Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Insulation Adventure.

Back in September, we knew we'd have to do something about the insulation in our attic before the snow started pouring down on us. During our housing inspection, we were informed that the insulation levels in the attic were very low and that we would need to have more blown in. So we climbed up there and measured, and sure enough found that they were quite low. The next thing we did was figure out how much insulation we'd need to get our insulation from "scarce" to the regular, recommended amount for houses in our area. Armed with our current insulation rating, we called up some insulation companies for quotes on getting it installed.

The quotes we received were jaw-dropping. We were quoted approximately 900$ just to have insulation blown into our attic! We couldn't believe it. Surely it couldn't be that hard to just do it ourselves. We then proceeded to educate ourselves on the process and know-how on insulating our attic by watching videos on the Lowe's website and Google. Once we were fairly certain we knew (mostly) what we were doing, we ran off for another infamous trip to Lowe's.

Once there, we realized that we could rent an insulation blower machine for free with a minimum purchase of insulation, which we met with plenty of insulation to spare. We loaded up both cars with our insulation (and the huge machine), and drove off with our pockets only 250 buckaroos lighter.

The next day we commenced with Operation Insulation. We set up the insulation machine outside, where I was stationed to "feed" the insulation into it. There was a long tube that ran from the machine up to our second story office window, through the closet and finally up into the attic, where Tom was stationed to blow the insulation into every nook and cranny up there. It was dark (he told me later), and sauna-like, due to the long-sleeved clothing he had to wear, along with his breathing mask and goggles. After a couple hours of back-breaking, sweaty work, communicating with cell phones, the last pieces of insulation flew into the attic, and we were done.

Tom emerging looking like a scruffy and dirty Santa Claus:


While we did not receive instant gratification on this project, we are still reaping the benefits. Our energy bills are now at least 100$ less every single month since, and our insulation adventure, while back-breaking and not very pleasant, has already paid for itself several times over and is now purely money saved. Which equals more money that can be spent on other home-improvement projects.

1 comment:

  1. What can I say, but you guys are unbelievable! You have done more in the little amount of time you have owned the home, than we did over several years owning ours!
    Keep on keepin' on!
    Mom

    ReplyDelete

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