Seems like someone forgot to insulate a few cavities between kitchen wall and garage. Question is can I push insulation from ground up the entire 9.5' cavity or should I tear drywall off and repair after insulating properly?
You’ve already ripped out some drywall, might as well do it right.
Cut out the rest along the stud to the ceiling, and install the new insulation properly.
It'll probably be easier to install fresh drywall along the whole wall than to patch this anyway.
That's pretty much the mantra while remodeling older houses. "While we're at it, we might as well ...."
Because no remodeling plan survives first contact with reality.
The words "oh god" are always muttered when the demo hammer comes out.
I feel like tying this in with the "OhGod of Hangovers", but my mind is not functioning top-notch today.
People should always plan to go to the studs in an old house. You need to know what's in your walls.
I took a sledge hammer to the kitchen wall 5 years ago...."since we are removing this wall, we might as well remodel the entire house all at once...."
The key to insulation is to have as much air in the material as possible and prevent squishing it down. Pushing it up will not work, you'll compact the material and reduce the insulation factor to the point of pointlessness by feeding it through those holes. I'm afraid there's nothing for it but to tear down the drywall and reinstall it after putting in the insulation.
You could blow cellulose, but the equipment rental cost for two stud bays probably doesn't make sense. But you wouldn't have to tear down the wall board.
I'm not too familiar with blowing cellulose, it's not common in my area. But wouldn't that require there to be path for the air to blow, and you'd have to make a vent of sorts on top to get it to fully settle?
It blows back out the hole you're blowing in. Look up "dense-pack cellulose" i.e. this video
OK... Who's got a truck I can borrow to get drywall....LOL. Thanks for the quick answers
Home Depot will lend you their truck for like $20. It is often well worth it.
Their delivery services can be pretty comparable to renting a truck too.
Delivery is a $70 flat fee
I have transported drywall on the roof racks of my car. I use four 2x4s, two above and two below, to support it, and strap to the 2x4s and not the drywall. You could do the same thing with a sheet of plywood above and below.
Patching that will be more work than just replacing it. Tear it out, fix what needs to be fixed and put new rock up.
As already said, you may as well take off the drywall, treat the timbers against mould and damp, lay in your insulation and maybe add a vapour barrier before new drywall.
Wear a mask if dealing with black mould.
If you weren’t able to remove the drywall for some reason you could have sealed the bottom, made a hole at the top and poured in polystyrene granules.
If you already need to drywall, I'd just rip it all out and guarantee that you don't correctly
Given the apparent age of that framing,and all the black mold that's in the insulation we can see,tear out the whole wall of drywall,remove the old insulation,find and address the source of the moisture,put in new insulation and re-sheetrock the whole wall. The finishing work to make it look good will take time but it's going to actually be easier than trying to make a patch blend in.
That's probably not mold. I do agree they should replace that insulation, but most likely what you're seeing is dirt that has been filtered out of the air by the insulation. This is a super common thing when there's any draft where air can get in. It would be shocking to have mold on the insulation in that quantity without even any specks on the framing.
Since the insulation is visibly smashed, though, it's not doing its job effectively anymore, and should be replaced while the wall is open.
That is dirt. There was a hole there from the 'baseball bat incident'....LOL
Ok. But even without mold concerns removing the drywall from the whole wall and reinsulatimg all of it and replacing all of the drywall. It's going to be much much better from insulation standpoint and actually probably easier from a drywall standpoint than patching
Thanks to all. I think I'm going to tear all the drywall on the wall down and replace with new. The existing drywall is only 1/2 in. I believe our current building code requires fire rated drywall between garage and interior. I don't think that 1/2in fire rated drywall is an item so tear it all down and start over with the proper stuff.
If you live in a cold zone add vapour barrier to the house side and not the garage side prior to insulation.
I doubt you'll have a free run all the way for the full height without hitting a 2x4.
I would take off the drywall. If they skimped on insulation, there's probably other surprises in that wall, and it's best to do it all now. Then you can finish it off with fresh drywall that will be nice and even and flat.
The real function of insulation is just to keep air from moving around. Air is the real insulation.
Of course, if you've ever felt cold air running down a window pane, then you know that air can circulate in an open space.
Ergo, cardboard baffles would probably work just as well as fiber insulation.
That sounds really flammable.
This suggestion was paid for by Big Mouse.
But really though, non-flammable fiberglass inserts would probably work nearly as well, or just very large pore foam flavored with low-volatility chemical bitterants.
Currently, the more air an insulation product contains, the more we pay for it, which is silly.
You want to air seal as best as you can.
In OPs picture, the fiber glass is dirty because of drafts. Close off all cracks and holes with spray foam or caulk
You can try, but it’s likely to get caught on stray nails or wires. Rockwool batts would be easier than fiberglass. But since you have to drywall anyway, it’s probably best to just rip it all off, insulate, maybe add some outlets while you’re in there, and then drywall it back up with full sheets. The insulation that you do have there is looking rough. Always nice to be able to get a look at the bones of the house when you can.
This!
Especially the bit about throwing a few power points in while you're at it
I have a similar situation behind some kitchen units. Does anyone know if there is an alternative to redoing it ? I was thinking maybe foam or polystyrene style chips poured in from the top.
Blown-in insulation can be used. The installer cuts a hose size hole at the top of each cavity and blows in loose insulation.
20 amp circuits!