Insulate For Income

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ON THE JOB

It's actually easy to insulate a ceiling! One person simply pours the material into the machine's hopper, while the other works in the attic ... moving the long, flexible hose back and forth. (Small or medium-sized machines will have hoppers with capacities of about 60 pounds.) Metal prongs in the blower agitate the concentrated insulation, grind It up, and then force it out. (When filling up the hopper, be careful not to let parts of the empty bags fall in, or the hose will quickly plug up.)

You should also be aware that—if too much air from the machine is mixed with the material—the fill will "drop" ... which means that the material's " settled" depth may be several inches less than that originally blown into the attic. Therefore, use low air settings and the fill will correspond to the recommendations of the insulation manufacturer.

CAUTION: You must be very careful not to put insulation over any "hot spots": places where high temperatures could develop and result in a fire. Heat sources to watch for-in attic areas-are chimneys, furnaces, fan-powered vents from bathrooms or kitchens, flues from heaters or hot water tanks ... plus recessed light fixtures, doorbell transformers, or any electric fixtures. (Most of the homes I insulate don't have recessed lights, so my main concerns are chimneys and poor electrical wiring.)

Although cellulose is nothing more than fire- and verminproofed paper (see "Make Your Own Insulation", page 120, MOTHER NO. 48), it's best to wear a respirator mask to keep paper dust out of your lungs and away from your mucous membranes. Also, since you won't want to do damage to the customer's ceiling, always move carefully along the joists of the attic or, better still, push a wooden plank in front of you to walk and sit on.

Keep a tape measure with you and—periodically—check the insulation's depth. Since your blower can be controlled with the hose-mounted remote control switch, you'll be able to start and stop the machine whenever you want to. (And be very careful with the blowing hose! It will break if you get rough with it!)

ALL ABOUT WALLS

New houses generally have batting insulation in their walls, and thus the owners of such dwellings won't need your services. But many older homes have no wall insulation at all ... and rectifying this situation can be very profitable.

First, however—if you're not an expert carpenter— you'll need to hire a woodworking "pro" who can handle the hammer-and-saw work (I recruited my retired-carpenter father). Such an assistant can be invaluable in helping you choose just which jobs will be worth your trouble and which are better left alone.

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