Insulation of space over garage

[Jdmst]

Hi again, I?ve got a garage that comes in under the north west corner of the house. Above the garage are 2 bedrooms. The garage is unheated. You can exit the garage directly into the basement of the house. The basement is unfinished and the joists are open. Upon looking down the run of the joists over the garage you can see that they are un insulated. See the image Joists.jpg at?

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My question is what is the best way to insulate this area? There are about 10 runs like this, about 10 feet deep each of them. I was thinking rigid insulation? Is a vapor barier needed in this case? Any opinion is welcome.

Thanks john

[Joseph Meehan]

I assume you are only talking about those areas that are between the garage space and occupied space above. They should have been insulated when constructed, but well I guess it is a little late to correct that now.

Vapor barrier would be greatly desirable, but somewhat less necessary than with an outside wall as the garage is likely to be less cold during the winter.

I suggest a blown in insulation. Find a professional. They should be able to fill the space from end to end quickly and without charging too much. There are a couple of options on how so let them decide.

[PJx]

Home Depot has a blower that you can rent and blown in insulation ( and friendly instructions from the staff). It should be an easy do-it-yourself task and very inexpensive.

Pj

[SQLit]

fill them up with blown insulation. I got mine installed cheaper than going to the box stores and doing it myself They are going to have to force the hose down the cavity at least 50% to fill the voids

[Banister Stairwell]

You would think that it would be cheaper to do it yourself, but I think you'll find it cheaper to call in an insulation contractor who's only trade is installing insulation. They know what they're doing and by the time you buy the materials, set up the blower, etc. they can be in and out of there and have the job done...and cheaper most of the time.

At least take the time to look into it.

[Joseph Meehan]

I agree. They buy in bulk and have the right equipment to do this job that may require packing insulation some feet away from the operator. They also have the experience to do it and assure a full fill.

[chuck yerkes]

yes. I like doing things myself. But sometimes, it's not worth it. Insulation and itching from it fall into that.

I make more/hour than the guys that install insulation. More: If I go to work on tuesday while they do the work, I'm earning the money that will pay them. Taxes wacking 1/3 of it, I pay out a little. But I also don't have to give up a saturday to do it.

"friendly instructions from home depot staff" are often as useful as advice from here. Sometimes is just sucks.

I know that several tool makers have stopped training HD staff people on how to use/setup their tools because they had to cut costs to meet the HD pricing demands.

When you buy a wood shop vacuum system, the sales people USED to get a couple hours of instruction from someone expert in using it. Now they get a sheet of paper on how it works. Maybe.

[Jdmst]

Thanks to everyone who replied. I think that those who suggest that I call a contractor to do it are probably correct. It isn't a big job, but, it could be awkward for me to do and the've got the equipment and experience. Thanks everyone.

John

Jdmst wrote: