Insulation Woes

There are things that I'm very willing to do in this house remodel and things I'm not. Most things I can be convinced to help with. Some things I'm actually excited to do. And a few things I have refused. Entering the attic is one of these things. It's not that I have a fear of small dark quarters or any major phobias that would keep me from the attic. But after venturing just my head through the small hole in our closet, it just didn't feel like a place I wanted to go.

The short story about our attic is that it housed not only old insulation (blown-in, old school cellulose - tested/no asbestos), but also had dozens and dozens of old knob and tube wiring that kept the majority of our overhead lighting running.

The first thing that needed to be done was add additional insulation around the perimeter of the attic - where there was none currently. So hubby ordered like a hundred of these funny little things called baffles that help air circulation between the roof and the insulation (I think). He also ordered a bunch of huge rolls of insulation to go between the edge of the attic and the blown-in stuff.

Armed with his attic suit, handy dandy hubby braved our attic to insulate the perimeter.
Below is a picture of hubby's handmade knee pads. Yes they are duct taped to his jeans. Awesome, right? I didn't know he had made these and when I came around the corner I laughed so hard I almost fell over.

All suited up and only one place to go. After a couple of hours braving the crowded and dark corners of the attic, hubby conceded, came down and declared that all of the blown-in insulation had to go. It was basically smothering all of the old knob and tube and was a potential fire hazard. So instead of being nearly done with our attic/insulation project it was back to square one.

Baffles.