Our subcontractor partners finished up installing the mechanical and electrical systems in the rural Northfield home we are constructing. After the county completed their framing inspection and the state completed their electrical inspection we have now moved on to insulating the home.
This house is being insulated with the blow-in-blanket
system of fiberglass insulation….also called BIBS. There are many, many different types of insulation in use today and most do a good job keeping the house warm. We generally use BIBS insulation or a closed cell foam in place insulation. In this instance noise reduction was not a concern so BIBS was selected. First a strong mesh is installed on the wall studs. Then white fiberglass insulation is blown into the wall cavity under pressure. The fiberglass is slippery enough that it flows into every nook and cranny.
The attic of the home will be insulated with standard blown fiberglass insulation on top of a sealed vapor retarder. The living room area of this home includes a vaulted ceiling. Vaults require special attention to ensure that attic air flow is not restricted. For this vault we are installing continuous air chutes from the wall plate right up to the ridge beam. This provides a path for ventilation to flow from the exterior soffits up and out the roof ridge vent. Air flow is critical to keeping a cool roof in the summer and preventing attic moisture buildup in the winter. To keep moisture from forming on the polyethylene vapor retarder while we are working we blow in a few inches of fiberglass right away. Then when the ceiling drywall is installed we come back and blow in additional fiberglass insulation to bring the R value up to 48.