| Although not difficult, installing
insulation is definitely an "itchy" proposition. Below are some
tips to get you through the process:
Insulation installation tips
- Wear a mask (with a ventilator), eye protection,
long sleeves, and gloves! Without them, the fibers
will have you itching for days. Also, as you cut and split the
insulation around obstacles (outlets, switches, wiring, etc.)
the fibers will be released into the air. The mask will help
prevent them from getting into your lungs.
- Buy fiberglass batts (8 feet long) instead of continuous
rolls. This will reduce the amount of measuring & cutting.
If your walls are less than 8 feet, you can use the extra few
inches up under the joists along the outer walls, or anywhere
you can fit the small pieces!
- Use the thickest insulation you can fit in the wall.
Normally this is R13 or R15, but if you've built the wall a
few inches away from the foundation, you may be able to go thicker.
- Consider insulating interior walls: This
is important if you're building a basement home theater, or
an office or other room that you'd like to keep the sound in
(or out of).
- Insulate full-width studs without obstacles first.
Tackling the easier parts first will help you get the hang of
the process before you move on to the trickier parts. You'll
also be excited by how quickly the process will progress!
- Buy Kraft (paper) faced insulation for the walls rather
than unfaced insulation. It's less itchy (because you're
handling mostly the paper side), and it's easier than going
back and installing an additional vapor barrier (clear plastic
sheeting) after the fact.
NOTE: If you're using adhesive (in addition
to screws) to secure your drywall, you can't use a separate, plastic
vapor barrier. The adhesive will not work as well with the plastic.
Insulating walls
1. Start with the full-length, full-width studs without obstacles
2. Using an 8' batt, start at the top of the wall and push the
batt between your studs.
3. Unfold the paper 'flange' at either side and secure it to the
sides of the studs every 12 inches or so. Try to keep the paper
flat to the surface of the stud.
4. Continue evenly on either side working your way down the wall.
5. If you have extra (if your walls are less than 8 feet) when
you get to the bottom plate, push the insulation against it using
a piece (about 20 inches long) of 2x4.
6. Use a utility knife to carefully cut through the kraft-face
to avoid tearing the vapor barrier.
7. Make a second and third pass (if necessary) pushing harder
on the knife to cut through the rest of the fiberglass batt.
8. Push the end of the batt between the studs and secure it with
staples.
9. Stuff the extra piece (from step 7) up under the joists or
save it for any other small areas you may have.
Insulating narrow areas
In many places along your wall you'll have areas where the studs
are much closer together than 'standard' 16" O.C. For these, you'll
need to cut a batt along its length. To do that, sandwich the
batt between two 2x4s. Use a sharp utility knife to slice thru
the batt in a couple of passes. If you try to cut thru the entire
thickness in one pass, you'll end up tearing the kraft face. After
two or three passes you'll end up with a nice clean cut which
will be easy to secure between the narrow joists.
Insulating around outlets
When insulating around outlets, you'll want to cut around the
box closely to keep a better vapor barrier. You also want to be
careful not to rip up the paper backing. Cut thru the paper using
a sharp utility knife, and then push harder to cut thru the layers
of fiberglass. If you try to cut thru it all at once, you'll end
up shredding the paper, thus rendering the vapor barrier useless.
Cut an opening about ½ smaller than the outlet box to ensure a
tight fit.
Insulating around wiring
While it may be tempting to just cram the insulation over the
top of your wiring, the insulation will be more effective if you
split the batt and wrap the wiring between the front and back
layers. If you compress the insulation too much, it will lose
its effectiveness.
Finishing the job
It won't be long before
you've worked your way around the basement and stapled all the
insulation in place. Chances are despite your best efforts, you're
now very itchy, but congratulate yourself on a job well done!
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