i think TCL is the only one for cellulose unless someone else is doing it now too. they are pretty good. if you can afford it i suggest you do both - cellulose insulation for the ceiling and coolbat or similar foil for the roof. in combination you'll have a great reduction of heat for the house. i did it and this allows me to AC the entire house for around 0,15 KWh per month and sqft.

Can cellulose be put in between concrete and plaster ceiling space?

Do you know roughly how much for 1000sqf?

ozak,

since its blown into the space to form a uniform layer i'd say most likely yes. but it will depend on the actual layout of the space in question. you could check with TCL and request a site visit.

philipcs,

i think i paid somewhere around 2,XX per sqft for the cellulose. the foil i bought from a hardware store and got installed when my contractor took down the roof and reenforced trusses etc. so i got the installation FOC. if the roof is in place you can most likely install it from inside the roof but you might have a hard time to cover the entire roof properly. the trick is basically to cover all the way because then you create a barrier for the hot air and when you have openings at both sides the natural draft (and whatever wind you may have) will help to continously carry out hot air before it gets into you actual roof. so the cellulose has less heat to shield of. also you should not cover the cellulose so air can circulate and transport heat (and moisture - beware of the dew point!) away.

Guys, my ceiling area is 20ft X 25ft. Wouldnt mind DIY if its cost efficient.

Any recommendations?

thanks!

Alternatif material is foam sheet. Get the thick 1 and DIY ontop the ceiling. Effective too but not as good as those commercial 1.

i think coolbatt and TCL installation is almost the same...


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TCL is better in my view... b'cos Coolbatt is difficult to install.... like the photo...



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I'm confuse also...but the photos below are from TCL website...and the installation is much more difficult inclusing removing rooftop.


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Who care it is difficult or easy to instal. All this done by the installer.

The important for us is which 1 is the best for the money and the heat resistance.

I'm agree with you
both brand have pro and cons

TCL end result is better.... Coolbatt only effective on a empty ceiling... the one without electrical wire or water pipe running here and there...

The earlier photo is my house actually... no effect at all... waste of money

I am considering taking it out...

i see...i saw monier also not bad...but my concern is they will install under the rooftop, how do I go out to rooftop in the future to fix something? any1 using monier radient barrier?

I thought Monier's Radiant Barrier is usually installed following the gradient of your roof, either above your roof truss or just underneath it. So you can still go inside your roof cavity through the manhole at the ceiling. If there's something wrong with the roof tiles, you would fix it outside of your roof. The barrier won't get in the way.

Is actually nightmare for pipe and electrical maintenance. Also for house owner using light bulbs with ballast. And if house pipe or roof got leaking, can growth mushroom :-) .

I ask similar vendor before of the points above. Can never give me satisfied answer.

weikee,

actually - you can easily move the cellulose to access any pipes you might need to. just put the flakes back afterwards. been there done that. it's a bit messy but not a huge issue. it does help if you know where to look for the cables and such. if your electriction (or plumber) did a proper layout to beginn with it's not much of a hassle.

ballasts are a problem - if their under the insulation they can get too hot and will blow.

if you have a leakage your ceiling also will have issues. the cellulose should however not get moldy cause it *should* be treated. the one from TCL is. some el-cheapo flakes from china might just not be properly done. afterall even though you essentially place old newspaper in the roof it's not that simple

Water leak without the insulator will be able to spot earlier. With the insulator the water will absorb into larger area, and may risk ceiling going collapse especially for plaster ceiling. Cleaning up the mess of absorb water maybe challenging.

I do see some benefit, it absorb the pump sound.

Yes cellulose can put on any surface and application

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Added on May 24, 2012, 2:42 pmthe light bulb and ballasts problem, from my opinion there will be a protection to let the heat out if not it will be like what u said the bulb will blow.
we have did several houses and with all the nice covering and our cellulose is from AUS and USA


This post has been edited by kelvin3143: May 24 2012, 02:42 PM

Us, au, even japan have code to follow and they enforcer it very tight. You should see their workmanship especially japan. I handled my previous company tokyo office relocation. I can you, their new complete empty office block before renovation is near perfect, the floor, roof, finishing is dam perfect. Even much better than our contractor here after renovation.

over here as long can work is ok.

if you dont create a seamless cover of cellulose you will create heat-spots and if your house is a/c-ed 24/7 there would be a risk of dew points between the cellulose and the ceiling (aka asking for mold growth) right? at least my calculations for the insulation and my real-life readings indicate that the dew point is a thing easily overlooked but lurking across anyone head who is insulating the house in malaysia.