I just finished an hour and a half and removed the insulation from the 10 joist bays on one half of the addition. I found three bays with mouse feces and one that looked more like the bottom of my cat's litter box.
It is nearly impossible to get to the roof edge side because of the way that the rafters meet the 2x4's that are the top of the second floor wall. From what I can tell the rafter comes down alongside the floor joist and then is cut at an angle and sits on top of the 2x4. I should have paid more attention but I think that the extra 2 inches of the 2x6 rafter is on the inside of the 2x4 rather than hanging over the outside, but I will have to double check.
I now realize I did not pay enough attention, so some of this may contradict but there is a 2x4 that has the 2inch part down and the 4inch part vertical that goes around the outside part of the framing. It may be nailed to the ends of the floor joists.
The net result is that near the edge the bottom is either the 2x4 from the second floor wall or the sheetrock sitting on top of the 2x4 and the outside wall is the 2x4 that is on edge going around the outside like a lip on a tray.
There is an opening about half an inch where the two 2x4's come near each other.
BTW - the head lamp was a brilliant idea. It saved my butt multiple times just on this short initial excursion.
I bought a tube of clear caulk this morning and have a can of Great Stuff expanding foam regular type. Heeding the warnings about the foam straw clogging and the need to do all the foaming in one session I think I may remove the other half of the addition and then try to get near the roof edge and foam the half inch gap.
So far have not been able to get closer than two feet, so I am hoping that my arm might stretch or that the foam sprays out with a little force so I do not have to be in direct contact.
I am considering trying to make a support that will be 14 inches wide and have some four inch hangers that will latch over the floor joists. If I do that I can put it into the joist bay and put some weight on it so I can get a few more inches clearance.
Although I am very careful about the ceiling, it seems that if I am sitting on my plywood crawlers I can put my leg down onto the ceiling as long as I don't lose my balance and put serious weight on the leg.
I am treating this like a haz-mat operation. I suited up and duct taped my wrists and ankles to avoid particles getting in there. I had the respirator, goggles and knitted cap so the only real opening was at my neck. I wish I had a turtle neck shirt or a disposable scarf for that - I will hunt something down for next time.
I decontaminated in the upstairs bathroom, took a cold shower to get particles off and am washing my clothes. That will take about an hour then back to work.
The decontamination practice will come in handy if someone blows off a small nuke in NYC and we get fall out
With regard to the low gable ventilation, would you think that cutting in the vent and then attaching some sort of long duct would be a good idea? I could run the duct along the edge of the attic and cut openings in the top of the duct every few feet to let the air come out - or do you think it might be better just to run a solid duct to the middle of the attic so the air flow is more consistent?
The house was built in 1960 and the addition sometime after that. However aside from grounded outlets the construction techniques seem similar.
I currently leave the attic hatch open about a foot in the summer and open a couple windows on my second floor to try to increase the air flow. I only use a small window A/C in my office so leaking air from the house to attic in summer is not a problem.
Do you think I should make a premanent crawl zone in the addition after I lay the 6 inch batts?
I don't think that the attic has enough space to stand up even at the peak, so making a study will not work. At this point I am full steam on plan A - insulating the attic floor.
As usual thanks for the advice. I really appreciate it.
It is nearly impossible to get to the roof edge side because of the way that the rafters meet the 2x4's that are the top of the second floor wall. From what I can tell the rafter comes down alongside the floor joist and then is cut at an angle and sits on top of the 2x4. I should have paid more attention but I think that the extra 2 inches of the 2x6 rafter is on the inside of the 2x4 rather than hanging over the outside, but I will have to double check.
I now realize I did not pay enough attention, so some of this may contradict but there is a 2x4 that has the 2inch part down and the 4inch part vertical that goes around the outside part of the framing. It may be nailed to the ends of the floor joists.
The net result is that near the edge the bottom is either the 2x4 from the second floor wall or the sheetrock sitting on top of the 2x4 and the outside wall is the 2x4 that is on edge going around the outside like a lip on a tray.
There is an opening about half an inch where the two 2x4's come near each other.
BTW - the head lamp was a brilliant idea. It saved my butt multiple times just on this short initial excursion.
I bought a tube of clear caulk this morning and have a can of Great Stuff expanding foam regular type. Heeding the warnings about the foam straw clogging and the need to do all the foaming in one session I think I may remove the other half of the addition and then try to get near the roof edge and foam the half inch gap.
So far have not been able to get closer than two feet, so I am hoping that my arm might stretch or that the foam sprays out with a little force so I do not have to be in direct contact.
I am considering trying to make a support that will be 14 inches wide and have some four inch hangers that will latch over the floor joists. If I do that I can put it into the joist bay and put some weight on it so I can get a few more inches clearance.
Although I am very careful about the ceiling, it seems that if I am sitting on my plywood crawlers I can put my leg down onto the ceiling as long as I don't lose my balance and put serious weight on the leg.
I am treating this like a haz-mat operation. I suited up and duct taped my wrists and ankles to avoid particles getting in there. I had the respirator, goggles and knitted cap so the only real opening was at my neck. I wish I had a turtle neck shirt or a disposable scarf for that - I will hunt something down for next time.
I decontaminated in the upstairs bathroom, took a cold shower to get particles off and am washing my clothes. That will take about an hour then back to work.
The decontamination practice will come in handy if someone blows off a small nuke in NYC and we get fall out
With regard to the low gable ventilation, would you think that cutting in the vent and then attaching some sort of long duct would be a good idea? I could run the duct along the edge of the attic and cut openings in the top of the duct every few feet to let the air come out - or do you think it might be better just to run a solid duct to the middle of the attic so the air flow is more consistent?
The house was built in 1960 and the addition sometime after that. However aside from grounded outlets the construction techniques seem similar.
I currently leave the attic hatch open about a foot in the summer and open a couple windows on my second floor to try to increase the air flow. I only use a small window A/C in my office so leaking air from the house to attic in summer is not a problem.
Do you think I should make a premanent crawl zone in the addition after I lay the 6 inch batts?
I don't think that the attic has enough space to stand up even at the peak, so making a study will not work. At this point I am full steam on plan A - insulating the attic floor.
As usual thanks for the advice. I really appreciate it.