Our friend Jon insulates his workspace in the mountains of western North Carolina
Jon, what’s the background on this project?
We live in the mountains of western North Carolina which is basically a ‘rain forest’. It rains a lot and the humidity is fairly high. We needed an insulated building for working on and maintaining vehicles and antique machinery hobby projects. I like to research new products very thoroughly, so when I started looking for a premium eco-friendly insulation product, it needed to be excellent for high humidity/damp environments, be eco-friendly, absorb sound, and of course be a DIY install.
How proficient are you at home projects, ie are you handy around the house!?
I would say I’m generally handy. I like to save money doing things myself if I can. But I’m also not afraid to call a professional when that makes more sense. I really enjoy learning new skills and learning how things work, so that generally helps me maintain my home on my own. I watch a ton of YouTube videos regularly and gain a great deal of knowledge and know-how.
Have you ever installed insulation before?
Yes, I previously installed some recycled denim batts in a very small utility shed. I didn’t know about Havelock wool at the time.
How did you find out about wool insulation?
The internet. i.e. Google searching for green/eco-friendly building materials, etc.
What was one unexpected part of the Havelock experience?
I watched all the official Havelock wool videos on how to DIY install the blown-in insulation, so I felt like I was pretty prepared to get it done on my own, as the videos were super helpful. I guess the one unexpected thing was the electric blower arrived with a problem with the motor. It got damaged during transportation. I quickly emailed customer service and they sent out another blower the same day! The Havelock customer service team handled the issue super fast and professionally.
Any tips for other folks considering a DIY insulation project?
Make sure to unplug the blower from the electric outlet and periodically clean out the blower. In my experience, it will collect some wool that needs to be manually removed with your hands. It’s very easy.
Wear a face mask, the wool is a little dusty.
Have fun with the install process. I thought pulling the compressed wool into smaller fluffy pieces was therapeutic.
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