To continue the diy insulation theme. We carried out a loft conversion 10 years ago and insulated the underfloor between downstairs ceiling and new conversion floor to spec. I had a look a few months ago and it turns out that there was a gap of approx 6" above the insulation and the underside of the loft conversion floor. It was not possible to access this space in a conventional fashion as the valleys were approx 18 foot long and only accessible from one end in the small remaining loft. (Sorry I have no photos).
Going on the 'what if' premise I brought together the following
10 mtr long wi if endoscopic camera (£30)
3000w variable speed leaf blower (£20 from Gumtree)
2 of tumble dryer vent hoses (from stock)
A homemade end nozzle (from stock)
A rigid bamboo pole assembly (from stock)
Duct tape (oh yes) (from stock)
Dewalt drill (from stock)
Plaster mixing paddle (from stock)
A big mixing bucket (from stock)
150 kgs of cellulose insulation (£165 for 10 bags)
Couple of dust masks (from stock)
My wife absolutely ripped into me at the high likelihood of failure. Turns out i'm not quite as thick (in this case) as some think! Job went very well if insanely dusty in the beginning until i dialed in a process. Mixing up the insulation in a type of hopper really bulks it up before blowing it into place with the leafblower and dryer hoses. The camera works well and ensures that an airgap is left above the blown in cellulose to allow free travel of air. At the end of the job i ran in a few rolls of earthwool to top up on the existing insulation in the accessible part of loft and I am finally done with insulation....(for now).
The job was a hoot and extremely satisfying that it worked as hoped for, it will be interesting to see if there are tangible benefits over the next Winter. For reference, a 2000 watt leafblower would have had enough power to do the job easily. Oh yeah, I've now got a leafblower in my garden tool collection, bonus!
