Our operation, Rising Sun Energy Services, insulates a lot of walls using cellulose blown in through 2" holes. As simple as a tapered 2" plug might be, we've been having a very hard time sourcing a reliable size. There are no local lumber yards, suppliers, or vendors in the Berkeley area that carries them, so we purchase from two distributors who routinely sell us the same plugs...that usually come in variations in size. Sometimes the plugs are too big and won't fit into the holes, and other times they are two small and won't snug into a hole.
Simple, yes, but the lack of consistency is a very real problem for us. Does anyone recommend a product, manufacturer, or type of plug for sheetrock, plaster-and-lathe, or wood exteriors?
Dan Antonioli
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Permalink Reply by Dan Antonioli on April 19, 2012 at 10:53am Wow, 70,000 in two years?! That's a big operation.
Most of the homes we work on are older redwood-sided buildings with no plywood sheathing and siding removal and reconnecting takes a much higher level of skill than our job training program offers. We recently went from the outside on homes that have redwood bead-board siding, which comes in sheets and are usually over 100 years old. For patching, we apply construction adhesive on the plug and the coat it twice with exterior spackle.
We've done a few stucco buildings as well and I always insist on hiring a stucco contractor.
Permalink Reply by Jason Kaylor on April 19, 2012 at 11:49am Holy moly that is just under 96 a day, at 7 days a week.....I gave you leap day off :)
Jason Kaylor
VP of Specialty Products
AC Tool Supply
480-528-4045
Dan, I haven't used the foam plugs, just the wood on residential and the plastic on mobile homes. I suppose for interior work they might work well....
Dan, Now that ARRA is finishing up, NY WAP will be going back to our old production schedule of 10,00 to 12,000 units or so per year spread out over about 200 crews. We're laying off by the hundreds statewide right now...Should I send them out your way? Just kidding.It was great while it lasted....Good luck on the plugs. I've used J&R for years, have you recieved their catalog? It's a regular toy store for energy geeks like myself.
Permalink Reply by Dan Antonioli on April 19, 2012 at 3:28pm Got the catalog with the plug samples. Love it!
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