This was probably the most usefully informative video on home insulation I’ve seen, and I’ve watched a pretty large number from reputable sources. This video skips some basic info, is not up to date with current codes, and is mostly climate specific. But it very effectively clarifies the important considerations for selecting between the myriad different products on the market-things that aren’t obvious at first glance, and had made the subject a little confusing for me before. Driving toward performance per dollar, suitability to task (air/vapor-permeable/barrier; new install vs. retrofit), and consistency of installed-performance - couldn’t have made it much clearer. Also, finally an explanation of low-emissivity products that made sense in a way that I found useful. Bravo and thank you!
I live in New Orleans area and have been doing residential HVAC for 27 years. I know about attic heat. Recently I installed foil faced bubble wrap in my attic at the shop. Don’t staple to the rafters instead install 1 x 4’s horizontally every two feet as you go up from the soffit. Tack the bubble wrap all the way down to the soffit (not that hard as you would think) all the way up to the collar bracing to touch other side. I then got a dual power solar ventilator for the roof and installed it. The temperature in the attic is slightly warmer than the building. Must use foil tape with a squeegee to seal all joints. I love it. Amazing that nobody else has ever seen or thought of doing it that way. I hate to call it redneck spray foam but it only cost me 3 rolls of wrap and a ventilator
with the fiberglass insulations paper, id bet taping it could make a huge difference, when i was young i always felt it was wrong to tuck the paper on the sides and this video confirms my gut was right!
A-frame house in California. The section I’m thinking about currently has a sheetrock ceiling with insulation blown on top of it in the attic. Temps can get above 100F here. Can I get away with taking out the ceiling (and therefore insulation) and install stuff directly to the inside of the roof as an insulation replacement and reasonably expect the space to not get super hot on a 100-degree day?
Do you have air conditioning? Insulation doesn't cool the house; it only slows how fast external temperature affects the internal temperature. If you replace the blown-in insulation with something with a higher R-value, it could help to that end. Just be careful about moisture. If you create a situation where the insulation and framing can't dry, your house will mold and rot. You need to know whether your area requires drying to the inside or the outside, proper location of vapor barrier, whether you need a vented space/cavity, etc. If you don't mind losing a couple inches of head space, you could perhaps add a continuous layer of rigid insulation to the underside of the rafters in addition to whatever you have in between them. Have you thought about roof color? If you're in direct sunlight, a light color would help reflect heat away.
The house is already built with 2X4 studs, builder won't change anything. I found a solar pad for RV windows and installed that behind the new medicine cabinet. All installed and looks great.
Helpful! I would like to see this kind of prop building with everything energy conservation. That would be costly to gather "every" type of insulation. Let's say a half way buried sphere shaped building with in a dome shaped greenhouse to keep the heat in.
Which one is not health dangerous for humans to breath? I want to work on my water pipes (installed in the attic) but I don't want to die of some sort of cancer that these products could give? Thanks
How come she doesn’t mention the super cheap Renewabke resource natural Non-toxic insulation materials like: 1: Hempcrete (used in Europe) 2: Cob (also used in Europe) They are also very very flame retardant and anti-mold and have very high R values too. 😕
I want to install a medicine cabinet in a exterior wall, the studs are 2X4 and will not leave much room behind the recess medicine cabinet for insulation. What would you suggest for insulation behind the medicine cabinet? I'm guessing there probably only one inch of space.
From what she said, seems like closed cell foam seems like the way to go. But Why don’t you try using 2x8 beams instead of the american traditional way of 2x4 wooden beams? Do you still have time before the house is built or Is the house already built?
