Insulation, Radiant and Vapor Barriers - Insulating a Cape with no Attic

Hi - I am trying to add some insualtion to the upstairs of my Cape style house. We have lived in it for about 4 years and the isulation upstairs is horrible..meaning..there is none (unless you count the crumpled up newspaper i have found in the dormers!).

So anwyway I have four dormers upstairs, three in the front and one in the back...there is also a very small one about the width of an average person in the back as well. I intend to isulate in those areas, however I have no attic or at least no access to it.

My question is how do I go about insulating above the ceilling? Do I need to go in from the top (there are ridge vents as well) or can I slide the insulation up through the dormers to the cieling?

Any information would be helpfull!

Thanks

A few pictures would help. Do you have gable vents at all? Is there any flat ceiling space on the 2nd floor? I have a cape cod home as well which im currently insulating all over. Pay close attention to all the kneewall areas especially where the bottom of it meets the floor joists. If this area is open they are a big leak and need to be closed. Search some threads on this subject ive written alot about it here.
If you only have sloped areas above with no venting its much more difficult to do the ceiling. You have to use either foamboards with drywall off or drill holes from below or even above on the roof and dense pack cellulose in there. Either way I wouldnt think of using fiberglass in the slopes or at all if you dont have good access to it. Its hard to slide up the slope with it. Doable but difficult. Use cellulose.

Yes there are three gable vents total.

There is some flat cieling space probably 12' x 30' total.

I am not to keen on using cellulose because it is an older house and I can't say that I really trust some of the wiring in it to not catch the stuff on fire...

Do you know for sure that you have knob and tube wiring? Has it been inspected? Yes its supposed to be a fire hazard but some locales will allow cellulose if its deemed in good shape and or inactive. Check to be sure. When was the house built?
At any rate if you dont have any access to the attic space its well worth it to cut yourself one from below or thru the gable ventsif you want to beef up the insulation.You will need access from behind the kneewalls and attic to try to do the slopes with fiberglass correctly. But you could use cellulose if there is no wiring.
Here is a good old link for cape cod houses http://www.homeenergy.org/archive/hem.dis.anl.gov/eehem/95/950309.html