Operating Guide

Technical Bulletin
Installation Guide for Owens Corning
Light Density Fiberglas Building Insulation
The intent of this document is to
provide guidance on the installation
of Owens Corning thermal and
acoustic building insulation products in
residential and light commercial frame
construction. This document, the
reference documents cited herein and
any/all information found on product
packaging, literature, presentations
and videos collectively constitute
the “manufacturer’s installation
instructions” referenced in the ICC
family of building codes – speci cally
the Intl. Energy Conservation Code
(IECC), Intl. Residential Code (IRC)
and Intl. Building code (IBC).
I. General
Optimum performance of
Owens Corning’s building insulation
products is dependent on 1) selection
of the correct product for the
assembly or application into/on which
it is to be placed and 2) following
these installation instructions. General
rules which apply to both selection
and installation include:
• Cavity spaces in which the
insulation is being placed should
be completely  lled – top to
bottom, side to side and front
to back. [NOTE: Even in cases
where the code required
R-value is met with a product
of thickness less than the cavity
depth, the cavity space should
be completely  lled.]
• Insulation should not be
compressed when the full
thickness space is available, as
this results in a reduction of
R-value.
• There should be no voids or
gaps in the insulation itself,
around obstructions in the
cavity space or at the interface
of the insulation and framing
members.
• When the insulation is installed
in the building thermal envelope
it must be in alignment and
substantial contact with the
designated air barrier.
• Any openings in or penetrations
through cavity spaces that
would allow air leakage
between the cavity and
unconditioned areas should be
air sealed before insulating.
II. Blanket
Owens Corning glass  ber blanket
building insulation is manufactured in
precut sizes. They are either (1) batts,
used primarily for wall assemblies of
either 8 ft. or 9 ft. height or (2) rolls,
used primarily for roof/ceiling and
 oor assemblies, ranging in length
from around 25 feet to over 75 feet.
The width and thickness dimensions
for all blanket products are intended
to match standard framing member
sizes and “on-center” spacing, as well
as to meet code thermal performance
(R-value) requirements.
Blanket insulation products are
available either with a pre-applied
facing or with no facing (“unfaced”).
The facing provides a water vapor
retarder required by the building
codes for moisture control in
some climate zones. NOTE: Kraft
paper and foil facing are  ammable
and cannot be used in exposed
applications. They must be installed in
substantial contact with an approved
ignition barrier. ‘FS25’ facings, both
FSK and PSK are made speci cally for
exposed applications and do not have
to be covered.
For cavities (usually in wall assemblies)
that are not standard width or height,
or are not rectangular in shape, the
blanket insulation will have to be  eld
fabricated. This is easily done by hand
with a sharp utility knife and straight
edge. The  nished piece should
be cut slightly more than the non
standard dimension(s), to provide a
snug  t. Anything less may result in an
incomplete cavity  ll
and/or misalignment with the air
barrier. Anything more could cause
the insulation to buckle in one or
more directions and create voids
that reduce the assembly thermal
performance.
When the cavity contains
obstructions such as electrical boxes,
wiring or plumbing, the blanket
insulation will again require some
 eld fabrication. For electrical boxes
a piece will need to be cut out. The
piece should be slightly smaller than
the dimensions of the box so the
insulation  ts snugly around the box
but without bulging or buckling. The
piece can be inserted behind the box
to  ll in the gap between the box and
the  nish material on the backside of
the cavity, or the gap can be  lled in
with a foam sealant. The gap should
never be left un lled, nor should the
insulation batt simply be tucked in
behind or around the box without
cutting the piece out. Failure to do so
will result in voids around the box. For
wiring or plumbing that runs through
the cavity, vertically or horizontally,
the blanket insulation must be either
split or slit so that it  ts around the
obstruction and still  lls the cavity.
Placing the entire batt on one side
of the obstruction or the other (all
in front or all behind) will result in a
void along the entire length of the
obstruction and reduce the thermal
performance of the insulation.
Installation of blanket insulation
products is done by any of three
methods: 1) friction  t (aka, “pressure
 t”), 2) faced stapled or 3) inset