First things first I needed to get some insulation in there so that I could run the air while I was working. I went down to the local Home Depot and checked out the different types of insulation available. Basically there were three types; the standard pink or yellow rolls with spun fiberglass, a blue, extruded open cell foam, and another foam type that was closed cell and had a metal heat shield layered on one side. I had helped my father install the rolled type before and wanted to steer clear from doing it again even though it was the easiest and least expensive option.

After thinking about it for a couple of days I decided to use the heat shield foam cut to fit between each set of studs as a base. I would then use cans of “Great Stuff” expanding foam to seal the cracks. Once the first layer was completed I would put in another layer of the blue foam leaving an air gap of about an inch. (Dead air is a good insulator) The two layers of foam exceeded the R rating of the fiberglass stuff before taking into consideration the crack sealing or the air space.

The next Saturday I pulled away from Home depot with a pick up full of the heat shielded foam sheets, three razor knives, and five cans of Great Stuff. I figured that should last me a through the weekend and I could start on the blue foam the next weekend. Little did I know…

Once the truck was unloaded I started measuring between the first set of studs. Once the measurements were transferred over to the top sheet of insulation I used the razor knife to cut it to fit. I then pushed it up against the outer wall with the heat shield facing outward. I measured and cut five or six times before I figured out that I could put the sheet against one stud and use the next stud as the cutting template. I went through the entire first load in about five hours and had only gotten the living room done. .I used the great stuff on a few of the panels and called it a day.

The next day was spent making four more trips to Home Depot for foam boards and great stuff and sealing up the cracks and crevices from yesterday’s installation.

All in all it took about six weekends to get all of the insulation done the way I had first envisioned. Since I had purchased several excess sheets of foam I decided that I would use them to further insulate the ceiling. These I just set side by side on top of the rafters.
I was very happy with the results from the insulation. I would get to the house around 10ish in the morning and the inside of the house would still be cool from the night before.
Not at all bad for Florida!

Now during this process my neighbor from across the street, Dave Brophy, kept stopping by and chatting. He was a good guy. A bit on the stubborn side but he had plenty of good advice when it came to construction.

Dave had this huge hernia bulging out of his stomach that made it all but impossible for him to do anything strenuous. Since he didn’t have a job, and Florida considered him ineligible for relief because he owned a house, he could not afford to have it taken care of.