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Question: Should we use faced or unfaced insulation?

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 17:00:23 -0500

Mike writes from Chesterland, Ohio: "I have 1" FOAMULAR rigid foam boards installed in my below grade basement. There have been no moisture or water issues. We just had the basement framed with 2x4 walls in front of the rigid foam. We would like to insulate these walls before it is covered with drywall. I see conflicting reports about what to use for insulation in these walls before the drywall goes up. Should we use batted/faced or unfaced insulation? If using batted, which directions should it face? I am concerned about a double vapor barrier, would this create one? Also, since this is in a basement and will be open on the top and above a dropped ceiling, does that makes a difference with the vapor barrier?"

Answer: I recommend paper-faced insulation. You will want to face the paper inside so you see it after the insulation is installed. From there you put the drywall up. FOAMULAR® insulation is not considered a vapor retarder in the thickness you have (one inch).

Question: Where can I find R-30 in Spring Valley, New York?

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 16:57:58 -0500

Manny writes from Spring Valley, New York: "looking to buy R30 in Spring Valley NY"

Answer: Below are a few dealers in your area that can order R-30 if they don't have it in stock. You can find more at www.itseasytoinsulate.com.

Home Depot 1261
43 Hutton Avenue
Nanuet, NY 10954
914-627-0726

Home Depot 1217
2024 Palisades Center Drive
West Nyack, NY 10994
845-348-0566

Lowe's 1192
206 Route 303
Orangeburg, NY 10962
845-613-6000

Question: What can we do about the smell?

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 16:55:11 -0500

Patricia writes from West Boylston, Massachusetts: "I, too, have just put a new addition on my house and insulated with fiberglass insulation. It is yellow and unbacked so I don't know if it is Corning or not but I do need to know what to do about this horrible smell. The walls are all now plastered but we can still smell the bad smell. What can we do now?"

Answer: The insulation you have is probably not made by Owens Corning. All Owens Corning insulation for residential applications is PINK. The odor you smell most likely comes from the binder in the insulation. During the manufacturing process the insulation is cured in an oven. In some cases, however, not all of the binder is cured and what is left will out-gas over time causing the odor you detect. This odor should dissipate over time, depending on the weather and conditions in the home such as humidity.

Question: Do you have information about glass fireplace fronts?

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 16:52:34 -0500

Ernie writes again from Redwood City, California: "We have a gas fireplace and I believe that we should put a glass fireplace door to seal off the front and prevent warm house air escaping up the chimney vent. My wife doesn't like the look of the glass fireplace door and believes that an insignificant amount of warm house air escapes. Do you have any factual material that I can show her to convince her that a glass fireplace front is worth the reduction in living room looks? I believe that we have a six inch vent going up the chimney."

Answer: Owens Corning does not produce fireplace doors so we don't have any information about their use. I suggest contacting a manufacturer of such doors to request information.

Question: Is there anything I can do to insulate my condo?

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 16:50:00 -0500

Janet writes from East Brunswick, New Jersey: "I live in a bottom floor condo and find that most of my heat and AC leak out because of poor insulation. My condo community is about 20 years old and the insulation in the walls seems non-existence. Is there anything that I can do to better insulate my condo?"

Answer: There are actually quite a few options, but your ability to implement them will depend on your condo's regulations. For example, you could apply FOAMULAR® insulation on the inside and cover it with a 15-minute fire rated material such as drywall. You could hire a contractor to discuss blowing fiberglass insulation into the walls. Those are just a couple options. Check with your condo association to see if any of its regulations apply.

Question: How do you remove fiberglass insulation?

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 16:46:32 -0500

Larry writes from Marietta, Ohio: "How do you safely (personally and environmentally) remove and dispose of fiberglass insulation?"

Answer: You don't say whether you have batts or loosefill insulation. If the product is in long pieces, they can be rolled up. If the insulation is blown in or loose, use a rake. Take your time and rake or roll "gently" to minimize dust. To minimize the temporary skin irritation associated with fiberglass insulation, follow the same procedures recommended for installation - wear a long sleeved shirt that is loose at the neck and wrists, long pants, gloves and a cap. Wear eye protection (safety goggles, safety glasses or a face shield or a combination of these, as appropriate). And wear a disposable dust respirator to minimize the inhalation of dust. When you finish the job, launder the clothes you wore separately and take a warm-water shower with soap. Most people report no problems when they follow these procedures.

