More work this weekend.

I replaced the weak bathroom fan in my kids bathroom with a Panasonic Whisper Heat. I installed a Panasonic Whisper Light at my old house and this new fan didn't disappoint! They are SILENT and move a crazy amount of air. I will never buy another brand.

The project was a pain given my vaulted ceilings. The only complaints I have about the new fan is that the wiring enclosure is really small so hooking up the multiple circuits is difficult. Then you have to stuff all the wires buck up inside and pray that none of the wire nuts come off.

Also, the grill cover on the fan lets you see right up into it so you can see everything when the lights are on. I didn't expect that...

Here's some pics:

Here's the old fan. You can see it wasn't taped properly and was leaking air and allowing moisture to condense and run down the vapor barrier.
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y26...pss6uoejfg.jpg


Another view of the old fan.
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y26...pspxzzu0ss.jpg


Here's the new fan installed.
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y26...psjxbnvm8n.jpg

The crawlspace work is also coming along:

Grading out the rocks and debris
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y26...ps1hy2vm8j.jpg

Foam board layed down around the perimeter
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y26...ps7momijok.jpg

There is still more foam board to go down and then I can focus on sealing the vapor barrier.

Erich

Great updates Erich! Thanks for sharing.

More progress last night.

I started hanging the stem wall vapor barrier.
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y26...pszljo6rre.jpg


You can see a black bead of acoustic sealant at the top and then it's stapled.
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y26...psziqvj1ow.jpg

Erich

I meant to share a video I put together of my insulation vacuum.

I wish I wasn't in such a rush with this project. I would have taken more video. I used some old footage from the first time I used it, but I was in a huge rush then too, lol.

Anyway, it worked really well. We don't have an outfit in town that does this. I called around with the local energy improvement companies and they just use dust pans and garbage bags. :confused:

For $150, there is no reason not to build your own. If you had a ton of cellulose to remove, I'd rent a dumpster. It totally filled up my little trailer even after getting in 4 times and stomping it down.

https://youtu.be/13Ro7EBFXCY

Erich

Erich, Please explain why you don't like cellulose. For the cellulose you removed, what is its replacement?

MN,

I have a problem with cellulose because of how it soaks up moisture and turns into a brick and then damages your ceiling drywall. This happened at my last home. Any condensing moisture affects the cellulose. You can see in my video how difficult it was to remove the cellulose. I had to chip it out with a garden tool.

I blew in AttiCat as the substitute for cellulose.

Erich

Where is the moisture coming from? Is this an Alaska problem? I had a turtle vent that leaked in a little water, problem during a hard rainstorm that cause there to be a frisbee sized section of cellulose that caked up slightly but running my hand through it thoroughly broke it up and it only went about 1/4" deep. Is this on the top layer of cellulose or do you have a bunch of moisture coming from the interior of the house?

From what I could tell it was years of the air in the attic hitting the dew point both from inside air escaping and humid outside air coming in the vents. The moisture would condense in the cellusose and saturate it so it would settle a little more at the time. It went from light and fluffy to a hard biscuit.

Erich