Newkirk Wallcovering and Painting

Installing insulation - Get Pink

After most of the rough electrical work was completed by a professional electrician it was time to start insulating the walls and ceiling areas with the proper insulation. For the walls we used an R-13 faced insulation. Cutting each piece to fit a 16" on center studded wall we made sure as we went through the process of installing the "pink stuff", not to leave any gaps in the insulation where cold air cold could get through during the winter months. *** If you are installing this type of insulation, take your time and make sure you don't just staple it up in place, but use the flanges on the facing to insure a proper barrier against the elements.

Use the right amount of insulation

When you have smaller than 16" wide pieces to install (like the ones on the left side of this window) Cut the pieces to fit snug and in place. The worst thing you can do is to over stuff an area with insulation. Over insulating will actually defeat the purpose. This fiberglass insulation is designed to breath and react to the environment. *** Also, using a higher R value in a 2x4 studded wall isn't necessarily the best idea for a couple of reasons: one, you are packing too much insulation into a 3 1/2 " space and again not letting the product do its job properly and two, when it comes time to hanging the drywall you are going to have a rough time forcing the panels into place as the oversized insulation will keep pushing against the backside of each panel.

Insulating around Air Conditioner unit

Here the customer wanted a built in air conditioning unit that extends through the exterior of the wall. After the framing was all in, we insulated properly leaving no gaps and then sealed off around the A/C unit with foam pieces provided by the manufacturer. Using the correct insulation installation techniques this little A/C unit should have no problems cooling off the new office space. The last thing we would want would be for this little machine to be working overtime and running up a huge electric bill for my client.

R30 insulation in the ceiling

Alright, we've finished the walls and now we are going to install R-30 ceiling insulation in the ceiling rafters. Again we chose a paper faced fiberglass product that will be perfect for this type of application. * Even the "Panther" gives me a thumbs up!

Ceiling insulation

A single 2x4 would not fit into place because of the roof rafters being already in place, so we improvised by cutting each one in half, scabbing on two boards to both sides of the ceiling joists, and we even tied into the top of the roof rafters for added strength. Now it's time to start laying the R-30 in place. *** Caution! Check the specifications of your canned lighting when it comes to adding or installing insulation around them. Some lights are designed to be insulated right over with no fire hazards while others need at least 3" of space around them to protect against overheating and possible combustion.

Ceiling insulation

We were lucky to have such a thorough electrician on the job the day we installed the insulation. Here we see Jeff Bevan checking over the wiring once more before we start covering everything up with R-30 ceiling insulation. Quality in every job is all I expect from any outside contracting service and we certainly get that when we have Jeff on the scene!

Insulating around windows

Once all the walls and ceiling areas have been sealed off and double checked for gaps, it's time to get down to the doors and windows. When we installed the entrance door and the two new vinyl replacement windows we centered them to allow insulation to be inserted in the gaps between the vinyl side of the window and the rough framing. Using a wood shim we filled in all of the gaps with scraps of fiberglass insulation left over from the walls and ceiling.

Continue the tour