Insulation day

IMG_6655After a long, long hiatus, I was finally able to get some work done on the house Monday. After buying the Roxul insulation last month, my Dad and I got a good portion of it put up.

The rafters of the house are two feet apart and the insulation is two feet as well. Piece by piece, I put the insulation between the rafters. This was a bit challenging as it was a tight fit, but that is exactly what we wanted. First, we installed a one-inch board up the center. This was to make sure that the insulation did not fit too tight against the boards, as there needs to be some room for air to circulate. (For this entry – pictures really are worth a thousand words).

We put two pieces of R23 insulation between each rafter. After putting the first one in, we cut the second piece in half so that the seams would be staggered. The two pieces of insulation gave us R46 in the ceiling.

The R-value is the measure of resistance to heat flow of a given material. The higher the R-value, the greater resistance to heat flow. The R-value of 46 that I have in the ceiling is pretty high, but then I am building in Maine. Hopefully it will help keep my heating costs down for years to come.

It was easy to put the insulation up in the loft area, but I am really dreading putting it up in the part with the cathedral ceiling. In retrospect, I keep questioning who thought that this design was a good idea? I’ve got nobody to blame for that but myself.

It was 49 degrees up in the loft and very comfortable. We have some insulation already in the walls so I was very pleased with the warmth, considering we have no heat source in the house whatsoever right now. The first floor was in the lower 40’s.

As we installed the insulation, we had the high school basketball tournament on the radio.  There was no direct connection to either team, but what is more Maine than listening to the high school tournament? It was good to be back at the house.

Laura Reed

About Laura Reed

After 15 years in college athletics, the last seven as an assistant athletics director, I was burned out with 70-hour work weeks and extensive travel. I resigned my position and accepted a position in marketing at a small, vibrant college in my hometown of Unity, Maine. In the process I wanted to go back to my childhood where we raised polled Herefords, had a Christmas Tree Farm and spent many hours outside. I decided I wanted to build my own home on beautiful farmland that my family owns. With help from my Dad, the most talented person I’ve ever met, we are building my home together. I have decided to blog my experience – the ups and downs, the joys and frustrations. What was once an open field will one day be my home! The dream in my head is becoming reality. I can just see the lambs frolicking in the field, chickens in the barnyard and going running with my Alaskan Malamute!