Guide To Installing Insulation Around Electrical Wiring
When you are looking around your home, you may notice that there are areas without the helpful insulation that is so important. Voids in the insulation in your home can increase how much you pay in utilities because the insulation can’t complete its job very well.
Often you will find these voids around your home wherever wires are present. Wires running through the stud opening are often avoided with insulation because they seem hard to work with. The amount of room around the cavity will vary based on the distance between the forward edge of the wire and the back of the wall.
The good news is that you can go through and do insulation around your electrical wires. And the work is not that hard. Some of the steps you should take to make this happen include:
Materials Needed
This process is actually easier than it may seem. There are only a few different supplies you will need to get started.
First, make sure you have an insulation knife. You will need this a few times to make sure the insulation will fit where you would like. A simple one will work to get this work done.
You also need some chalk. Any chalk that will stick a bit to the wires and can make a line on the insulation are fine here. Pick a bright color that is easy to see.
A staple gun to staple the insulation to the wall when you are done with the rest of the steps can be helpful. And don’t forget to have the amount of insulation necessary to fill up that space.
How to Install Insulation Around Electrical Wiring
Step 1:
The first step that you should do is use some chalk. You can pick a color that is easy to see and then rub it right on the outside coating of any wire that runs through the stud cavity. Your goal here is to make sure that you coat the entire surface of your wire with an even layer of the chalk to make this easier.
Step 2:
Next, we need to hold onto the bottom of your insulation batt. This needs to be even with the bottom of the cavity that you need with the stud. When this is all lined up, you can push your batt right inside the cavity.
With this set up, you can pull all of the insulation you plan to use away from the wall. Remember that chalk line? You need to find it inside of that insulation you just pulled back. If you struggle to find that line, you will need to add some more chalk to the wire and push back the insulation to be In the cavity.
Step 3:
The last step gives you a good place to start to see how everything will line up. Now it is time to move on to setting everything up a little more. First, take the insulation batt and set it on the floor. The line of chalk that you created should be facing up to the ceiling at this point.
Bring out your insulation knife here and pull it along the chalk line, doing enough pressure with the knife to cut into the fiberglass. Do not go too tightly on it though because you do not want to do it so hard that you cut right through the paper that protects the insulation.
Step 4:
With the incision done with the insulation knife, you can push the batt back into the wall, making sure that the cut is aligned with your electrical wire. You can then unfold the paper tabs that are now along the length of the batt.
When this is pulled out, you can secure these tabs right over to the studs, which will be found along each side of the cavity using a swing stapler. This stapler should have one staple placed every eight inches until you can reach the top of the wall. This will keep everything in place.
Step 5:
To finish this up, you can bring out your insulation knife again. Use this to help cut off the top of the insulation. The goal here is to get it to be even with the top of the cavity. Try to get it as even as possible to keep everything flush and working well. That will finish the job and get the insulation around the wire the way that you need.
Step 6:
You can repeat this process with all of the electrical wires that you have in your home. It may take a bit of time if you have a lot of electrical wiring to handle. But it can ensure that you still get the insulation that you need, without ruining any of your electrical wiring either. Make sure you have enough insulation present to cover all of the empty areas around your home.
Things to Consider When Installing Insulation
Before you jump in on this process, it is important to think about all the different things you need to do with the insulation ahead of time. Some things to consider when installing your insulation include:
What Type of Insulation to Use
Think about the type of insulation you would like to use. There are different types to consider. You want a good balance between really thick stuff that is too hard to work and thin stuff that will not give you any protection.
If possible, try to use the same type of insulation that you already have in your home. If the insulation is relatively new in your home, or you installed it on your home, then you can see what type it is and choose that kind.
If not, try to estimate the insulation as much as you can. You may even consider slicing a bit of the existing insulation off and taking that with you for comparison when you shop.
How to be Safe Around Electrical Wiring
It is important for you to be safe around the wiring at all times. While this process is pretty simple to work with, you are still using a knife and a staple gun around electrical wiring.
Always do the different parts around this with caution. If you are worried about how well you can do this, consider working with a professional to make it easier.
How Much Insulation Do You Need?
Insulation is a great way to help keep your home warm in the winter and cool in the summer. If wiring has made you have several spaces in your insulation, this can result in less energy efficiency in the home.
If you have decided that you need insulation coverage somewhere in your home, then you should measure out the area that you want to insulate. This helps you make sure you get enough to cover the area, without spending too much money in the process on insulation you will not use.
Many homeowners worry about how they will be able to install the insulation that they need around their electrical wiring. With the steps above, you can see how simple this really is. You can choose to do this on your own or work with a professional to help make this easier.