By far one of the best options Is "Rockwool" type products. Curiously not even mentioned on this video, dedicated to insulation! Rather sarcastic and makes me question the entire video... Americans are largely unaware of better products! Marketing selling you crap just because. LOL 😂 Rockwool and other brands of mineral wool, by comparison with fiberglass products. Have better R values, have better, in fact, excellent soundproofing qualities and fire resistance abilities. Along with the better thermal performance! The fact that it's largely unaffected by moist/water, fire. It's less inducive to insects and rodents, molds.... AND: Topping it, for me. It's way way WAY more user friendly than fiberglass. I can work it without gloves, glasses, etc. I would NEVER do that with fiberglass, with severe penalties if I did. Cut it, quite easily, with a regular bread knife, simple as that! The con: It's slightly more expensive than fiberglass. That's it!! With all these said. DON'T install a cabinet like that! It's absolutely ridiculous leaving just 1 or 2 inch space! Cheers
@@crpth1 You beat me to the comments. There was a video that I watched a day or so ago claiming that both fiberglass and rock wool had the same (STC) sound transmission coefficient. Not in my long time experience. Not even close! Add in decoupling the studs and about the only sound transmission you will get are very loud and extremely low bass passages from a home theatre system. Rockwool when installed with zero clearance in any wall cavity will not sag. I haven’t used fiberglass in any of my projects for years unless the client insists and I can’t persuade them otherwise.
She says at the end that a radiant heat barrier is a good solution for VENTED ATTICS. AND SHE IS RIGHT , However ... She says to install with shiny side down and if you are using one sided fsk that has foil on one side and craft paper on the other, you would be installing it wrong and If you are using attic foil that has both sides reflective , then you are spending too much for the product . Attic foil should go on the floor of the attic not the top
it's not designed for that and is pretty labor intensive to cut it and then seal the edges with spray foam. rigid foam boards come in 4x8 sheets for a reason, because they are supposed to be continuous thermal barriers either inside or outside of the stud wall to prevent thermal bringing through the studs. it is also used under concrete slabs or on top of roof decks. you CAN put it in walls as a DIY but no contractor would do it because it's too time consuming and not the designed use.
@@bluearcherx it wasnt that time concuming and if 10 to about 15degree difference isnt important to you, then sure...follow the directions on the box. But, I am loving it. But you are right, most contractors wont do it, or charge more for it. For a kitchen and living room instead of taking 30 minutes it took maybe 2-2.5 hours.
So if I have fiberglass batts in a wall and I want an air space between the batt and the sheathing, for air to flow to the attic space, does that necessarily mean I will loose some of the R- value of the insulation?
All of these product will end up in my lungs over time. I wonder which is less bad for my health. Cotton sounds good, but must contain a lot of flame retardant chemicals - bad mojo.
@@deelarry2137 - What a bunch of BS! Americans and the industry lies & lobbies BS! You guys are really clueless! Can't come up with a better product, so bad talk the competition. While continue selling fiberglass and other crappy solutions to the general consumer. If it wasn't so tragic, it would be funny! BTW I'll tell you what's the REAL problem of Rockwool, on that side of the pond... It's an European product! Simple as that. If it was from some big American corporation. I guess the saying would be favorable to babies & bees! LOL 😂
not practical. You can't buy it, you have to create it yourself. You can't pour it in the cavity, because it will fail if you make it more than a few inches thick, so you have to pour it flat in a form and then fit it in the cavity after it cures. How will you seal the seams between the aircrete and the framing?
I'm glad I finally found a video made for Southern state information. Most seem to be for northern winters.
This was probably the most usefully informative video on home insulation I’ve seen, and I’ve watched a pretty large number from reputable sources. This video skips some basic info, is not up to date with current codes, and is mostly climate specific. But it very effectively clarifies the important considerations for selecting between the myriad different products on the market-things that aren’t obvious at first glance, and had made the subject a little confusing for me before.
Driving toward performance per dollar, suitability to task (air/vapor-permeable/barrier; new install vs. retrofit), and consistency of installed-performance - couldn’t have made it much clearer. Also, finally an explanation of low-emissivity products that made sense in a way that I found useful.
Bravo and thank you!
BEST PRESENTATION I have yet seen - - thanks.
So far the most comprehensive video I've seen on types of insulation. Thank you!
I agree.. so much info.
I live in New Orleans area and have been doing residential HVAC for 27 years. I know about attic heat. Recently I installed foil faced bubble wrap in my attic at the shop. Don’t staple to the rafters instead install 1 x 4’s horizontally every two feet as you go up from the soffit. Tack the bubble wrap all the way down to the soffit (not that hard as you would think) all the way up to the collar bracing to touch other side. I then got a dual power solar ventilator for the roof and installed it. The temperature in the attic is slightly warmer than the building. Must use foil tape with a squeegee to seal all joints. I love it. Amazing that nobody else has ever seen or thought of doing it that way. I hate to call it redneck spray foam but it only cost me 3 rolls of wrap and a ventilator
with the fiberglass insulations paper, id bet taping it could make a huge difference, when i was young i always felt it was wrong to tuck the paper on the sides and this video confirms my gut was right!
