roughrow Posted September 1, 2015 Report Share Posted September 1, 2015 New constructon, insulators left two stud spaces of about 18" each un insulated near the top of the wall. Didn't get it in before sheet rock and builders assured several times he would have the blown in insulation blown into these two adjacent areas on a south outside Texas wall. My concern is a hot/cold zone, even though this is near the top of the slope on a 10' wall. Other than an IR camera and trying to find the joists(insulation must be 18" thick) to wak to thie area, how can I verify these spaces are insulated. Digital thermometer? Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Katen Posted September 2, 2015 Report Share Posted September 2, 2015 Even a cheap digital thermometer can find missing insulation if you have a good idea of where to look and you wait for a time when there's a decent difference of temperature between indoors and outdoors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted September 2, 2015 Report Share Posted September 2, 2015 You could try a digital IR thermometer i.e. 'point and shoot'. Wait for a hot day when the AC is on. No guarantee it will work, especially if the interior wall paint is light in color, which has a lower emissivity value than darker colors. Even if it does work, your contractor may cast doubt on your method. He'd have a hard time arguing with an IR camera. Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Katen Posted September 2, 2015 Report Share Posted September 2, 2015 . . . Even if it does work, your contractor may cast doubt on your method. He'd have a hard time arguing with an IR camera. Start with the point & shoot thermometer and confirm with the head of a hammer in the drywall. This has the advantage of providing a neat hole through which to shoot the new insulation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlparham Posted September 2, 2015 Report Share Posted September 2, 2015 The hammer option is the best choice. Quick and easy and difficult to argue with the findings. Most of you have probably heard this story before. A new home builder is doing a walk through with the buyer. The buyer is obsessed with drywall issues. After awhile the builder gets frustrated, goes to his truck and gets a hammer. The next drywall issue the buyer points out the builder pulls his hammer out and knocks a hole in the wall. Next drywall issue same thing. Hole in the wall. The buyer screams "What are you doing?". The builder responds with "I just wanted to make sure that my drywall contractor could see your problem". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurt Posted September 2, 2015 Report Share Posted September 2, 2015 Yeah. Hammer. IR is overrated for a lot of stuff. Depending on difference in temps, it can not necessarily "see" as well as we might wish. Durabond 20 and a scrap of drywall....it's all better again in a few minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BADAIR Posted September 2, 2015 Report Share Posted September 2, 2015 New constructon, insulators left two stud spaces of about 18" each un insulated near the top of the wall. Didn't get it in before sheet rock and builders assured several times he would have the blown in insulation blown into these two adjacent areas on a south outside Texas wall. My concern is a hot/cold zone, even though this is near the top of the slope on a 10' wall. Other than an IR camera and trying to find the joists(insulation must be 18" thick) to wak to thie area, how can I verify these spaces are insulated. Digital thermometer? Thank you. what type insulation was used for the rest of the "stud bays" why blown if different? why wasn't blown installed? my best advise is ? everything & hire a competent 3rd party inspector to review everything before closing hth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kogel Posted September 3, 2015 Report Share Posted September 3, 2015 You can use a hammer or you can use IR. These are some insulation pics I found in my files. Click to Enlarge 40.12 KB Click to Enlarge 47.56 KB Click to Enlarge 40.53 KB Click to Enlarge 37.22 KB Click to Enlarge 47.13 KB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Katen Posted September 3, 2015 Report Share Posted September 3, 2015 You can use a hammer or you can use IR. . . . But the hammer is several thousand dollars cheaper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlparham Posted September 3, 2015 Report Share Posted September 3, 2015 Originally posted by John Kogel You can use a hammer or you can use IR. These are some insulation pics I found in my files. Very nice photos. Which one of the pics shows the difference between air infiltration or leakage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottpat Posted September 4, 2015 Report Share Posted September 4, 2015 You can use a hammer or you can use IR. . . . But the hammer is several thousand dollars cheaper. But you get more of an Oooohhh factor with the IR! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Katen Posted September 4, 2015 Report Share Posted September 4, 2015 You can use a hammer or you can use IR. . . . But the hammer is several thousand dollars cheaper. But you get more of an Oooohhh factor with the IR! Depends on what you do with the hammer. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kogel Posted September 4, 2015 Report Share Posted September 4, 2015 Originally posted by John Kogel You can use a hammer or you can use IR. These are some insulation pics I found in my files. Very nice photos. Which one of the pics shows the difference between air infiltration or leakage. I can't say, not sure if i understand the question. There's an old house wall there where they blew in some insulation but hit diagonal bracing in the corners. Sunny side so the unsinsulated wall cavity is warmer. There's a couple of ceilings with insulation batts missing. Stuff like that. The one wall with cool spots? We couldn't get in there to see. Just an idle curiosity until somebody tears in there with the hammer. [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurt Posted September 4, 2015 Report Share Posted September 4, 2015 Depends on what you do with the hammer. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted September 4, 2015 Report Share Posted September 4, 2015 Depends on what you do with the hammer. . . I vote fake. Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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