Can Blown-In Insulation Be Installed By Hand?

You’re considering loose-fill insulation for your attic, but you aren’t sure of the best installation method. You’d like to save money where you can, but you also want to ensure that the finished product is effective. Could you install loose-fill insulation by hand? Or do you need to either rent a machine or pay a professional?

South Central Services has insulated hundreds of homes near Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. If you want functional attic insulation, you have several options. However, installing loose-fill insulation by hand is not one of them.

By the end of this article, you’ll understand:

• Why installing blown-in by hand is not an option
• How to install blown-in as a DIY
• When to work with a professional insulation contractor

Don't have time to read right now? Check out everything you need to know at a glance.

Blown-In Insulation Should Not Be Installed By Hand.

Renting a blowing machine could sound like a hassle. No matter how much you’d like to avoid a machine rental, hand-installing loose-fill insulation is not the answer.

There are two key problems with installing loose-fill by hand.

1. Time
2. Discomfort

Let’s examine these issues in more detail.

1. Installing Loose-Fill Insulation Manually Would Be Time-Consuming.

You may think you have all the time in the world. You may view your time as better spent than your money. However, manual installation will take longer than you expect when it comes to loose-fill insulation.

For your attic insulation to be effective, your blown-in insulation must be installed in even, fluffy layers. The particles should be loose and uniform.

When you try to break apart a compacted block of loose-fill insulation by hand, you are left with uneven chunks.

Unless you can further break these chunks into smaller, more uniform pieces, the attic insulation will be ineffective. You won’t have a consistent R-value. Not only will you have spent money on the product, you will have wasted your time.

It may be possible to get loose-fill insulation to a similar consistency as a blowing machine, but it would take an unbelievable amount of time.

If you have time and are convinced that you could effectively insulate your attic in this way, there is another factor to consider.

2. Blown-In Insulations Require PPE Like Masks And Gloves.

Anytime you install insulation, you need personal protective equipment (PPE). You should wear eye protection, a mask, and gloves when working with a blown-in product.

Blown-in fiberglass risks embedding tiny glass fibers in your eyes, lungs, and skin. Blown-in cellulose is safer to handle, only producing dust. However, that dust can still irritate your eyes and lungs.

If you opted to install loose-fill insulation by hand, you would be committing to hundreds of hours in a stuffy attic, wearing a mask, gloves, and likely long sleeves. Nothing about installing blown-in by hand would be comfortable.

Installing loose-fill insulation by hand would take significantly longer than working with a machine. During that time, you would be wearing uncomfortable PPE. The finished result will be less effective than that of a professional or a rented blowing machine.

To Install Blown-In DIY, You Should Rent A Blowing Machine.

You may still be determined to save money on your attic insulation. In some cases, the lowest investment cost for attic insulation is renting a blowing machine and installing DIY.

Blowing machines can be rented from Lowe’s or Home Depot. Always investigate the machine rentals before purchasing your loose-fill insulation. Oftentimes, a machine rental comes with several bags of free loose-fill insulation.

Renting a blowing machine is not always straightforward. Only some home improvement store locations will have these machines to rent, so getting access could be difficult. If you have access to a rental machine, it may be more costly than you were expecting.

A fiberglass blowing machine available in Harrisburg costs $200 to rent per day. Depending on the size of your attic and the installation timeline, you could easily spend $1,000 on machine rental.

Installing blown-in with a rented blowing machine is faster than manually breaking down loose-fill. However, a rented blowing machine is still quite slow. An attic that can be insulated with professional equipment in a day could take 3 to 4 days with a rented machine.

It May Be Best To Hire A Professional Insulation Contractor.

We understand the desire to save money. It can be difficult to justify hiring a professional when you have the time or willingness to see something through independently. However, in many scenarios, hiring a qualified insulation contractor is the best way to save money.

While you may spend a few thousand dollars more on hiring a professional, you receive these benefits:

• You aren’t responsible for removing existing attic insulation.
• Your attic insulation could be taken care of in a matter of days.
• You don’t have to invest in PPE.
• You don’t have to work in a hot attic.
• You don’t have to deal with accessibility issues upstairs.
• You don’t have to locate and rent a machine.
• You don’t have to estimate how much insulation you need.
• You don’t have to estimate how long it will take to install.
• Your insulation is insured if anything were to go wrong.
• Your insulation performance could be maximized with air-sealing.

Some attics have limited access or are incredibly large. These factors can create a task that is too much for a homeowner to take on alone.

Another reason we recommend working with a professional is for air-sealing. Yes, you could technically install blown-in insulation yourself. But if you work with a professional contractor, you could have your attic air-sealed. An airtight seal maximizes the performance of your blown-in insulation. If you want to compare the return on investment for your initial cost, blown-in with an air-seal provides an excellent deal.

You are more likely to see a reduction in your energy costs with professionally installed insulation than with DIY insulation, especially when air-sealing is included.

The Bottom Line About Installing Blown-In Insulation By Hand

Loose-fill insulation cannot be successfully installed by hand. The time it would take to break down the insulation into an even and effective layer is almost impossible to estimate. The best path forward for those determined to DIY their attic insulation is machine rental. Home improvement stores do rent blowing machines for insulation.

Even when renting a blowing machine, DIY attic insulation can be time-consuming, frustrating, and uncomfortable. While there may be an additional cost, hiring a qualified contractor has a lot of benefits when insulating an attic with blown-in.

Now that you understand why manual blown-in installation isn’t possible, your next step is to:

• Learn more about air-sealing your attic
• Estimate the cost of blown-in from a professional contractor
• Discover why homeowners choose South Central Services for their attic insulation