Another Example on Using the Mooney Wall

Here is another example of doing a Mooney wall.

The material is from a post on the FineHomebuiling.com forum by John.

Thanks to John for making this available.

I've seen in a few other threads where folks are still being directed to Tim & Mike's "Mooney Wall", so I'm dredging this thread back up. I've now blown Mooney wall twice. The second time was just last Saturday.

Observations:

1. If you don't want it covered in dust, tarp the area off. Otherwise the dust will travel.

2. If you keep your floor fairly clean prior to blowing, you can just sweep up your mess and dump it right back into the hopper (which was also a Mike recommendation). We also found that after you put this loose stuff back in, putting a bale on top of it helps it feed.

3. Figure out how you can slow down the flow; Both times I used the Regal cellulose and their Predator blowers (from my local Lowes, free 1 day rental with purchase of 20 bags of insulation). They have a restrictor plate which cuts the volume of insulation output in half. On the first blow we started out without the restrictor plate and with only about 10' of hose. It was like trying to water a flowerpot with a firehose. Just not practical. But with the restrictor plate and the 50' of hose (or so), it was very do-able.

4. A good pair of coveralls, glasses, and I had a respirator (but a good mask would probably work) and you'll have less hassle cleaning yourself up. The better you seal your coveralls, the less stuff you find in every nook & cranny. But fortunately it washes easily off clothes. The first time I was just in jeans & t-shirt. Last weekend I was wearing coveralls.

5. Don't cut your holes too big. Cut your holes just large enough that you can insert the hose without fighting to get it in. I like Mike's idea of marking the holes with something, because once the dust starts flying, it can take a second to find the next cut. Maybe I'll mark my next ones.

I used a section of shop-vac wand taped to the end of the hose. I then taped a PVC 1.5 or 2" street elbow on the end of that. It let me insert the wand into the wall and then direct it in different directions. But I'm sure my setup could be refined.

I went through around 41 bags (around $6/bag). I need to measure to see how many feet of wall that covered, but my guess is that the insulation itself is cheaper than fiberglass, however once you've added the mesh and blocking, you're looking at more $ per sq ft. But it should also provide superior performance to fiberglass bats.

A lot of static in the air the day we blew. Some of the dust is sticking to the front of the blocking, making it hard to see in these pics. It just brushes off. There is NO cellulose in front of the blocking.

This pics shows the misc that winds up on the floor. And that is after scooping up the larger piles and feeding them back into the hopper. In this case, my sister was playing loader while I blew the walls. I turned the machine on and left it on as I filled in one section and then just popped the wand up to the next cut-hole (I didn't shut it off between holes). So you're going to wind up with stuff on the floors..no avoiding it. Just scoop it up and feed it back in.

I haven't cut the fabric around the window yet. I like the added privacy. Whenever I get around to it, it probably won't take 30 seconds with a utility knife.

On this 3rd BR, I had cut the holes a little too big. Made it more inclined to blow back out at me. I used my hand to block it as best I could.

John

From a followup post:

I measured my blown walls last night: 19,15,16,12,12,16, 13,5. So 108' minus the 4 window units; 3 at 76"x60" and 1 at 90x60. Lets see if my math is correct...19080 sq inches of window is 132.5 sqft? And then the roughly 108' of wall * 8' height = 864 minus the 135.5 = 732 sq ft. 41 bags did 732 sq ft, so around 17 sq ft per bag.

With tax added it was around $250 for the 41 bags, so $0.34/sqft? The Regal "Insulweb" mesh 8' roll was 125yards (375'). I paid $120 for it (delivered via UPS)about 1.5 years ago (might have gone up a bit by now). So $0.04/sqft for the mesh. Then add the price of blocking. I don't have that number. Some of my 2x blocking were leftovers and some I bought new. Ripped 2x4's & 2x6's.

Jan 28, 2008