Miserable jobs

When we first had the house inspected, our inspector informed us the insulation in the attic was lacking. It was old, not doing much of anything as far as holding heat in and had been chewed up by squirrels. In the inspection report, it was recommended that we put down new insulation right on top of the old stuff. This would reduce our heating bills significantly and help to keep our house warmer. So I did it.

Let me tell you, this was a miserable job. Our attic is basically a crawl space, there really isn't any room to stand up in there. The old insulation must have been original to the house because it was basically disintegrated. It was really musty and dirty up there. Thankfully I did this during the winter so it was somewhat comfortable. I sprung for a cartridge respirator and I'm glad I did - who knows what was in the old insulation. As soon as you would touch the stuff it would turn into a cloud of dust. I was pretty filthy when I was finished, I think I looked like a miner emerging from the hole.

The previous owners had also boarded up the attic vent to keep the rodents out. The vents are supposed to remain unobstructed so air can circulate. You'd think this was really for summer to keep things from getting too hot, but it also applies in winter. Apparently, the attic vent keeps the air circulating enough so things don't freeze. Once things get frozen, they trap moisture and you get rot. Not good!

So I found the squirrels nest behind the boarded-up vent and cleaned it out. Thankfully I did not have to contend with any furry interlopers. I do have to have to make some repairs to one of the attic vents though - they had climbed up the side of the house and chewed their way through the particle board around the vent. The nest in the vent was made of twigs, leaves and dirt. There was another nest much farther into the attic but it was not as complete as the vent one. Both are cleaned up now, hopefully the squirrels don't find their way back in there before I get my lazy ass back up there to repair the holes.

I ordered enough insulation to do the garage as well, hence the skid delivery you see in the photos. That will be much easier to do, it's all open. I just stand on a ladder and staple it up. need to get these baffle things that allow air to circulate under the insulation. That's a project for another day, but hopefully soon.

See the pics below.

Skid delivery.













Furry Yellow Sea