There is no long term health risk in the situation you describe. There is a possibility of irritation if the insulation is handled. That irritation is a mechanical abrasion caused by the ends of the fibers scratching the skin. This is not an allergic reaction and the itching generally subsides when the source of the irritation is removed by washing it off.

Question: Where can I rent an AttiCat® insulating system?

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 16:42:40 -0500

Phillip writes from Silver Spring, Maryland: "Where can I rent an attic cat system in the Silver Spring Md. or Metro Washington DC region?"

Answer: Below are a few dealers in your area. You can find more at www.itseasytoinsulate.com. An AttiCat® insulating system symbol will appear next to the store name if they carry it.

Lowe's 1188
14300 Baltimore Avenue
Laurel, MD 20707
301-498-3466

Lowe's 1122
7710 Riverdale Road
Landover Hills, MD 20784
301-918-6406

Lowe's 223
40 Market Street
Gaithersburg, MD 20878
301-208-0400

Question: Can you recommend something for under my house?

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 16:39:45 -0500

Ernie writes from Redwood City, California: "I live in sunny Redwood City, CA so you would think that I wouldn't be too concerned about insulating my house. Because of very high redwood tress we get only an hour of direct sun a day onto our front porch. Our gas bill is very high. I'm thinking that it would really help to put insulation under the house. I have about 18-30 inches of crawl space beneath my house. Because of the limited crawl space, I was hoping to find some insulation that isn't as thick as the traditional bat insulation that could be installed fairly easily. Although there are wires and pipes under the house I could secure some type of material to stringers under the house. Can you recommend something to me?"

Answer: Insulation is effective no matter where you live. It not only helps keep the house warm in winter, but it also helps hold the heat out during the summer. From what you have written, fiberglass batts are going to be the best for your application. You can easily separate them to go around the wiring, piping and other obstacles. If you have dirt on the ground, I also recommend putting a 4 to 6 mil polyethylene sheet on the ground. Another place to insulate is in your attic. Even though you usually only have about hour of sunlight, it will help hold out the heat that accumulates in your attic. Most heat escapes out the top of a structure so attic insulation will help keep your place warm in winter.

Question: Why doesn't Owens Corning sell foam insulation in precut sheets for use between studs?

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 16:36:53 -0500

Kermit writes from Kansas City, Kansas: "Why doesn't Owens Corning sell Foamular in precut sheets for use between studs?"

Answer: FOAMULAR® insulation is a great product for many applications but rigid foams are not ideal for stud cavities. The main issues are productivity during installation and the risk of leaks around the product after installation. Stud cavities tend to have a lot of electrical boxes and plumbing in them that require cutting and piecing the insulation to go around them. This would be very time consuming with a rigid product but fiberglass insulation can easily be cut and tucked around these objects. After installation, there would likely be lots of places where air could leak around the rigid insulation. Fiberglass insulation, by comparison, is made to fit snugly in the space and not allow air to flow between the insulation and the studs.

Question: Does the foil go in or out in this application?

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 16:33:57 -0500

Steven writes from Berlin, Maryland: "We are remodeling a stick built building it has 2x4 R-11 in walls 3/4 plywood sheathing we are furring the outside and using foil faced foam board between then house wrap. Does this sound correct, does the foil go in or out in this application?"

Answer: Owens Corning does not make FOAMULAR® insulation with a foil facing so I am guessing you have a competitive product. I recommend contacting the manufacturer of the product for answers to your questions.

Question: Where can I access the AttiCat® device?

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 16:30:42 -0500

Thomas writes from Cleveland, Ohio: "I visited your web site and saw the AttiCat video. I live in Cleveland Ohio, where can I get access to this device? It looks like just what I need to bring my house up to current R-value recommendations."

