Insulation question for older home

[paleogryph]

Hello all home improvers! 8)

I'm new here and relatively new to home improvement.
I'm purchasing a 108 yr old Victorian out here in the dry, dry west:
no humidity or termite problems.

However, the upstairs attic needs insulating badly. Very expensive to heat in the winter. Also, there is 2-3' or space between some of the upstairs walls and the 3-brick-thick outer wall. Was lathe & plaster, that was removed, reframed, sheetrocked, etc, but no insulation was installed...

Is it better to go with the "blown in" insulation or the regular fiberglass rolls?

Does it make a difference between the attic space and the space between the walls?

Can I rent a machine that lets me blow in the insulation?

Anybody ever do that?

Thanks!

[Rich]

You should have insulation either inbetween the rafters or above the ceiling space, also in between the walls. If it's already sheetrocked and finished I would probably use blown in insulation.
Renting and blowing your own insulation is pretty easy after about 3 minutes of doing it. The biggest thing is to have someone feeding the bags of insulation into the machine and then keep track of how deep you are going.

[paleogryph]

How deep does the blown-in insulation need to be? There is about 3' of space between the interior and exterior wall.

thanks!

[Rich]

That space in particular should have 12-14". Your walls can be opened up at the top of the wall and have insulation blown in all the way to the top of them.. then patch the hole.

[mjpliv]

If there is any soffit ventilation feeding through this space you may have to accomodate it somehow with insulation stops or vent extensions attached to the underside of the rood decking. Its worth checking this out before proceeding.

[mreynolds]

I agree with the blow in approach. I just helped a friend blow in cellulose into an attic of a hundred year old home. If you go to the big home improvement stores like Lowes they will let you use the blower for a security deposit if you buy their product. The only thing is make sure you have some good googles and dust mask, because it can get pretty nasty in those tight spaces. We looked into the batt insulation, but it seems like you really need to be meticulous about detailing them to prevent air infultration. :)

[paleogryph]

I appreciate everyones quick reply to this question.
Thanks for all the useful info.