Question for those in the know! I need to insulate my garage (22' x 50'). The previous owner put up drywall over the studs without putting insulation in, even though there is a large furnace in the garage. I was thinking about renting the machine from HD or Lowes and using the blow-in insulation, rather than tear down all the walls and put rolled insulation in. Looking on the HD/Lowes websites, I can only find the "Attic-Kat" blow-in insulation. Would that work for my purposes? I was thinking of drilling a hole between the studs by the ceiling and blowing it in. I'm wondering if the weight of the insulation would compress on itself over time and leave a big gap at the top. Does anyone have any experience doing this? Can anyone recommend something different? Thanks in advance!
Are the walls finished (taped, spackle, primed or painted)? Can you tell if they nailed or screwed the dry wall? If, it was unfinished me screwed, is be tempted to pull the drywall on exterior walls and look at rolls/batts. These have some structure and may avoid compression better. I base this on the yahoo's that built my house, with all sorts of nails holding on siding, electrical, cable, etc which may catch any blown insulation. The other option may be an injected foam insulation... Which is probably more expensive and not DIY.
The original part of the garage, 22 x 31 is finished and painted. The newer portion, 22 x 19 is osb held by screws and can be removed. The newer section is also 12' high walls because there was a lift in there. I gave the lift to my FIL. Mechanics is not my thing, and I find zero enjoyment in it, even though I was a diesel mechanic in the Army, and my son is a diesel mechanic for Peterbuilt.
Yes it can be done, dont sure about the insulation you mentioned. Usually #2 4" holes in common 8' tall walls, one low 3' off sill plate then one at top of stud bay. 12' wall would probably take 3 holes per bay. Most commercial guys use a recycled mixture? Know some of it was ground up denim. Big proplem with doing insulation this way is you lose vapor barrier (paper facing) so interior drywall will get moisture , MOLD. Can also remove exterior and add rigid insulation? That insulation might be for ceiling/ attic insulation, thats where you need it most.
Is it metal or wood? Only reason I ask is at our social hall (fire department) we did the spray foam, it is a metal building (it was professionally done) and it has caused the building to sweat and give us other issues.
Swampy, I would not do that with blow in. Any protrusion in the stud cavity will keep from getting a proper fill. Sheetrock is fairly cheap so do do it right, tear down and start fresh.
If you want do do it the cheapest you could cut off the top 10" or so below the ceiling all the way around and then blow in cellulose, it does compact a bit over the years but it does a better job filling tighter voids then fiberglass. When done, put the pieces of sheetrock back on. I've done this a few times when people wanted to save a few $. Not perfect but ok for a garage.
