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I need some advice about retro-insulating a cathedral ceiling.

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I need some advice about retro-insulating a cathedral ceiling. finding z0 07-16-2006
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Posted by finding z0 on July 16, 2006, 3:31 pm
A couple of years ago a raccoon ripped open an eave vent in a cathedral
ceiling next to the chimney and just above a casement window and moved
in. It took awhile for me to catch on. I eventually caught and
relocated several raccoons and had the vent repaired. I sleep just
beneath that cathedral ceiling in the loft. B4 the repair I was able to
sit in the casement window and hold a digital camera in the hole and
snap a few pictures. It appeared that any insulation in there had been
pushed back. I'm guessing fiberglass batts. The repair was combined
with re-siding several months later, and the insulation was never
replaced (my bad). I can confirm this in both winter and summer by
reaching up and feeling the temp differential in that one 16"? run in
the ceiling. I can touch the ceiling from the loft. I'm thinking about
cutting a wide hole through the ceiling sheetrock and blowing some
cellulose into that run. How doable is this (inside the house), and
what alternatives are there?

p.s. there is some chance that I may reroof in the near future (hail
damage). This roof is 2 1/2 stories up. Would it be easier to do this
repair then? Of course the roofers in this area are swamped and want to
do the roof and run to the next job.


Posted by marson on July 16, 2006, 7:28 pm
fixing it from the outside would be better, but at two stories up it
might be tough. I would try to get a roofer to do it, and if that
didn't work, you can always go back to fixing it from the inside. you
might try cutting a smallish hole in the sheetrock and sliding a hose
down there and blowing cellulose in working it up. that's a lot of
work too. you'll have to get a blower for one bag of cellulose, create
the mother of all messes, etc. the other option is to remove sheetrock
from most of the joist bay and use fiberglass batts. then you would
have a large patch to contend with.


finding z0 wrote:
> A couple of years ago a raccoon ripped open an eave vent in a cathedral
> ceiling next to the chimney and just above a casement window and moved
> in. It took awhile for me to catch on. I eventually caught and
> relocated several raccoons and had the vent repaired. I sleep just
> beneath that cathedral ceiling in the loft. B4 the repair I was able to
> sit in the casement window and hold a digital camera in the hole and
> snap a few pictures. It appeared that any insulation in there had been
> pushed back. I'm guessing fiberglass batts. The repair was combined
> with re-siding several months later, and the insulation was never
> replaced (my bad). I can confirm this in both winter and summer by
> reaching up and feeling the temp differential in that one 16"? run in
> the ceiling. I can touch the ceiling from the loft. I'm thinking about
> cutting a wide hole through the ceiling sheetrock and blowing some
> cellulose into that run. How doable is this (inside the house), and
> what alternatives are there?
>
> p.s. there is some chance that I may reroof in the near future (hail
> damage). This roof is 2 1/2 stories up. Would it be easier to do this
> repair then? Of course the roofers in this area are swamped and want to
> do the roof and run to the next job.


Posted by finding z0 on July 17, 2006, 11:50 am

marson wrote:
> fixing it from the outside would be better, but at two stories up it
> might be tough. I would try to get a roofer to do it, and if that
> didn't work, you can always go back to fixing it from the inside. you
> might try cutting a smallish hole in the sheetrock and sliding a hose
> down there and blowing cellulose in working it up. that's a lot of
> work too. you'll have to get a blower for one bag of cellulose, create
> the mother of all messes, etc. the other option is to remove sheetrock
> from most of the joist bay and use fiberglass batts. then you would
> have a large patch to contend with.

Pretty much where my thinking ended up as well. Another issue is how
to prevent the cellulse from blocking either end where the air
circulates to the eave vents. It's a half roof with eave vents on top
and bottom. Some suggested making a small hole and pushing foam peanuts
up there....not sure if they are right for the job...lol...


Posted by kevin on July 17, 2006, 12:53 pm
Foam peanuts? Sounds like a bad idea. Cellulose? Sounds bad too: you DO
want air circulation just under the roof surface, you DONT want
cellulose in a place that might get even a tiny leak, and cellulose
makes a huge mess (it was worth it to do my whole house, but anything
less would have not been worth it). I'd go with fiberglass from inside.

've learned that the _size_ of the patch does not matter so much --
more is the complexity of the job. This would be a real easy job, b/c
you have the two rafters on either side. Cut the drywall right down the
center of those rafters, maybe 6 feet long and one bay wide. Add your
fiberglass. Then replace the drywall. You have the half rafter on
either side to screw it on to (and to add screws on both sides of the
cut). At the top and bottom, you can leave it loose and just do drywall
tape, or stick a 1x4 up behind the cut to give you something to screw
into.

-Kevin

finding z0 wrote:
> marson wrote:
> > fixing it from the outside would be better, but at two stories up it
> > might be tough. I would try to get a roofer to do it, and if that
> > didn't work, you can always go back to fixing it from the inside. you
> > might try cutting a smallish hole in the sheetrock and sliding a hose
> > down there and blowing cellulose in working it up. that's a lot of
> > work too. you'll have to get a blower for one bag of cellulose, create
> > the mother of all messes, etc. the other option is to remove sheetrock
> > from most of the joist bay and use fiberglass batts. then you would
> > have a large patch to contend with.
>
> Pretty much where my thinking ended up as well. Another issue is how
> to prevent the cellulse from blocking either end where the air
> circulates to the eave vents. It's a half roof with eave vents on top
> and bottom. Some suggested making a small hole and pushing foam peanuts
> up there....not sure if they are right for the job...lol...


Posted by marson on July 17, 2006, 1:06 pm
technically you need ventilation. however, leaving one rafter cavity
without ventilation is not going to cause a total system failure.

kevin wrote:
> Foam peanuts? Sounds like a bad idea. Cellulose? Sounds bad too: you DO
> want air circulation just under the roof surface, you DONT want
> cellulose in a place that might get even a tiny leak, and cellulose
> makes a huge mess (it was worth it to do my whole house, but anything
> less would have not been worth it). I'd go with fiberglass from inside.
>
> 've learned that the _size_ of the patch does not matter so much --
> more is the complexity of the job. This would be a real easy job, b/c
> you have the two rafters on either side. Cut the drywall right down the
> center of those rafters, maybe 6 feet long and one bay wide. Add your
> fiberglass. Then replace the drywall. You have the half rafter on
> either side to screw it on to (and to add screws on both sides of the
> cut). At the top and bottom, you can leave it loose and just do drywall
> tape, or stick a 1x4 up behind the cut to give you something to screw
> into.
>
> -Kevin
>
> finding z0 wrote:
> > marson wrote:
> > > fixing it from the outside would be better, but at two stories up it
> > > might be tough. I would try to get a roofer to do it, and if that
> > > didn't work, you can always go back to fixing it from the inside. you
> > > might try cutting a smallish hole in the sheetrock and sliding a hose
> > > down there and blowing cellulose in working it up. that's a lot of
> > > work too. you'll have to get a blower for one bag of cellulose, create
> > > the mother of all messes, etc. the other option is to remove sheetrock
> > > from most of the joist bay and use fiberglass batts. then you would
> > > have a large patch to contend with.
> >
> > Pretty much where my thinking ended up as well. Another issue is how
> > to prevent the cellulse from blocking either end where the air
> > circulates to the eave vents. It's a half roof with eave vents on top
> > and bottom. Some suggested making a small hole and pushing foam peanuts
> > up there....not sure if they are right for the job...lol...


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