This November, we visited Sioux City Insulation in Iowa to provide on-site training and help. They were dealing with inconsistencies in their coverages of both cellulose and fiberglass.
We met with AJ and Ethan Pendley at their location. I haven’t met another family of insulators with the same last name as ours. We are not related. They showed me their older Krendl machines. One of the machines needed new airlock seals and even the airlock plates. Their big diesel unit had good airlock seals.
The next day, we met at a large warehouse. This was perfect to check coverage issues. The crew put rulers throughout the attic. Then we blew material and did a bag count. This crew was used to turning the blowers all the way up. As we were testing, we backed down the blower speed and the coverage was dead on.
We thank AJ, Ethan and the crew for having is out on this project. Coverage issues are a problem in the industry and need constant attention. We were happy to share some insights on this particular project.
Some Preliminary Steps in Dealing with Blown Insulation Coverage Issues?
Check the condition of your equipment. Airlock seals wear out and are usually the problem with bad coverage. Worn seals let air bypass and do not provide enough air for blowing. Hoses wear out. Blowing hoses are corrugated plastic. When the corrugations, inside the hose, wear down, the material does not tumble and condition as well. Bad conditioning of material is the reason your material does not get good coverage. Check your hoses and make sure they are not worn out. Contact your machine manufacturer reps to see if they know of other customers facing issues.
Make sure your square foot numbers and depths are accurate. All blowing materials have a coverage chart and tell you how many bags you will use per square feet and per inch depth. When bidding jobs, measure carefully. Before installing material, use plenty of insulation R-Value rulers throughout the attic. Some companies are now using laser levels. That helps keep your depths consistent. Finally, don’t assume that all cellulose and all fiberglass materials have the same coverages. Be sure to double-check the bag charts.
Experiment with the settings on your machine. Blown materials change in their package density. They change because manufacturers pack materials tighter to save gas costs for transit. Some manufacturers keep their material loose. These differences can create a bit of frustration. If your materials are too tight, close the airlock down a little bit to allow the material to tumble more. If the materials are very loose, open up the airlock. When adjusting your blowers, be careful to not have too low of air. As we found on the Sioux City job, there was too much air volume.
Measure, count, measure and count… This is very important. Count out 10 bags and start in one corner of the attic. When those bags are blown, measure the sq foot coverage. If coverage is off, make corrections with the airlock and/or blower. Constantly monitor the materials.
Finally, if you have done these things, THEN contact the manufacturer’s rep. Ask them for input after you have experimented with the settings and made sure your machine is running at its best. This will save you time when dealing with the manufacturer. It may be the manufacturer’s issue. They do changing up their formulas and constantly test/improve their materials. They need and want your input. We have a customer who had wildly off coverage issues. They asked the manufacturer rep to bring 10 bags with him. They compared the coverage with the bags they had with the ones the rep brought. Sure enough, there was a disparity and the rep took care of their material needs.