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Old 09-09-11, 08:10 AM   #12
hamsterpower
Apprentice EcoRenovator
 
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I just did this last weekend in my kitchen project. I'm not sure if my job is up to dense pack standards, but with my open hand, I can not push into the cellulose at a test hole. I think it worked very well.

Here's what I did.

I rented the basic machine from Lowes. Set the adjustable plate at the output to about 25% open. Bought a 1 7/8" diameter universal vacuum hose and taped the included adapter to the end of the long 3" diameter hose that came with the blower. Then I pulled the hard adapter out of the flexible vacuum hose at the very end. This was so it would flex enough to pull out of the wall while blowing.

I used a 3" hole saw to drill a single hole at a time in the inside of the wall to be insulated. I did not want cellulose to blow out empty holes nearby. I drilled these holes about 6 foot high as the vacuum hose was 6 foot long.

The thin vacuum hose slid down the wall easily and I wrapped a towel around the hose to seal the hole. with the machine running I could hear when it bogged down. When this happened I pulled a few inches of hose out of the wall. When the hose got close to the hole I quickly turned it and pushed it up into the top of the wall, two feet above.

I did drill a few test holes to check the results and as I said above. I could not push my open hand into the cellulose.

To finish up I sprayed "Great Stuff" foam in the holes and pushed the plugs from the hole saw back in. As the foam cured I adjusted the plugs to be flush with the wall surface.

A note on prior steps: I had these walls open the week before and sealed everything with 2 -3" of spray foam from "Tiger Foam". I also made sure there were no barriers to keep the cellulose from filling the cavity.

The end results, I estimate an R-value of 39.5 where at best I had R16 before, and nearly a complete air seal.
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