# Cellulose or Fiberglass insulation



## Picture_Shooter (Dec 23, 2007)

Having a theater room built upstairs , which will be the only room on the 2nd floor.

My builder is giving us the option to either use Cellulose or Fiberglass.

Which option should I go for?

As for the rest of the house, I think it would have to be the same.  

SO I can't have 90% of fiberglass for the rest of the house and only cellulose in the theater room.

Thanks


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## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

I would just do all fiberglass then.

Bryan


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## ironglen (Mar 4, 2009)

Just a note: there are differences in fiberglass, for example Owens Corning has a less scratchy/itchy blown version while another, Guardian, I think, has an inexpensive, extremely itchy version that I believe is produced by using 'waste' or end material from its other products. It is the same/nearly same insulation factor, just very user-unfriendly. Same goes for batts, as Owens Corning and either Certainteed or Johns Manville has a softer, less irritating product. I used cellulose in my home, but I'd probably go with blown OC if I did it again.


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## Picture_Shooter (Dec 23, 2007)

ironglen said:


> Just a note: there are differences in fiberglass, for example Owens Corning has a less scratchy/itchy blown version while another, Guardian, I think, has an inexpensive, extremely itchy version that I believe is produced by using 'waste' or end material from its other products. It is the same/nearly same insulation factor, just very user-unfriendly. Same goes for batts, as Owens Corning and either Certainteed or Johns Manville has a softer, less irritating product. I used cellulose in my home, but I'd probably go with blown OC if I did it again.


Great information.

I will ask the builder what type / brand of insulation they are using.

Since I don't know what brand they use, I do know that our builder is LEED Certified. Now I have no idea if this is by any means that they only use the best, but they strive on green products. 

I have to meet our sales rep tomorrow, so I will ask and see if she can find out what brand they use. 

On a side note, I have seen cellulose in action. Basically cellulose was in a 10-gallon bucket full of it was inside, minus a little hole in the middle and the rep dropped in a high DB siren and the noise basically was almost non-existed. 
Then the rep put the same siren in a 10 gallon bucket with fiberglass and those siren was still extremely loud. :unbelievable::scratch:


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## Picture_Shooter (Dec 23, 2007)

Oh wow... looky, looky what I found 






How about overall for the whole homes then? Why fiberglass over cellulose?


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## ironglen (Mar 4, 2009)

Wow, I forgot about that touted quality. Funny, as I used Home Depot's free rental machine and GreenFiber bales to blow it into the attic, same material as featured in the video. I didn't measure, but it appeared to have reduced ambient (traffic) noise from the nearby thoroughfare. Since I do work in HVAC, I was thinking of the user-friendliness between fiberglass types, but the recycled newspaper Greenfiber seems good, albeit messy to install (very dusty). If you run your wires during construction you won't have to deal with that though.

Your builder will probably do much better than most being LEED certified: most attics I go into, easily 90% as a HVAC tech, are under insulated. An average of 7" R19 instead of the Dept of Energy recommended 13"+ R38, even in $300,000 homes. Our monthly utility bill dropped 25-40% after I blew the recommended amount in, every month of the year! I think the highest gas bill was $60 and electric bill was $135 for 1880 ft² home for the last couple years, even with record setting lows and highs (38 days of 100°+ last year). I can't recommended it enough as I think it is by far the best efficiency improvement for a home. For the small cost differential, perhaps $500 for most homes, I think builders should be required to meet the DOE guidelines, plus the home can use a smaller or more efficient HVAC system.


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## Picture_Shooter (Dec 23, 2007)

ironglen said:


> Your builder will probably do much better than most being LEED certified: most attics I go into, easily 90% as a HVAC tech, are under insulated. An average of 7" R19 instead of the Dept of Energy recommended 13"+ R38, even in $300,000 homes. Our monthly utility bill dropped 25-40% after I blew the recommended amount in, every month of the year! I think the highest gas bill was $60 and electric bill was $135 for 1880 ft² home for the last couple years, even with record setting lows and highs (38 days of 100°+ last year). I can't recommended it enough as I think it is by far the best efficiency improvement for a home. For the small cost differential, perhaps $500 for most homes, I think builders should be required to meet the DOE guidelines, plus the home can use a smaller or more efficient HVAC system.


