Saturday, September 26, 2009

A funny thing happened on the way back from pizza.

We spent yesterday morning at M's place, putting up the burlap panels and rebar. Went to town for pizza, and on the way back we stopped at a big sign advertising a yard sale. They had a metric crapload of used clothes for sale, none of which could conceivably fit any human I ever met. I mean, who really wears jeans with a 27" waist and 36" legs? Whoever it was, they owned dozens of pairs of jeans.

I lost interest quickly, but then M sidled up and said, "You know, they make insulation out of shredded denim." I said, "Yeah? So? We don't have any way to shred these jeans." He said, "No, but if we rolled them up tight I bet they'd fit between your cabin studs pretty neatly."

Hm! I've been hung up on insulation, having made some foolish assumptions about how available it would be as salvage, and (failing that) how much it costs. It costs a lot.

Soooooo...
We bought the whole lot for $20. Filled up the pickup bed twice. M, W and I pulled out what little we wanted and could wear, and the rest of this mountain of old clothes is about to become building materials!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wait, wait!! I wear 26x36!! You can never find that stuff!!

CaptGooch said...

Don't roll it up too tight.
Cut it into smaller pieces [12" X 12"] with a machete and a log then stuff the spaces between the studs as you put up the interior vapor barrier material. [recycled visquine (sp?)or heavy construction plastic stapled to the studs]
You do want to "completely fill the space BUT you also want a little air space as the air spaces [no matter how tiny] are the best insulation. [they should also breathe so that any water that leaks into the insulation can evaporate without spoiling, rotting or molding your "insulation". Trust me, you really don't want mold growing in your walls.]

I used old cardboard and recycled plastic in a house in Northernmost Idaho. Couldn't do the interior of the roof for lack of tools (ladder) to reach it but the walls and interior ceiling did hold out most of the cold.
Me the ex-wife and two child-rens as well as two dogs did survive for two years in that house so I'll always think it helped.
{shrug}

What's that old old saying ? "Insulation you cut and stuff yourself warms you twice." ?
Something like that ...
Kind of like "Digging a ditch in the desert sucks .... the water downhill to your Lair in winter without freezing."
I'm sure I've heard that someplace before ....

Good Score on the "nearly-free insulation".