that you won't fall through later
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Posted: 2/26/2021 11:43:36 PM EDT
[#8]
You could blow it underneath the cat walk boards. Buy the pink fiberglass over the cellulose (recycled newspaper). Pink stuff doesn't settle or flatten over time and the pink blower machine rental from home depot is waaaaaaaaaay better than the cellulose, a clogging nightmare.
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Posted: 2/26/2021 11:59:42 PM EDT
[#9]
Quote HistoryQuoted: You could blow it underneath the cat walk boards. Buy the pink fiberglass over the cellulose (recycled newspaper). Pink stuff doesn't settle or flatten over time and the pink blower machine rental from home depot is waaaaaaaaaay better than the cellulose, a clogging nightmare. I rented a commercial insulation vacuum to clean out my existing insulation in a 900 sqft addition. And then tried using the freebie blower from home depot was an absolute piece of shit. Rented a commercial blower from a rental place 40 miles away and had the job done in afternoon. When I redid the insulation, I added perpendicular 2x6s over the joists to give me 9" total of new insulation and sheeted an approx 10x25 section down the center for storage once I was done with the insulation.    
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Posted: 2/27/2021 12:01:30 AM EDT
[#10]
Also think of any other attic maintenance that needs to be done before insulation is added.
That said, from a health aspect remove the old insulation if possible. A near-century of mouse nests, bugs and dust should be removed. Just be careful for any asbestos. Home Depot sells test kits ($8.95) good for two tests that are mailed off ($40 testing fee). This will help make the decision of either removing old insulation or leaving it in place and covering over it. Plus removing the old insulation will give you a chance to check the integrity of the rafters/trusses, and electrical runs in the attic. |
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Posted: 2/27/2021 12:07:42 AM EDT
[#11]
Prep
Build raised walkways, then blow in under them |
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Posted: 2/27/2021 12:27:34 AM EDT
[#12]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I too have an old house, not as old as yours, but..... I had a company vacuum the old dead blown insulation, they put in batt insulation Do it right and you won't regret it I need to do that to my attic. The insulation up there is old and needs to be totally redone. |
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Posted: 2/27/2021 12:57:52 AM EDT
[#13]
Our attic is about 800sf and was covered about 75% with boards for walking/storing.
I pulled up all of the boards except a 2 foot wide strip down the middle. So i had somewhere to walk while blowing in the insulation. I broke open a few bags and stuffed under the boards by hand. I blew in 18" of cellulose. We never went thru a winter before insulating but when we bought the house the gas/electric company said the average monthly bill for the house was $387 month. Our average has been $168 month for the last 3 years. Definitely worth the $600 worth of insulating. I couldn't believe our house made it 100 years and nobody ever insulated the attic. |
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Posted: 2/27/2021 1:18:43 AM EDT
[#14]
I have filled up stud bays behind drywall by only making a 4" hole at the top so what you are talking about is child's play.
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Posted: 2/27/2021 11:12:04 AM EDT
[#15]
I just put Batts under my walkways which did block the blown in done by a previous owner.
I also added soffit vents since there were none (there was a vent on a gable but all at the front of the house nothing in the rear) in my 1930s house. Also added radiant barrier as this was in Texas. |
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Posted: 2/27/2021 11:34:54 AM EDT
[#16]
Remove all old insulation. If it doesn’t look new, just start fresh.
Vacuum all of the dust. Perform every last upgrade to wiring that you ever want to do. Caulk seal every penetration with fire rated caulk. (I like the red stuff). Every penetration. Wires, pipes, ceiling fixtures. If you are blowing it in, add baffles to the underside of your roof deck to allow for airflow. Blow under those boards or remove them entirely. If using batts, cross them. Stuff them between joists (don’t compress them at all) and lay the next layer on top in the opposite direction, making a plus sign with them as you layer it. My attic is R-53 continuous. I may go back up there and make it thicker at some point. |
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Posted: 2/27/2021 3:28:03 PM EDT
[#17]
Forgive me for my questions. Why would I tear any old stuff out? Most of what is present is pink rolled insulation. It just seems like they didn't get every area and alot of it looks to be pulled away like they did wiring etc and didn't put it back.
