INSULATION
Pump-in insulation (also know as cellulose fibre insulation)is a great insulation choice for ceiling insulation.
Made of recycled paper, into a fluffy fibre form which is pumped into your roofspace by a truck on the road.
I like it becasue it is made from a recycled material, is healthy (especially compared to fibreglass insulation), and is cheap.
It works by trapping air between the fibres of fluffy paper mulch. The only disadvantege of this insulation is over time the fibres settle and the air trapping pockets reduce and finally dissapear so in 5-20 years you will need to have the job re-done.
There is also a brand which adds wool fibres to the mix. They claim this makes it stay fluffy for longer and improves the warmth. It costs a fraction more.
With any building project, it usually pays to get at least 2 quotes. I usually get 3. Measure the area of the ceiling you want to insulate ( the easiest way is to measure the floor!). Then find "Insulation contractors" in the yellow pages and ring afew who offer "pump-in" or "cellulose fibre" insulation. Ask for quotes for the area you want done. Don't commit to any of them until you have made your choice! Sometimes they can be pushy!
RECYCLED TIMBER
One of the best things to do is borrow a ute or trailer for the weekend and look up where the local council pickup is on at. (This weekend it is The Hill area). Go for a
drive and have a scavenge! Other free secondhand timber you could obtain from your local online freecycle site newcastle freecycle or freecycle generally. Also there is a similar site for buy,sell or trade.
Second hand building yards and tip shops ( shop associated with landfill tips) also sell recycled timber at varying prices.
Sadly second-hand building yards are dissapearing. Look them up under "building materials-secondhand" in the yellow pages.
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7 comments:
thanks for the insulation tip Jo. We have very old insulation like that. Everyone here tells us to get fiberglass bats - but I think I will look into the cost of your suggestion. We also need to do the floor and inside the walls (somehow). The trend here is to use polystyrene panels under the floor. For the walls, the say pull off the gib, bats and reapply new gib. Personally I am considering a second internal wall and sacrifice a little floor space instead...
that was me, Leigh by the way
Hey Leigh... at Jane's house in Tighes Hill we simply put battens over the outside weatherboards, put foil backed polyester batts between the battens and then fixed a layer of corrugated colorbond ( roof sheeting) on top to make a spunky shed-style insulated wall with minimum fuss. It's the same Idea as yours but on the outside, saves space and mess! xjo
Cool! Should I worry about wood rot underneath on the original weather boards though?
are they already rotting?
umm.. yes, a little.. so you think I'll be OK if I cut out the rot (where I see it) and then go for it?
I don't know for sure, but I'd say yes, wait for a really hot dry bunch of days (do you get those in NZ?), cut out the rotty bits, then go for it. Just make sure the top is well protected to prevent rain coming in when finished. Its OK to have a way for air to flow in your new gap, esp good for summer but does reduce insulation's effectiveness in winter.
If you know what I mean...
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