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Tonight I just finished putting up rolled insulation between the joists where the two exterior walls meet.
It was fun, and hopefully I'll be able to reduce my energy expenses a bit.
There is one section where I need ideas. There is a duct that runs along one of the short walls. It goes about half the length of the wall. Anyway, it is about 1 1/2 to 2 inches from the joist. I would really have to squeeze the insulation to try to get it up in there. Since it's so flimsy, it likely won't just slide right where I need it. It will probably fold up and be lumpy.
I thought of spray foam insulation, but that would take a LOT of that. It's about 24 feet long and the joist is 7 1/2 inches high.
Cutting a long strip won't work, since there isn't much room for my fingers to grab it, and the flimsiness makes it difficult to slide it down the length of the joist.
Nope. I am talking about the vertical boards that make up the floor to the house/the ceiling in the basement.
They run from the front of the basement to the back. So where they end at the front wall and back wall, each space I've insulated is 7 1/2 inches top to bottom and the width of the rolled insulation.
The section that I can't get to runs along the short wall (at one end of the basement) as does the ductwork. The joist and ductwork are parallel to each other. That particular section is about 24 feet long.
Tonight I just finished putting up rolled insulation between the joists where the two exterior walls meet.
It was fun, and hopefully I'll be able to reduce my energy expenses a bit.
There is one section where I need ideas. There is a duct that runs along one of the short walls. It goes about half the length of the wall. Anyway, it is about 1 1/2 to 2 inches from the joist. I would really have to squeeze the insulation to try to get it up in there. Since it's so flimsy, it likely won't just slide right where I need it. It will probably fold up and be lumpy.
I thought of spray foam insulation, but that would take a LOT of that. It's about 24 feet long and the joist is 7 1/2 inches high.
Cutting a long strip won't work, since there isn't much room for my fingers to grab it, and the flimsiness makes it difficult to slide it down the length of the joist.
Any input is greatly appreciated.
What kind of duct that is? The reason why I ask is as follows: lets say that the duct is a drain pipe or a water pipe that runs right next to an outer wall. In this case you have to be careful because if you insulate over the pipe or duct, the side of the pipe next to the wall will be very cold since there is no insulation between the pipe and the wall. In this case you want to insulate the pipe from the cold wall.
You can always use a foam applicator and low pressure foam (nozzle around 12" in length). Get the foam between the pipe and the wall, first.
Spray foam (big gap filler) would work. Stuffing fiberglass insulation into a small space - as you described - wouldn't help much. That type of insulation loses its effectiveness when smushed (is that a word?) You'll have better results with newspaper if you're "stuffing" it in there. I vote for the foam spray.
Spray foam (big gap filler) would work. Stuffing fiberglass insulation into a small space - as you described - wouldn't help much. That type of insulation loses its effectiveness when smushed (is that a word?) You'll have better results with newspaper if you're "stuffing" it in there. I vote for the foam spray.
Yep, smuching will lower the R-value. And if I did that, there may be empty spots where the insulation didn't wiggle up into.
So spray foam is the way to go, huh? I'll need MANY cans. Lets hope for a good sale! LOL. Gotta love a bargain.
Thanks everyone. In the spring, I may have questions about caulking windows.
I - like many others - would not re-configure ductwork simply to be able to insulate a small space.
No, it wouldn't be hard, but it also wouldn't be cost-effective/ justified.
: D
I didn't say "reconfigure"-
Just "temporarily" move, install insulation, and move back.
I've run into this several times with the old hard duct; not so much today with the flex duct.
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You'll have better results with newspaper if you're "stuffing" it in there. I vote for the foam spray. 