It's a pretty big attic. I'm not sure I would want to tackle removing it all or not. In the last 3 years we've replaced the roof, all of the original wood siding (bad shape), completely renovated an outbuilding/guest house, and are now finishing up an addition. Maybe if I take a year off I'll feel like tackling it. I still need to replace the old copper pipes with pex (have had to fix 3 leaks the last 2 years), the breaker boxes need to be redone, and more. It's hard to decide what to do next. My electric bill is crazy high. We pulled down the original siding, ship lap, and put insulation in the walls as there was none, plywood sheathing, wrap, and hardiboard siding. We replaced every window except 4 on the front because my wife likes them with the wavy glass. I'm honestly not sure any helped the electric bill. |
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Posted: 2/27/2021 3:38:48 PM EDT
[#18]
Hodgepodge, OP, hodgepodge.
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Posted: 2/27/2021 3:48:18 PM EDT
[#19]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Hodgepodge, OP, hodgepodge. That's what I meant but my phone felt otherwise. I didn't even read my post till now. |
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Posted: 2/27/2021 9:17:19 PM EDT
[#20]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Forgive me for my questions. Why would I tear any old stuff out? Most of what is present is pink rolled insulation. It just seems like they didn't get every area and alot of it looks to be pulled away like they did wiring etc and didn't put it back. It's a pretty big attic. I'm not sure I would want to tackle removing it all or not. I'm honestly not sure any helped the electric bill. Mine was 1980s rock wool with some random fiberglass batts & partial rolls here and there. Full of chunks of tar paper and pieces of broken cedar shingles from when they reroofed it a few years before I bought it. Rusty nails, rat shit, dead bats, mud wasp nests, some empty soda cans from the 80s, etc. No firearms or cash, just trash and animal feces.  Removing all the insulation was an easy decision and necessary to add the extra 2x6s. If yours is in good shape you could pull it up and reuse it after you seal the air leaks. Or just blow in 10" of new insulation over the top |
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Posted: 2/27/2021 10:59:35 PM EDT
[#21]
Cellulose not fiberglas, one of the 20th century's greatest scams.
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Posted: 2/27/2021 11:47:13 PM EDT
[#22]
Quote HistoryQuoted: As mentioned above if you can get the blown in insulation under the boards then no need to pull them up. If there's dead space under the boards after you blow in the insulation it will lower the R value of what you're shooting for. Though anything is definitely better than nothing. |
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Posted: 2/28/2021 12:30:02 AM EDT
[#23]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Forgive me for my questions. Why would I tear any old stuff out? Most of what is present is pink rolled insulation. It just seems like they didn't get every area and alot of it looks to be pulled away like they did wiring etc and didn't put it back. It's a pretty big attic. I'm not sure I would want to tackle removing it all or not. In the last 3 years we've replaced the roof, all of the original wood siding (bad shape), completely renovated an outbuilding/guest house, and are now finishing up an addition. Maybe if I take a year off I'll feel like tackling it. I still need to replace the old copper pipes with pex (have had to fix 3 leaks the last 2 years), the breaker boxes need to be redone, and more. It's hard to decide what to do next. My electric bill is crazy high. We pulled down the original siding, ship lap, and put insulation in the walls as there was none, plywood sheathing, wrap, and hardiboard siding. We replaced every window except 4 on the front because my wife likes them with the wavy glass. I'm honestly not sure any helped the electric bill. None of that would make a difference if you're loosing all your heat and AC through the attic. He explained why he thinks the old stuff in his post. I dont know if it would make a difference R-value wise removing the old stuff, as long as it didnt prevent the blow in stuff from filling any voids. |
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Posted: 2/28/2021 12:40:10 AM EDT
[#24]
With a house that old, you're probably going to need to install some rafter vents anyways so that you don't totally smother the air flow from the soffits. So I would pull up the boards since you'd be in there anyways. Once the blown-in insulation is in there, it's not like you're going to be walking on the boards anyways.
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