Spray foam insulation is way underrated , 1 Inch of foam beats 3.5 inches of fiberglass.
Wow this is so helpful! Thank you for helping me understand insulation! I wish we were in LA!
Great video, I already knew all this but she confirmed everything, no mistakes but careful with open cell, that stuff holds water...ijs
So are you just commenting to let us know that you already knew all this?
excellent presentation! Thank you very much for uploading this.
Great video, helps clients understand what there wanting to achieve.
A-frame house in California. The section I’m thinking about currently has a sheetrock ceiling with insulation blown on top of it in the attic. Temps can get above 100F here. Can I get away with taking out the ceiling (and therefore insulation) and install stuff directly to the inside of the roof as an insulation replacement and reasonably expect the space to not get super hot on a 100-degree day?
Do you have air conditioning? Insulation doesn't cool the house; it only slows how fast external temperature affects the internal temperature. If you replace the blown-in insulation with something with a higher R-value, it could help to that end. Just be careful about moisture. If you create a situation where the insulation and framing can't dry, your house will mold and rot. You need to know whether your area requires drying to the inside or the outside, proper location of vapor barrier, whether you need a vented space/cavity, etc. If you don't mind losing a couple inches of head space, you could perhaps add a continuous layer of rigid insulation to the underside of the rafters in addition to whatever you have in between them. Have you thought about roof color? If you're in direct sunlight, a light color would help reflect heat away.
So how does the moisture and humidity "flow from out to in" through a thick water proof plastic sheet Einstein?
The house is already built with 2X4 studs, builder won't change anything. I found a solar pad for RV windows and installed that behind the new medicine cabinet. All installed and looks great.
Thank you for your excellent advice.
Great video wey
And you didn't mention rockwool insulation.. it won't burn it is an excellent sound barrier and it's it's own vapor barrier.
But is Rockwool toxic? Is there a closed cell spray version for rock wool?
i needed this information for houses in Louisiana
Maybe cutting ridgid foam and sealing edges with spray foam is way to not get polution or us there a insulation that is clear of chemicals
Helpful! I would like to see this kind of prop building with everything energy conservation. That would be costly to gather "every" type of insulation.
Let's say a half way buried sphere shaped building with in a dome shaped greenhouse to keep the heat in.
Valuable information. Thank you.
Is open cell foam good for belgium climate?
Which one is not health dangerous for humans to breath? I want to work on my water pipes (installed in the attic) but I don't want to die of some sort of cancer that these products could give? Thanks
Whats the best for Arizona heat?
How come she doesn’t mention the super cheap Renewabke resource natural Non-toxic insulation materials like:
1: Hempcrete (used in Europe)
2: Cob (also used in Europe)
They are also very very flame retardant and anti-mold and have very high R values too.
😕
Rockwool?
I want to install a medicine cabinet in a exterior wall, the studs are 2X4 and will not leave much room behind the recess medicine cabinet for insulation. What would you suggest for insulation behind the medicine cabinet? I'm guessing there probably only one inch of space.
From what she said, seems like closed cell foam seems like the way to go.
But Why don’t you try using 2x8 beams instead of the american traditional way of 2x4 wooden beams? Do you still have time before the house is built or Is the house already built?
By far one of the best options Is "Rockwool" type products. Curiously not even mentioned on this video, dedicated to insulation! Rather sarcastic and makes me question the entire video... Americans are largely unaware of better products! Marketing selling you crap just because. LOL 😂
Rockwool and other brands of mineral wool, by comparison with fiberglass products. Have better R values, have better, in fact, excellent soundproofing qualities and fire resistance abilities. Along with the better thermal performance! The fact that it's largely unaffected by moist/water, fire. It's less inducive to insects and rodents, molds.... AND:
Topping it, for me. It's way way WAY more user friendly than fiberglass. I can work it without gloves, glasses, etc. I would NEVER do that with fiberglass, with severe penalties if I did. Cut it, quite easily, with a regular bread knife, simple as that! The con: It's slightly more expensive than fiberglass. That's it!!