I actually called the builder / sales rep yesterday and he said that the insulation is a combo of both fiberglass with Cellulose.
Since you brought up the utilities rates, I know my builder showed us a LEED flyer that claims for our 2400 sq ft house at the recommended AC usage / degrees it stated that my cost per month will not be over $120.00 and if so, they will pay the difference. 

Here's more info about the promise 
*Spoiler* 



*Efficiency Promise Program: All Austin area homes with start dates of March 1, 2012 and after, will qualify for the Efficiency Promise Program. The Efficiency Promise provides the original homeowner a two year limited guarantee that the energy used to heat and cool the home will not exceed the Guaranteed Usage listed on the front of the Limited Guarantee subject to the terms of the limited guarantee. The energy usage is for the heating and cooling portion only of your energy bill and is calculated on the base plan for the floor plan design built. The base plan calculation and guarantee does not include any optional rooms or other modifications listed on the Builder’s Option Addendum which would alter the base plan size of the home purchased whether added by the Builder or Purchaser. Since this is a limited guarantee of energy usage and not cost, any reference to dollar amounts is strictly an estimate and actual costs will vary with the cost of energy. More details at www.efficiencypromise.com



This is one of the main reasons why I jump on the wagon with this builder. None of my older homes we lived in was never below the $190 a month in the summer. You don't have to remind me of the 100 degree days. Here in Austin it was over two months :wave: 

Here's some of the data it provides from our builder:

R-13 insulation in exterior air conditioned walls
R-30 insulation in air conditioned flat ceilings
R-22 insulation in non-flat ceiling areas
Radiant barrier roof decking in the attic drastically lowers attic temperature reducing heat being transferred into the home and extending air conditioner life.
Continuous soffit vents, ridge vent and/or air hawk ventilation system.
Balanced air pressure which comes from jump ducts, returns or transfer grills allows the HVAC system to function at peak efficiency.
16 SEER high efficiency air conditioning system(s).
Air tight polysealant around windows and doors.
Attractive, designer beige, double-pane, low-e windows provide energy efficiency and lower utility cost.
Every home is individually tested and certified as an Energy Star® home
LoE³-366® Cardinal glass windows offer the ultimate performance in windows delivering the ideal balance of solar control and high visibility ultimately providing the highest levels of year-round comfort and energy savings.

As we're excited on the build process, I just want to make sure after the fact once I get everything running it will not rattle the rest of the house rooms / office / bedrooms in the house :hsd::yikes:

I am doing pre-wiring for 7.2 

Thanks


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## Mopar_Mudder (Nov 8, 2010)

Are you talking walls, ceilings or both? For walls a drypack cellulose will be better then a layin fiberglass batt insulation. The dry pack really fills all the nooks and cranies in.

For ceiling the cellulose is less prone to r-value loss from air washing over it in the attic.

As for your r-values, well they wouldn't cut it here. I have R-30 in the walls and R-48 in the attic......:sn:


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## Ted White (May 4, 2009)

The video is misleading, as we have walls and ceilings bounded by mass, not cardboard. In reality, you're not going to get better absorption in your cavity than that provided by the cheapest fiberglass you can find. If someone selects a different insulation it would be for some reason other than performance improvement.

This is one of those instances where the cheapest product is also the best performance choice


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## orion (Sep 18, 2009)

I am wondering the same thing. So I should buy a roll of unfaced fiberglass insulation. Should I get R13 or R19


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## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

In the walls and ceiling, just get thick enough to fill the cavity. Don't cram it in tight.

Bryan


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## Ted White (May 4, 2009)

Faced is handy because you can staple. R19 in ceilings, R13 in walls


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## ALMFamily (Oct 19, 2011)

Ted White said:


> Faced is handy because you can staple. R19 in ceilings, R13 in walls


Just finished stuffing my walls and ceiling a couple months ago and I agree - faced made it a lot easier to keep the insulation in place.


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## Picture_Shooter (Dec 23, 2007)

Sorry for the late reply, but what kind of insulation does this look like??


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## Mopar_Mudder (Nov 8, 2010)

Looks to be rock wool.


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## Ted White (May 4, 2009)

Either mineral or fiberglass. Both would be fine as long as it's not overly compressed


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