Do it Yourself Insulation with Recycled Products

Do it yourself insulation is a great way to insulate your home without needing to spend a fortune hiring a professional. For anyone who is environmentally friendly, recycled insulation products will be very popular. Recycled insulation materials are made out of reclaimed materials which make them much more friendly to the environment. Some environmentally friendly materials are also very efficient insulators which can make insulating your home much easier. Recycled products are available from many sources including most major home improvement stores.

Step 1 - Choosing Insulation

There are many different types of reclaimed and recycled insulation materials which you might want to consider, the types of insulation include denim, cotton and even paper insulation. Most of these types are normally sold as loose fill insulation which means that an insulation blower will be required to inject the insulation into the walls.

Insulation blowers can be hired from most tool hire stores very easily. These are affordable but you may want to complete the project as quickly as possible so that you can take the machine back quickly without wasting too much money. When choosing insulation take a look at the R rating, this is the rating applied to the efficiency of the insulation. The higher the R value, the more efficient the insulation is. This means that thinner insulation can be used and still achieve a similar result.

Step 2 - Reading the Manual

Every insulation blower machine operates differently and this means that it's essential to take a look at the instructions to find out exactly how to use it.

The machine will have a hopper which needs to be loaded using the loose fill insulation material. The machine will then compress this and blow it into the cavities in the wall. This will provide insulation and prevent heat from escaping your home or heat entering your home during the summer.

Step 3 - Cutting Holes

Next, you will need to cut holes into the wall. Make sure that these holes are positioned so that they do not cut into the studs, in the wall or cut through any wiring. They must enter the cavity and should not cause any other damage. Then, it's simply a matter of putting the nozzle of the machine into the hole and pressing the trigger. The space inside the wall will now be filled with insulation which is pressed into every space in the wall. It's important to allow for 20% extra insulation so that you can account for settling.

Baffles need to be installed around the holes to prevent the insulation from coming back out of the hole in the wall.

Step 4 - Finishing Touches

Once you have finished filling the walls with insulation it's now time to repair the holes by using some drywall. Repair the holes carefully and then redecorate the walls so that you can make your walls look untouched. Recycled products make great low cost and very efficient insulation materials which are ideally suited to use in existing properties.