With all these said. DON'T install a cabinet like that! It's absolutely ridiculous leaving just 1 or 2 inch space!
Cheers
@@crpth1 You beat me to the comments. There was a video that I watched a day or so ago claiming that both fiberglass and rock wool had the same (STC) sound transmission coefficient. Not in my long time experience. Not even close! Add in decoupling the studs and about the only sound transmission you will get are very loud and extremely low bass passages from a home theatre system. Rockwool when installed with zero clearance in any wall cavity will not sag. I haven’t used fiberglass in any of my projects for years unless the client insists and I can’t persuade them otherwise.
She says at the end that a radiant heat barrier is a good solution for VENTED ATTICS. AND SHE IS RIGHT , However ... She says to install with shiny side down and if you are using one sided fsk that has foil on one side and craft paper on the other, you would be installing it wrong and If you are using attic foil that has both sides reflective , then you are spending too much for the product . Attic foil should go on the floor of the attic not the top
No mention of rigid foam for inside wall? Got it...NEXT!!!
it's not designed for that and is pretty labor intensive to cut it and then seal the edges with spray foam. rigid foam boards come in 4x8 sheets for a reason, because they are supposed to be continuous thermal barriers either inside or outside of the stud wall to prevent thermal bringing through the studs. it is also used under concrete slabs or on top of roof decks.
you CAN put it in walls as a DIY but no contractor would do it because it's too time consuming and not the designed use.
@@bluearcherx it wasnt that time concuming and if 10 to about 15degree difference isnt important to you, then sure...follow the directions on the box. But, I am loving it. But you are right, most contractors wont do it, or charge more for it. For a kitchen and living room instead of taking 30 minutes it took maybe 2-2.5 hours.
Correct! Very wide! Variety🥸
So if I have fiberglass batts in a wall and I want an air space between the batt and the sheathing, for air to flow to the attic space, does that necessarily mean I will loose some of the R- value of the insulation?
It’s not just the walls you have to consider the fibreglass between your ceiling and the floor of your attic
very well explained!
Good insulation comparison, and nice birthing hips.
Birthing hips?
@@emmastone8779 Child-bearing hips haha
Nice. Thank you.
All of these product will end up in my lungs over time. I wonder which is less bad for my health. Cotton sounds good, but must contain a lot of flame retardant chemicals - bad mojo.
green shield by thermorock
All that insulation WILL become mouldy very very fast with all that plastic and condensation, and mould spores are KNOWN to produce health issues.
Who ever sprayed that roof did a shitty job at keeping it looking good. I miss my spray foam days when i see stuff like that.
Hello can i ask what's the content of that subject. Rockwool and cement? Thank y
Here is a great video on how to install the insulation ruclips.net/video/eeeFepHhIXI/видео.html
That spray foam application looks awful. I've been installing foam for 12 years.
Lighting
why would anyone have to pay more to have a product installed properly? trump must have won LA. lol, lol
what about Rock wool
Rockwool is basically the same as asbestos. From what I hear, legislation may be coming in Europe, but so far the US is not looking at it.
Never heard this before did a google search and found a
Story about it Thanks
@@deelarry2137 - What a bunch of BS! Americans and the industry lies & lobbies BS! You guys are really clueless! Can't come up with a better product, so bad talk the competition. While continue selling fiberglass and other crappy solutions to the general consumer. If it wasn't so tragic, it would be funny!
BTW I'll tell you what's the REAL problem of Rockwool, on that side of the pond... It's an European product! Simple as that. If it was from some big American corporation. I guess the saying would be favorable to babies & bees! LOL 😂
@@crpth1 there may be some truth to that. I really don't know. I do know that fiberglass is kinda crappy
Aerogel is better
That is the worse cellulose packed cavity ive seen in a while
aircrete.
not practical. You can't buy it, you have to create it yourself. You can't pour it in the cavity, because it will fail if you make it more than a few inches thick, so you have to pour it flat in a form and then fit it in the cavity after it cures. How will you seal the seams between the aircrete and the framing?
lol
foam is very toxic