Insulation, Radiant and Vapor Barriers - Insulating Existing Walls

Just moved into an older brick home with NO insulation.
I have read about the blown in insulation and considering doing that.
I have read about people just filling the walls with stryofoam packing peanuts or shredded paper/newspaper instead of using the blow in insulation.
Any thoughts??

Blow in will settle over time, but will work for a few years, then can be added to back to the top of the wall. Packing peanuts...hmmmm....could work, how are you going to get them in there? Blow in insulation goes through a hole in the wall about 1 1/2" in diameter, packing peanuts one at a time through the same size hole...longggggg hours :p . But seriously, it could work, but if your going to remove wall covering enough to put peanuts or newspaper, why not put in fiberglass insulation?

In case you decide on the blow-in, it can be a DIY job. Buy bags of the material at Lowe's, HD, or similar, and you can rent the machine from them, or ask if the machine comes free with a certain number of bags.

I don't know why but I've always found it to be cheaper to hire the insulation done. I cannot go to Lowes or Home Despot and buy the insulation for the price I can have a sub come in and do the installation for me. I buy the insulation and do it myself for small jobs, but everything else is cheaper to hire it.

hmm....well I'll be...uhh...darned....I've never done it either way so I had no idea, I guess I just assumed hiring it out would cost more 'cause you're paying for labor...interesting...... :rolleyes:

I bought some blow in insulation from the Menard's to insulate my garage turned woodworking shop. They let me use the blower for free. It worked fine for blowing it in the ceiling, but the blower has a 3" hose, and they give you a reducer that goes down to 1" for the walls, but the insulation clogs immediately at the reducer, making it totally useless. I suppose I can cut 3" holes in the walls. :eek: