Attic Insulation

[Dragonrider99]

Greetings all. Here is my situation. I live in Massachusetts. I need to replace existing attic insulation that was water damaged. The original stuff was real crappy 1-2 inch thick fiberglass batts. I have received some insurance sttlement money ( approx $800 ) for removing the old and replacing with new. Unfortunately, I don't think there is enough to cover the cost of doing the whole attic, just the damaged areas. I will however do the whole attic area. I want to do it myself and have couple of questions. How much should I expect to pay for 8" thicks batts of insulation? I would prefer that to blown in due to recessed light fixtures. Also, I am not sure what type I need to buy. It will be going down directly over the ceiling strapping ( I have textured plaster ceilings). Should it be faced or unfaced? Which side faces the ceiling? I know nothing about insulation. I do know I need to keep it away from the continuous soffit vent so the attic breathes properly. I was also told that I should install some kind of plastic channels up the inside roof line??? Please help. Thanks

[danh]

Aloha
Can't give you any info on price, however:
1. Only IC-rated recessed lights should be used around insulation. Otherwise you may have to drywall-box them in order to prevent fire hazards.
2. Based on the insulation thickness, this sounds like an old house. Which means it MAY be underventilated. If it is underventilated, you should use a vapor barrier on the floor of the attic. In the building code, vapor barriers cut ventilation requirements in half.
3. If you are going to be using a vapor barrier facing, it should go against the ceiling (warm-in-winter side of the insulation).
4. Generally plastic channels (also known as baffles or proper vents) are used when doing vaulted ceilings (ceiling pitch follows roof line). They can be useful in flat ceilings for keeping the insulation out of the soffit vents, but you should not need to go all the way to the ridge (as is necessary with vaulted ceilings).


if that wasn't a totally sweet response, maybe someone else can help you.