Installing ceiling speakers with blown insulation

[CalypsoCowboy]

How does one go about installing ceiling speakers with blown-in insulation?

I'm thinking you need to some how may a space in the insulation for the speakers. I'm curious what others have done?

 

[IVB]

I cleared out the blown-in, cut the hole, mounted the speaker. I then got a very small amount of roll-in insulation to put over the speaker (HD sells 5' lengths).

Works pretty well, the insulation clearly makes a difference in the bass inside the room.

 

[WayneW]

How does one go about installing ceiling speakers with blown-in insulation?

Very carefully.

I had no trouble doing it, but it is a little messy. I cut a smaller hole to get my hand through to try and push back as much insulation as possible, then I cut the big hole. Some insulation will fall through, just use a sheet or drop cloth. Then I cut some unfaced R30 batt insulation (2 strips, 24" long x 15" wide, crosswise between the 24" trusses) to make a 24" wide by 30" long section that I could push up through the hole (or add afterwards from the attic) and create a pocket for the speaker. You don't want to get blown insulation bits into the speaker. There also seemed to be much debate about the pros & cons of building "cabinets" for the speakers and it seemed like surrounding them with batt insulation seemed like what the manufacturer typically expected.

 

[IVB]

How does one go about installing ceiling speakers with blown-in insulation?

Very carefully.

I had no trouble doing it, but it is a little messy. I cut a smaller hole to get my hand through to try and push back as much insulation as possible, then I cut the big hole. Some insulation will fall through, just use a sheet or drop cloth. Then I cut some unfaced R30 batt insulation (2 strips, 24" long x 15" wide, crosswise between the 24" trusses) to make a 24" wide by 30" long section that I could push up through the hole (or add afterwards from the attic) and create a pocket for the speaker. You don't want to get blown insulation bits into the speaker. There also seemed to be much debate about the pros & cons of building "cabinets" for the speakers and it seemed like surrounding them with batt insulation seemed like what the manufacturer typically expected.

Dang, you put in an in-ceiling speaker without access to the ceiling from the other side?

 

[shenandoah75]

I'm about to install as well for whole house audio....

Most of mine are going in ceilings with a second story above, so attic access isn't an option so i have to do like wayne did. There is currently already batt (1 layer) laied up in those joists.... Like Wayne, i have been reading about turning the space into a true close box, but again, the second story makes that near impossible without ripping out ceiling/floor.

Question from me: the batt is thin and definately doesnt seal the cavity ~12" high... should i put 1 or two more layers up there? Wayne, are you as happy as IVB with bass response for music usage? I think you can but backing recesses (similar to what they offer for car audio too.


-brad

 

[WayneW]

Dang, you put in an in-ceiling speaker without access to the ceiling from the other side?

Sort of. I have attic access to almost everything, but around the edges where the roof comes down and the trusses are congested it gets real awkward. I worked in the attic to do the wiring, but didn't see much meed for attic access for hole cutting. Cleaning up the floor was easier then going up to pre-clean the ceiling, since I had some drywall dust anyway.

Brad, you should be able to stack the batts to fill up the cavity. I would use unfaced. I have some speakers that are easy to get to from the attic that I decided to add the batt insulation from above, so the insulation is still on my to-do list. Therefore I have a couple speakers with no insulation around them and I haven't noticed that much difference in bass response.

 

[Steve]

I just saw these and they looked like a good inexpensive solution (even in addition to fiberglass batt). Here is a better look at them. Anyone see an issue with them?

 

[wired-up]

I used something similar to what Steve shows above, but cheaper and more readily available. Plastic shower caps. 6 for 89 cents at a local bargain store. plastic, round with elastic at base. They fit well over my 6 and 8 inch speakers and did ok with some stretching of the elastic over the 10 inch. I can tell some difference in my speakers with more bass in the ones that had the batts of insulation. Enough difference that I went back and added insulation to the others.
David

 

[WayneW]

I wonder how cheap shower caps will hold up to Florida attic temperatures? Of course, I have no assurances that the "expensive" custom thingys will be perfect either.

 

[wired-up]

I wonder how cheap shower caps will hold up to Florida attic temperatures? Of course, I have no assurances that the "expensive" custom thingys will be perfect either.

Since they are on the living side of the insulation, I hope the temp is not too severe for the speaker's sake. I can easily get to several in my walk-in attic, so I'll let you know in a few months how they are surviving.
david