Answer: You have a few very close to you:

Home Depot 3818
3460 Mayfield Road
Cleveland Heights, OH 44118
216-297-1303

Home Depot 3842
6199 Wilson Mills Road
Highland Heights, OH 44143
440-684-1343

Home Depot 3852
877 E 200th Street
Euclid, OH 44119
216-692-1861

You can also find more at www.itseasytoinsulate.com. The AttiCat® system symbol will appear next to the dealer's name if they carry it.

Question: Is insulation installed against the living space?

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 16:27:50 -0500

Brent writes from Sebring, Florida: "Have a un conditioned garage below conditioned living space. Have about 18 - 24 inches between garage ceiling and floor above, should the insulation be installed up against the above conditioned living space kraft paper up as well, or insulation on the sheet rock ceiling of the garage with kraft facing up?"

Answer: The insulation should be installed up against the conditioned living space. Installing it under the sheet rock will result in your conditioning the space between the floor above and the sheet rock below. It will also risk having opportunities for air leaks. Since the garage is unconditioned, the paper should face up towards the living space.

Question: Will foam strips over interior studs help with sound?

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 16:25:00 -0500

David writes from Lindsay, Ontario: "I am considering plaving a 1 1/2-Inch wide by 1/2-inch thick 200 rigid foam strips over interior wood studs prior to installing my drywall to improve both the sound and serve as a thermal break. What are your thoughts?"

Answer: Celfort® 200 extruded polystyrene foam boards are excellent for thermal break over wood studs. In order to offer the best thermal break, they should be installed on the exterior side of the studs, not from the inside.

However, in general, rigid foam boards do not provide good acoustical qualities due to their density. You will hear a little difference because of the air tightness of your home once the boards are installed, especially when the renovations include better windows and doors.

For interior walls, the acoustical principles are: absord sound and break the path of sound. To accomplish these objectives, add Quietzone® acoustical batts in the wall cavity and use resilient channels on one side of the interior wood studs prior to installing the drywall.

For exterior walls, use PINK Fiberglas®batt insulation which will provide both thermal and acoustical properties (R-12 or R-14 for 2x4 studs; and R-20, R-22 or R-24 for 2x6 studs).

Question: Is it easier to insulate from the outside or inside?

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 16:22:17 -0500

Mike writes from Mount Prospect, Illinois: "I have a family room addition (with a sloped roof) that has no insulation in the ceiling so the heat escapes through the roof. Is it better/easier to insulate from outside, i.e. replace the roof and place foam board or another product on the new roof, or insulate from inside, i.e. fill the spaces between the existing beams of the room's ceiling with insulation and then cover with drywall?"

Answer: I am not sure if your room is finished yet, but if not, I recommend putting up our raft-r-mate product wherever you have soffit vents. You will want to space them one or two inches apart all the way to the top vent. From there you would put in the insulation with paper facing down and finally a fire rated drywall. There is a useful guide which talks about how to install a cathedral ceiling at www.itseasytoinsulate.com. Just click on Easy Weekend Projects and you will see the guide in the bottom left side. There are also videos and a convenient dealer search there. If you do the roof approach instead, I recommend getting a contractor to assist you with that.

Question: Should the gap above the ceiling be filled?

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 16:16:58 -0500

Dan writes from Cornwall, Prince Edward Island: "My wife and I have a 20 year old home that we plan to renovate with additional insulation in the attic. Having examined the existing insulation, which is now R20, I see that attached underneath the ceiling joists are furring strips that run perpendicular. Underneath this is a radiant vapor barrier and then the gyproc which forms the ceiling for the rooms below. My concern is around the 1/2 inch gap that exists between the gyproc and joists due to the use of furring strips. Should this gap be filled or left alone? I've asked at my local building supply store but the hesitancy that I detected in the answers I received led me to believe that they weren't certain of the appropriate response. I would be grateful if you could help us."

Answer: The air gap you describe actually adds additional R-value to the assembly (approximately R-1 and up to R-2.3 with reflective contribution if the air gap is properly sealed). This is beneficial to the overall assembly and should be left as is.