Dense Packing Walls and Cathedral Ceiling in East Longmeadow, MA

Challenge

Are you dealing with uncomfortable humidity in your home in the summer? 

Do you find that you are running your cooling system much more and need more service?

Problem:

With the start of the summer, this homeowner wanted to prevent heat from flowing through the walls of their home. Our building science specialist during the free estimate walk-through noticed obvious problems from the results of this home being older. Many older homes have no insulation in the exterior walls. The results of uninsulated walls can cause heat to flow from more (inside) to less (outside in the winter) right through the walls, and opposite in the summer.  This homeowner also had a cathedral ceiling with rafters space being used for airflow, the problem with that is less space for proper insulation. Second, this airflow "wind washes" open-faced fiberglass batts, reducing the R-Value of the batts that were designed and rated to be used in closed cavities with no airflow whatsoever.  

Solution

Solution: 

Fogarty's Home services knew exactly how to fix this uncomfortable home. The solution to this homeowner's problem was to dense pack the walls and roof ridge with Trusoft Cellulose. This form of insulation requires the siding of the home to be temporarily removed as necessary and holes then drilled through the wall sheathing. A fill tube is inserted up and down into the wall cavities. This dense packing technique packs the insulation in very tightly - so tightly that all irregular-shaped cavities and crevices in the wall are filled, and air will not penetrate the dense-packed cellulose. It's remarkable and something that cannot be achieved with fiberglass - Not even close! Dense pack cellulose stops airflow through the walls and insulates. Trusoft cellulose is treated to be highly fire, mold, and pest resistant. Holes are plugged and siding is put back. With the insulation of the cathedral roof, the ridge vent is removed along with two courses of roof shingles, and the roof sheathing ( usually plywood) is cut back approximately 4". A long fill tube is inserted to reach the bottom of the ceiling plane and Trusoft Cellulose insulation is densely packed into each rafter bay. Dense packing fills all air spaces giving the same results as dense packing on the exterior walls.    

Results - Rooms warmer in the winter, cooler in the summer, less draft, more comfortable, lower heating and cooling bills, easier to heat and cool.