Pro tip: Don't cheap out on insulation like I did

I spent about $200 on the cheapest R-13 fiberglass batts from a big box store for my 1950s addition. Four months later my heating bill went up by $60 a month and the walls still felt cold. Turns out the cheap stuff sagged and left gaps in the stud bays. Had to rip it all out and pay a contractor $1,200 for blown-in cellulose. Has anyone else here regretted skimping on insulation for an old Albuquerque house?

2 comments

2 Comments

mason20923d ago

Hang on, let me play the other side here. For a 1950s house in Albuquerque that's already drafty, spending $200 on cheap batts as a temp fix isn't the worst idea if you just need to get through one winter while you save up for the real job. That $60 extra a month on heating is basically a less painful payment plan than dropping twelve hundred all at once.

janaf9123d ago

My buddy Mike did the exact same thing with his 1940s house in Albuquerque... he bought the cheap R-13 batts for his attic and crawl space. By January his gas bill was $150 a month and he could feel drafts coming through the walls. He called a guy out who told him the fiberglass had compressed so bad it was basically useless. Mike ended up having to rent a machine and do blown-in himself... cost him around $900 and a whole weekend. He said the difference was night and day for comfort but he still kicks himself for not just doing it right the first time.