Use of an air-permeable/adhesive-permeable cloth to hold insulation material

Abstract

A method of supporting loose fill insulation in a wall cavity with a flexible cloth. The cloth is secured to the wall cavity frame by initially fastening the upper and lower edges of the cloth to the upper and lower plates, and then permanently gluing the cloth to the vertical studs with a flowable adhesive. A small punch hole is made in the cloth to accommodate an installation tube, which is preferably angled at its end to facilitate reaching into small spaces and cracks. Loose fill insulation is blown into the cavity behind the cloth after inserting the installation tube through the punch hole in the cloth. The quality of the adhesion of the cloth to the studs can be assessed by observing the color of the studs through the cloth.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A method of installing loose fill insulation in a wall cavity having a rear wall, a bottom surface, and two side studs, wherein each of said side studs has a face coplanar with the open side of the wall cavity; said method comprising: 
 (a) covering the open side of the cavity with an air-permeable, adhesive-permeable cloth;    (b) initially securing said air-permeable, adhesive-permeable cloth in its covering position;    (c) permanently securing said air-permeable, adhesive-permeable cloth in its covering position by using an absorbent roller to spread a flowable adhesive over the portion of the cloth that covers the faces of the side studs, thereby providing sufficient flowable adhesive to pass through the cloth and adhere to the faces of the side walls, thereby securing the cloth to the stud faces; and    (d) blowing loose fill insulation into the cavity.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein said air-permeable, adhesive-permeable cloth is polypropylene cloth.  
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  wherein said absorbent roller is a paint roller.  
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  wherein said flowable adhesive is a latex adhesive.  
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4  wherein said latex adhesive is a latex fabric adhesive.  
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 2  wherein said polypropylene cloth is Insulweb™ polypropylene cloth.  
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1  wherein said air-permeable, adhesive-permeable cloth is initially secured with staples.  
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1  wherein said air-permeable, adhesive-permeable cloth is initially secured with tape.  
     
     
         9 . A method of installing loose fill insulation in a wall cavity having a rear wall, a bottom surface, and two side studs, wherein each of said side studs has a face coplanar with the open side of the wall cavity; said method comprising: 
 (a) covering the open side of the cavity with an air-permeable, adhesive-permeable cloth;    (b) spreading a flowable adhesive over the portion of the cloth that covers the faces of the side studs, wherein said flowable adhesive is not transparent when wet, but is substantially transparent when dry and in intimate contact with the stud surface;    (c) observing the color of the stud/cloth interface to see where the cloth appears to be transparently fixed to the stud, and where the cloth does not appear to be transparently fixed to the stud;    (d) further securing the cloth to the stud in places where the cloth does not appear to be transparently fixed to the stud; and    (e) blowing loose fill insulation into the cavity.    
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9  wherein said air-permeable, adhesive-permeable cloth is polypropylene cloth.  
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9  wherein said flowable adhesive is spread using a paint roller.  
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 9  wherein said flowable adhesive is a latex adhesive.  
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12  wherein said latex adhesive is a latex fabric adhesive.  
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 10  wherein said polypropylene cloth is Insulweb™ polypropylene cloth.  
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 9  and further including initially securing said air-permeable, adhesive-permeable cloth in its covering position.  
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15  wherein said air-permeable, adhesive-permeable cloth is initially secured with staples.  
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15  wherein said air-permeable, adhesive-permeable cloth is initially secured with tape.