Insulation, Radiant and Vapor Barriers - insulation in 1952 house

after reading many posts on old homes and probably not having insulation I did some research on my house and realized that I do not have insulation on my older section of my home. I want to look into this next year in fixing this. My walls are all plaster and I really do not want to take them down. I heard that I could have insulation blown in. If anyone knows how this works and how costly it is, I would appreciate feed back. Thanks

No word on cost (sorry), but yeah, it's possible, and yeah, it works.

The only issues are brick cladding & knob & tube wiring. Knob & tube wiring has to be replaced, and brick cladding needs some way to dry in so it won't freeze in cold climates.

Most brick uses an air space to dry, and uses indoor heat to prevent freezing. If insulating will eliminate the vent space, it gets tricky. You need to use an insulation that will block air flow (to reduce energy consumption & prevent condensation), but that will a) allow some heat to get to the brick, and b) allow the brick to dry through it.

Like I said, it's tricky.

Unless you live somewhere warm. In which case no worries.

On cost, I can give some estimates, as I just did some of that. After searching dozens of rental places, a single Lowes was renting the machine for $250 deposit and $20 a day. I rented it mid-week since its winter and demand was high for the blasted thing. Still, $80 for the privilege of having it for Saturday was worth it, considering I've already saved more than the cost of the job on my heating bill. I got my deposit back when I returned the machine.

Now, a bale of cellulose costs $9 and delivers R-19 value for a depth of 6" and I used 18 of them to do my small job, which was mostly filling spaces I could fit fibreglass batts into. I really cannot say how far a single bale of cellulose goes, but I returned an unused bale when I returned the machine.

I was going to spend an extra day blowing into wall cavities in my freezing bedroom, but I soon discovered that it was an impossibility on such short notice. I thought I would just throw a blanket over the bed and drawers. No. Not realistic.

I blew some insulation into holes I made in the attic, and transferring the hose from one filled cavity to the next meant a few moments of fighting a tornado of shredded fluff! If I were to insulate the bedroom, every piece of furniture would have to be removed, because of the mess. So, I plan on doing that this summer, when I have prepared for the task.

J

While my home is older and has insulation in the walls, it's settled somewhat. As a result, I have recently been researching this same thing. An option, in addition to the solution posted by Jurched, is to have the cellulose blown in from the outside of your house. You'll need to consider how you'll repair the holes that will be made on the outside, but it is an option. My home has balloon framing, so I won't need to make as many holes as some newer homes would require.

As far as cost is concerned, when looking in to this I similar costs to what Jurched mentioned. No idea what an insulation contractor would charge for this...

If I'm not mistaken the original poster was asking about blowing insulation into his walls, while Jurched's response involved his experience blowing insulation into his attic. If I interpreted that response correctly.

So, while it looks like adding insulation to the attic may be a good weekend project for a do-it-yourselfer, I'm wondering if blowing insulation into ones walls is a DIY project, or not. Don't you have to have the insulation blown in relatively densely to avoid the settling problem? Can that be done by an amateur with a rented machine? If so, I may consider doing this myself, but given the mess and hassle of having insulation blown into the walls (which I think will have to be done from the inside of my house) I want to do it once and be done with it.

I have an older home too (1954) cape cod style and had next to nothing for insulation and a 50 yr old furnace. I blew in about a foot or more cellulose into the attic 2 months ago. Took me 2 days and cost me about 200 even for the blower (free) and cellulose after i took back unused bags. Also i had never done anything like this before so i read everything i could get my hands on about doing it. I did however call in a few contractors in 2004 to see about doing it for me. For the attic most quotes were in the $1100 range and for the walls around $2600 for my 1700ft home. You will get pay back though--i see mine coming in already not to mention a more comfortable house all around just for the attic. Im planning on doing the walls this summer cause of all the interior knee walls i have with no access.
One thing its important to do though is pay alot of attention to air sealing before you even think about insulation. Insulation wont stop air much so seal those windows, basement service penetrations attic access doors and plumbing chases. Also its a good thing to get a programmable t-stat and use it to set the temp back at nite and during the day when you are gone. Just the air sealing with some foam/caulk/weatherstripping and a new t-stat last winter saved me about ~35% in gas over the previous yr. Now with the new insualtion i see that my gas usage is even down from that 8 less mcf during december which was alot colder than december 04. If you are brand new to this like i was then read as much as you can goto www.greenstone.com to get an idea of how much you need and try looking for a book called "Insulate and Weatherize" Its good and talks alot about using cellulose.