How to Install Dry-Blown Cellulose Insulation in 5 Easy Steps

First, you’ll need to ensure fixtures are covered to avoid a fire hazard. Barriers come in the form of metal, wood, or IC-rated luminaries. Create barriers over fixtures such as:

• Recessed light fixtures

• Chimneys

• Furnace flues

• Heating vents

• The attic door

You’ll need to create a barrier of at least three inches, but check your local codes to see exactly how high your barriers should be.

Grab your gloves, masks, and safety goggles for this next step. Also, enlist the help of your project partner. Load up the blowing machine with the cellulose, breaking up any clumps in the insulation as you go to prevent clogs in the hose. Lay a tarp underneath the loading area to catch any of the loose insulation because if the insulation picks up on debris, it becomes unusable.

Your partner will need to continuously feed the insulation into the blowing machine, so keep an open line of communication during the process.

Turn on the blowing machine, and in unison with your partner, work the machine hose to spray the insulation into the wall cavities. The insulation should stick inside and create a compact seal without any extra work on your end. When spraying cellulose insulation, remember:

• Start in the corners of the room to ensure you don’t end up cornering yourself

• Spray the floors of the attic if insulating the attic area

• Do not fill the floors any higher than the joists

When the floors are finished, turn off the machine.

Once you spray your insulation, it will cover the joists and studs on the wall and floor. 

Next, you’ll need to remove the excess insulation and create a smooth surface for finishing applications. Grab your meter stick (or anything wide enough to expand across two studs) and run the meter stick down the wall, exposing the studs but keeping the cellulose insulation in the wall cavities. This will drop all excess insulation to the floor, which you’ll take care of in step five.

The same process applies to the floor joists if you’re working in the attic. To ensure you don’t fall through the ceiling, level out an area for the kneeboard. It’ll also be easier to level out the rest of the floor this way.

Suck up any remaining insulation with your vacuum. Head on over to your local waste management website or give them a ring to determine where to dispose of the material properly. Insulation can not be thrown into a normal garbage can.