Home Improvement

Several weeks ago, we had some guys come out and add some cellulose insulation to our house. It really made a difference, and we have even noticed a decrease in our utility bill. They couldn't access our bonus room, though, and so my husband discovered that you could buy the insulation at Lowe's and they would let you use the blower for free. From the time this information was procured, my husband (who is generally not that interested in home projects) was OBSESSED with insulating the bonus room. First, he and my dad cut a hole in the closet ceiling. He talked about it frequently and tried to plan to do the insulation every time we had a free block of time of at least 2 hours. (These are much more elusive than you might think.)

So finally, we had a whole free Sunday, and we decided to tackle the task.









The first challenge was getting the blower out of the van. In case you aren't sure exactly how you should handle the machine, they tell you:









Perhaps they have good reason to worry. Here was our set up for getting it out of the van:



For the record, we did NOT drop the machine.







Let's just say, I'm glad we waited. It took much longer than we had estimated, and it turned out to be a 3 or 4 person project. Once we figured out the process, it was pretty straight forward, but the space we were insulating was pretty tight. And it definitely took one person to work the blower, and 2 more to keep the hopper filled. The fourth person was handy in running back and forth between the garage and the upstairs bedroom, providing communication. Here's the team:


Me. You need the mask, but the ear protection was overboard.







Dad. He kept the cellulose coming reliably.











David. Notice the tight space. Now imagine it full of dusty, blowing bits of ground up newspaper. And you're wearing a mask. Claustrophobic much? I did NOT participate in this part of the challange, er, project.





Brendan. Naturally, he had the coolest accessories. And although we asked him to come help, it turned out he had already told his girlfriend he was going to come over "to see how it was done." He was excited. It was entertainment AND education.





All told, it took about 6-7 hours, including 4 total trips to and from Lowes carrying the insulation and the machine, an hour (or two) to set up and figure out the process, and several hours to actually blow in the insulation. But, now it's done, and we can focus on a much more exciting project: the kitchen!!