Renaissance House Playlist:
   • Renaissance Project House  
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Cellulose Defined – Cellulose is the material that makes up the cell walls of plants. In this case, the Cellulose is wood pulp; the natural fiber used to make paper.

Insulation defined – every material has a resistance to heat transfer – that’s the rate of heat flow through a material exposed to different temperatures on each side. In the homebuilding industry, we measure that resistance as an “R” Value. The higher the “R” Value, the better the insulation. The “R” Value helps builders figure out the energy efficiency of a house. The ultimate insulator is a body of still air “trapped” in place by an insulating material

Cellulose Insulation Defined – The bulk of the material the insulation we used is from recycled paper. Every 100 pounds of insulation contains 85 pounds of paper. That paper is treated to retard fire and repel insects.

Cellulose Insulation Installed – It’s sprayed in place, directly into the interior cavities between the wall studs that make up the exterior walls of the house. This spray application will fill all cavities and odd-shaped openings much better than “batts” (pieces) of standard fiberglass insulation.

“R” Value Targets – Michael always recommends at least an R-19 rating for walls & an R-38 rating for attics. In the walls of our Project House (with studs no smaller than 2x6s), we should be able to reach an R-20 rating. That will cost more in material than the typical R-13 recommended by builders, but homeowners can make that money back within a couple years with lower utility bills.

Actual, Real-life vs/ Theoretical, Rated “R” Value – Inch for inch, calculated “R” Values for fiberglass and cellulose are very similar. Those calculations make sense on paper, but application in a real-world setting can severely alter a material’s ability to insulate. A piece of fiberglass insulation installed with any gap or kink in it will not insulate to its rated “R” value no matter how well it’s built or rated. If it’s “shoved” into a cavity, the air pockets inside the fiberglass material will get squeezed and the actual “R” Value drops.

The beauty of a spray insulation is its ability to fill gaps and voids, and work its way completely around wires hidden between the studs in a wall cavity. This “seamless” blanket of insulation (air trapped in pockets of the paper material) offers better protection against air infiltration – that’s air that leaks into or out of a house through the thousands of tiny gaps & cracks between building materials in any house. Cocoon™ Cellulose Spray Insulation keeps buildings about 35% “tighter” than fiberglass batt insulation.

Some people worry that sprayed cellulose insulation will “settle” over time, and lose its place. That’s not the case if it is properly installed. The insulation is sprayed through a hose. That hose has a water line that activates an adhesive in the cellulose material, so it glues itself in place. The water dries out but the glue is always there holding it up.

Framing Safety Benefit – Here’s where we see the payoff for beefing up the frame of the Project House with 2x6s instead of 2x4s. There’s more room to hold insulation, so the “R” value of the walls is higher than it would be with 2x4s (About R-20 vs/ R-13). This insulation system lowers energy bills that will more than offset the extra lumber cost over the lifetime of the house. Some of our walls in the Project House are built with 2x8 and 2x10 wall studs, so the energy savings increases.

Fire Rating – Our insulation has a top rating (Class 1) against flame spread & smoke development. The boric acid flame retardant is infused in the natural fibers of the cellulose. During a fire, the retardant melts and holds the heat until the cellulose fibers char.

Make sure the insulation is sprayed evenly into your walls, like a blanket – no dips or valleys. Before you spray upstairs, make sure you insert baffles to block your soffit vents (they’re located in the overhang of your roof). If you don’t, you could block the airpath that otherwise provides proper attic ventilation by spraying insulation over those vents. Don’t spray insulation over a light fixture in a lower room, because that could cause a fire. Don’t insulate over a combustion inlet for the furnace or the water heater. Spray insulation all over the attic before you put down any decking.

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