Let’s face it- I have been around the insulation business my entire life. I have seen 10,000+ insulation jobs- some pretty unique. Mountain houses,beach houses, 20,000 sq ft mansions, art studios, wine cellars, beer storage, Eiffel Tower (Kings Dominion, not France), train cars, warehouses, and every type of house you can imagine. So, can I still get excited over a 1700 sq ft ranch blown ceiling installation? You bet I can!
I have learned more about blown ceilings in the past 2 years…thanks to some common sense and a New Yorker named Guy Caroselli. Guy runs the construction oversight program for LEAP- a local energy alliance program for Charlottesville, Virginia and surrounding areas. He has thirty plus years in the weatherization industry in New York- I am sure he has seen some extreme efficiency issues in peoples’ homes.
Adding blown insulation sounds pretty simple, and for the most part it is. It is what takes place before that “over-blow” that matters. In older homes, wire and pipe holes that penetrated the ceiling plane were not insulated. Pull back the insulation, seal each penetration with can foam. Can lights that protrude into the attic must have fire-rated boxes around them and insulation sealed up tight to the box. It is important that the HVAC unit and walk way that leads to it be “walled in” so that proper insulation depth can come right up to it. The attic access, or pull down stairs should have a foam dome or zipper insulation cover. And most important- proper baffling. Styro shoots should be stapled to the roof deck and extend outside the attic eave. Unfaced batt insulation should then insulate the gap out to the eave and top wall plate, at the same time holding the baffle firmly into place. This allows for the blown insulation to be spyaed all the way out to the edge of the home. This is an area most exposed to the weather, a vital area to address in home energy efficiency.
I was excited to visit our install crews on a home last week and see a blown ceiling done to perfection. Their detailed work and professional approach left the customer with nothing but praises for his insulation job. 
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