Replies

1. GBA Editor
   Martin Holladay | Jun 10, 2015 06:12am | #1

   Steve,
   Good question. I think the answer depends on judgment.

   If your house is a one-story house with generous roof overhangs, and the walls stay mostly dry, I think there wouldn't be any problems. A taller house, with stingier roof overhangs, and an exposed location with wind-driven rain, would make me nervous.

2. 
   charlie_sullivan | Jun 10, 2015 09:52am | #2

   And which micro-climate in the bay area might matter as well ...

   You'd also have to be careful to only fill gently and loosely, so as to avoid cracking or blowing out the walls.

3. Expert Member
   Dana Dorsett | Jun 10, 2015 05:01pm | #3

   A 1-story bungalow with 2' over hangs in a wind-sheltered area, no problem.

   A 2 story stucco Spanish colonial with tile roof, no gutters and limited over hang, big problem.

   You'd probably be safer going with 1lb density damp-sprayed fiberglass (JM Spider) which dries about 100x faster than cellulose would if any moisture got in. The R-value would be comparable to 2.5lb -3lb cellulose. The damp sprayed fiberglass has a moisture activated adhesive that limits the amount of settling that would occur even at low density, similar to "stabilized formula" cellulose. Even if it has to be dry-blown to get it into cavities, it doesn't take too many foggy days or rain-wetting of the wall to get it at least partially glued in place.

4. 
   severaltypesofnerd | Dec 10, 2018 12:38am | #4

   I had a bad experience with a similar home, in the same climate. The small pre-existing leaks soaked the cellulose. It was really expensive to fix. Quite clearly the pre-existing leaks were causing slow damage before the cellulose, and catastrophic damage after.

   Don't take the risk: improve something else about the home.