Honestly, I get the appeal of blown-in cellulose for old houses, but I’m not convinced it’s always the best route. I’ve seen a few jobs where the patchwork was obvious, especially if the plaster was already a bit rough. Plus, if you’re already drilling holes everywhere, why not just bite the bullet and open up the walls? You can fix wiring, plumbing, and really air seal everything properly. It’s more work up front, but sometimes it’s worth it for peace of mind... especially if you’re planning to stay a while.
if you’re already drilling holes everywhere, why not just bite the bullet and open up the walls?
I get where you’re coming from, but sometimes opening up all the walls just isn’t practical—especially if you love your original trim or have decorative plaster. I’ve seen blown-in cellulose done really cleanly when the crew takes their time patching. It’s not perfect, but for folks who want to keep that old-house charm without a full reno, it can be a nice compromise.
Honestly, I hear you about wanting to keep the old-house charm, but I’ve seen way too many “clean” blown-in jobs that ended up with lumpy walls or mismatched patches.
Sometimes, though, you end up spending just as much time and money fixing the mess as you would opening up a couple of strategic walls and doing it right. If the trim’s worth saving, you can usually pull it carefully and reinstall—just takes patience. I get not wanting to gut everything, but sometimes a little more upfront work saves headaches down the line.“for folks who want to keep that old-house charm without a full reno, it can be a nice compromise.”
Sometimes, though, you end up spending just as much time and money fixing the mess as you would opening up a couple of strategic walls and doing it right.
Totally agree here. I’ve seen blown-in jobs where the patchwork was way more obvious than people expected. If you’re careful with the trim, like you said, it’s usually salvageable. Sometimes “quick and easy” just isn’t worth it.
Sometimes “quick and easy” just isn’t worth it.
That hits home. When we insulated our 1910 foursquare, we tried to go the “minimally invasive” route with blown-in cellulose. The contractor swore up and down it’d be tidy, but patching the lath and plaster after was a nightmare. Even with careful trim work, you could always spot where the holes had been. The texture never quite matched, no matter how much joint compound we used.
Honestly, in hindsight, I wish we’d just picked a couple of less-visible walls and opened them up properly. Would’ve saved a lot of time trying to feather in old paint and fix cracks that kept reappearing. I get wanting to avoid major demo, especially in an old house, but sometimes the “surgical” approach just leaves more scars. Still, I guess it depends on how much you care about the walls looking original versus just getting the insulation in. For us, it was a bit of a learning curve...