Installation Guide
Technical Bulletin
Installation Guide for Owens Corning
Light Density Fiberglas Building Insulation
stapled. For a detailed description
of all three methods please see
reference documents ASTM C 1320
and NAIMA publication BI402.
Faced products can be installed using
any of the three methods listed above.
[NOTE: the PROPINK FastBatt
®
products are faced but have no fold
out tabs (or anges) and are speci cally
designed for friction t installation].
For all three methods it’s important to
ensure that the insulation has fully lled
the cavity. Also, any tears or rips in the
facing should be repaired with Kraft or
similar construction grade tape
For friction t installation, the facing
must be ush with the open plane
of the cavity to ensure substantial
contact with the interior nish and
to minimize voids. In some situations,
friction t application of standard
faced products may necessitate
supplemental mechanical support.
• Wall cavities with a continuous
height of greater than 9
feet. Supplemental support
can be provided by stapling
both tabs at the top of the
cavity and at no more than
9 foot intervals, or by placing
horizontal blocking in the cavity
at maximum 9 foot intervals.
• Floor assemblies where
insulation contact must be
maintained with the underside
of the sub oor, there is no
nish material at the bottom of
the cavities and the insulation
thickness is less than the depth
of the cavities. Supplemental
support can be provided
using insulation support wires
(aka “tiger teeth”) installed at
intervals no greater than 2 feet
and so as to not compress the
insulation.
In cases where the insulation thickness
is the same as the cavity depth,
supplemental support can be provided
by installing wire or plastic mesh, or
twine running perpendicular to the oor
joists, attached to the bottom face of
the joists.
For face stapled and inset stapled
installation, it’s important to ensure
that the insulation has fully lled the
cavity before securing the facing to the
framing members. After positioning
the batt in the cavity fold out the
facing tabs.
• When face stapling, hold the
ange along one side of the
cavity, over the facing surface
of the stud and apply staples.
The ange on the other side is
fastened when the batt in the
adjacent cavity is installed and
the ange on that batt is lapped
over the ange of the rst batt.
Both anges are then secured at
the same time, making sure the
staples are fully embedded in
the stud.
• When inset stapling, the anges
are secured to the inside
surface of the studs. The end
of the ange should be ush
with the face of the stud and
the staples applied as close
to the face as possible. This
is to 1) minimize voids along
the edges of the cavity, 2)
minimize tearing of the facing
and 3) comply with the home
energy rating industry’s “Grade
I” insulation installation rating
criteria (see reference document
Home Energy Rating Standards,
Appendix A, pages A11 to A16).
Unfaced products are only installed
via friction t. In some situations
supplemental mechanical support is
recommended.
• Wall cavities with a continuous
height (no horizontal
blocking) of 9 feet or more.
Supplemental support can be
provided by placing horizontal
blocking in the cavity at
maximum 9 foot intervals.
• Floor assemblies where
insulation contact must be
maintained with the underside
of the sub oor, there is no
nish material at the bottom of
the cavities and the insulation
thickness is less than the
depth of the cavities. See
recommendations above for
friction t installation of faced
products.
III. Loose ll
Owens Corning glass ber loose ll
insulation is manufactured in two
forms – bonded and unbonded. The
former has a binder that, similar to
blanket insulation, acts like a glue to
hold the bers together in small tufts.
The latter has no binder and the
bers “nest” together, forming a pack
as it is installed.
Both types of loose ll insulation
are installed using a pneumatic
“blowing machine”. In addition to
the “General” installation guidelines
presented in part I of this document,
loose ll insulation must also meet the
requirements listed in the applicable
coverage chart provided by the
manufacturer. The coverage chart
indicates the thickness and amount
of material (density) that must be
installed to achieve the desired
R-value. The coverage information