The best way I know how to add ventilation in your attic is to go to Menards, with your square footage of your attic space, inform him of what you would like to accomplish, and he will give you the choice of Fiberglass or Cellulose? The price are roughly the same when you break it down, but I would prefer Cellulose over Fiberglass.
On an average home of 2,000 square feet, I can add 8 to 10 inches of ventilation in three hours or less, without breaking anything, or breaking through the ceiling, and adding the correct amount. “it is always better to have more, than not enough.”
So here is what you do; you go to Menards with a trailer, order 44 bags or so of Cellulose, (pending on your square footage), then rent a blower from Menards. Menards will let you have the blower for three hours free, if you buy the ventilation from them, then it’s roughly 35 bucks for a half a day. The blower is not hard to operate. You will need two of you, one loading the blower with Cellulose insulation, and the other in the attic, “doing the dirty job”. Make sure the “loader” only loads a half bag of Cellulose at a time. This will prevent plugging up the hose. Needless to say, the loader has the easier job of the two. As the guy being in the attic, I prefer a light weight person if possible, but the 2×4 studs can hold 200 lbs no problem. The trick is to stay on the 2×4.
I need to mention that you will also need to buy about 20 baffles. you must staple this on the edge of the roof. staple most of it on the bay where you see light coming through. Make sure you wear a face mask. Goggles are optional, depending on how much you can endure I suppose. If you don’t think you can balance yourself on the 2×4 studs, then take two, 24″ particle board up with you, and set them between the studs, to stand on, or kneel on. You will have to add about 1 hour to your project if you use a particle board for support, this is very time consuming. Take your tape measure, and measure 8 inches from the top of the insullations. Use the studs as markers. Remember, you want 8 inches, no less if possible, otherwise, you didn’t do it right. Once you are set in the back, just turn the switch on, and guide the hose to the area you want to fill. You can stop anytime during the process. I usually go about 30 minutes, and stop to see how many bags I have done.
I always try to calculate how much I have left to do, and how much I have of insulation. Just remember your square footage per bag, for 8 inches. If your hose starts to blow air, then the loader did not keep up with you. You will know the difference when the hose is plugged. That is why you only load a half of bag at a time. Once you are finish, and did it correctly, you will start noticing your heating bill going down. You can also add insulation in your walls. If you still have icicles hanging on the edge of your roof, then you may need to make more roof vents. Another cost saving trick is to caulk all your windows, and sliding doors before winter. Good luck!
