Insulation configuration suitable for crawl space installation

Abstract

A packaged insulation product comprises an insulation assembly having first and second insulation blanket portions and a folded sheet facing sandwiched between the insulation blanket portions. Each insulation blanket portion has a major face bonded to the sheet of facing. The folded sheet of facing forms a hinge that connects the first and second insulation blanket portions. A wrapper may be used to at least partially enclose the insulation assembly, to form a packaged insulation product.

1 . A method, comprising the steps of: 
 providing a first insulation blanket portion adjacent to a second insulation blanket portion, a longitudinal direction of the first insulation blanket portion being substantially parallel with a longitudinal direction of the second insulation blanket portion, and longitudinal edges of the first and second blanket portions facing and abutting each other;    bonding a sheet of facing to a major face of the first insulation blanket portion and a major face of the second insulation blanket portion to form an assembly, so that a portion of the sheet of facing forms a longitudinal hinge that connects the first and second insulation blanket portions; and    folding the assembly about the hinge, with the folded sheet of facing sandwiched between the first and second insulation blanket portions.    
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 cutting the folded assembly along a transverse direction to form folded assembly segments; and    packaging the folded assembly segments.    
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein: 
 each of the first and second insulation blanket portions has a blanket portion width,    the assembly has an assembly width prior to folding that is substantially twice the blanket portion width, and    the packaged folded assembly segments have a width approximately equal to the blanket portion width.    
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the bonding, folding and cutting steps are performed on a production conveyor.  
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein: 
 each of the first and second insulation blanket portions has a blanket portion width, and    the first and second insulation blanket portions form a substantially continuous insulation blanket assembly prior to folding having an assembly width that is substantially twice the blanket portion width.    
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the assembly width is about 122 cm (48 inches).  
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising bonding an individual second facing to a second major surface of each of the first and second insulation blanket portions.  
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the facing on the first major surface extends beyond opposite longitudinal edges of the first and second insulation blanket portions to form longitudinal fastening tabs.  
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the folding step includes flipping the second insulation blanket portion over on top of the first insulation blanket portion while the assembly is on a production conveyor.  
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the flipping step is performed using a ramp to twist the second insulation blanket portion with respect to the first insulation blanket portion.  
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the sheet of facing is formed of a material from the group consisting of a non-woven mat, a woven fabric, a plastic film, a plastic netting, a perforated or non-perforated polypropylene/scrim/kraft (PSK) or foil/scrim/kraft (FSK) laminate, a plastic film laminated to a nonwoven or woven fabric.  
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the plastic film is a microporous film.  
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the method further comprises applying heat to activate a thermoplastic adhesive to bond the netting to the fiber glass blanket.  
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the sheet of facing permanently connects the first and second insulation blanket portions.  
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 11  where the plastic film is a variable type vapor retarder, and a water vapor permeability of the vapor retarder changes with ambient humidity conditions.  
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the folding step includes: 
 moving the assembly with a first conveyor that has a tapered portion, the tapered portion allowing a first insulation blanket portion to drop relative to the second insulation blanket portion into a partially folded position; and    further folding the first insulation blanket portion up beneath the second insulation blanket portion using a second conveyor below a height of the first conveyor.    
   
   
       17 . A method of installing insulation, comprising the steps of: 
 providing an insulation assembly having first and second insulation blanket portions and a folded sheet of facing sandwiched therebetween, each insulation blanket portion having a major face thereof bonded to the sheet of facing, a portion of the folded sheet of facing forming a hinge that connects the first and second insulation blanket portions;    unfolding the insulation assembly about the hinge, so that the first and second insulation blanket portions lie adjacent to each other, with longitudinal edges of the first and second blanket portions facing and abutting each other; and    installing the unfolded insulation assembly between a pair of joists with the hinge and the longitudinal edges parallel to a longitudinal direction of the joists.    
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the joists support a floor, and the installing step includes installing the assembly with the facing beneath the insulation blanket portions.  
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein: 
 the sheet of facing extends beyond the first and second insulation blanket portions to form longitudinal tabs along the length of the insulation assembly; and    the installing step includes fastening the longitudinal tabs to the pair of adjacent joists.    
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein: 
 each of the first and second insulation blanket portions has a blanket portion width;    prior to the unfolding step, the assembly has a width that is substantially equal to the blanket portion width; and    the unfolded assembly has an assembly width that is substantially twice the blanket portion width.    
   
   
       21 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the longitudinal edges of the first and second insulation blanket portions contact each other after the unfolding step.  
   
   
       22 . A packaged insulation product, comprising: 
 at least one folded insulation assembly having first and second insulation blanket portions and a folded sheet of facing sandwiched therebetween, each insulation blanket portion having a major face thereof bonded to the sheet of facing, the folded sheet of facing forming a hinge that connects the first and second insulation blanket portions, the hinge having a longitudinal direction that is substantially the same as longitudinal directions of the first and second insulation blanket portions, the hinge being sufficiently narrow so that the first and second insulation blanket portions contact each other if the insulation assembly is unfolded about the hinge, to form a substantially continuous double-width blanket; and    a wrapper at least partially enclosing the at least one folded insulation assembly to form a packaged insulation product.    
   
   
       23 . The product of  claim 22 , wherein: 
 each of the first and second insulation blanket portions has a blanket portion width, and    the assembly has a width substantially equal to the blanket portion width.    
   
   
       24 . The product of  claim 23 , wherein the blanket portion width and the assembly width are each about 61 cm (24 inches).  
   
   
       25 . The product of  claim 21 , wherein the insulation assembly further comprises individual second facing sheets bonded to a second major surface of each of the first and second insulation blanket portions, respectively.  
   
   
       26 . The product of  claim 21 , wherein the facing extends beyond opposite longitudinal edges of the first and second insulation blanket portions to form longitudinal fastening tabs.  
   
   
       27 . The product of  claim 21 , the sheet of facing is formed of a material from the group consisting of a non-woven mat, a woven fabric and a plastic film, a woven/nonwoven laminate, a plastic net, or polypropylene/scrim/kraft (PSK) or foil/scrim/kraft (FSK) laminate.