Hello all,
I recently insulated my home with dense pack cellulose, and am pleased with the results. There are many characteristics about the product that I like and most of them landed within the parameters of my building philosophy (which is somewhere between Hundegger and hand-boring mechanism).
It's a recycled, sustainable product, it's vermin and fire retardant (treated with a natural product to resist both enemies) and it's healthy to live in (and much heathier to use than fiberglass).
Part of my personal philosophy with framing and building is material use. I understand (and have constructed) frames enclosed by SIPS, but have issues with structural panels attached to structural posts. With the dense pack walls, I used econo lumber, use 24" spacings, and was able to omit the structural requirements at windows, doors, etc..
My wall cavity, from the inside, is as follows...
-5/8 wall board
-2x4 framing, infilled between timbers, flush to the outside of the frame
-2x3 horizontal strapping, attached to the outside of the timbers and infill framing (allowing for 5" of insulation)
-mesh, installed tautly over the 2x3
-felt paper
Seemed kinda backwards when I built it, because I completed the framing, added the drywall, and then insulated. But, so far, so good.
I think I'm leaning towards ICFs for my next place. You can omit the posts on the perimeter of the building and save some board footage and labor. Also, there is little material redundancy from a structural viewpoint. And it's not F/G batts.
I've had couple pilsners and I think I'm rambling.
Cheers
Brock
