--- title: Blown In Wall Insulation, Dense Pack | House Tite, Ohio url: https://housetite.com/wall-insulation/ description: Dense pack cellulose and blown fiberglass for existing walls in Central and Southeast Ohio, through small drilled holes, every hole plugged. Drywall stays. Call or text 740-590-5352. updated: 2026-11-06 --- *Home > Services > Blown in wall insulation for older homes* Wall insulation · existing homes # Blown in wall insulation for older homes Cold outside walls are usually empty walls. We dense pack them with cellulose or blown fiberglass through small drilled holes, and plug every hole. The drywall and plaster stay where they are. Get a price Call 740-590-5352 Or text a photo to [740-590-5352](sms:+17405905352). ![Open walls on a new build filled with insulation between the studs](https://housetite.com/photos/web/sprayfoam_walls_window_door.jpg) *Open walls on a new build. Existing walls get dense pack through small holes instead.* ## How dense pack works We drill a small hole into each stud bay, run a fill tube in, and blow insulation until the cavity is packed full. Packed tight, it fills around wires and boxes and stays put instead of slumping. Then every hole gets plugged. The Department of Energy calls drill and fill “one common and somewhat uninvasive method” for insulating existing walls [2], and says dense pack has “the advantages of preventing insulation from settling, completely filling the cavities, consistent insulating values, and the ability to slow airflow” [3]. ## Before we drill - We check what is in the walls now. Some have a little old insulation, some have none. - We look for anything that should not be buried. Old knob and tube wiring is one: ENERGY STAR lists it as “a fire hazard when in contact with insulation” and says to have a professional deal with it first [4], and the DOE notes the electrical code does not allow insulation to surround it [2]. If a wall has live knob and tube, we tell you before we drill. - Blocking inside a wall can stop the fill partway, so we check for it. ## Open walls are easier On a new build or a gutted room, the walls are open, so they get fiberglass or rock wool batts, or spray foam. See [new construction](https://housetite.com/new-construction-insulation/). ## Who has empty walls Across Franklin, Licking, Muskingum, Fairfield, Perry, Morgan, Hocking, Athens, Washington, Vinton, Meigs and Gallia counties, 238,217 of 891,006 homes were built before 1960, and 119,055 in 1939 or earlier [1]. In the older river and county seat towns the share runs much higher. [See your county.](https://housetite.com/areas/) ### Get a price Tell us which walls feel cold and roughly when the house was built. We come out, check the walls and give you one written price. Get a price Call 740-590-5352 ### Straight answers - [Do I need more insulation?](https://housetite.com/insulation-questions/do-i-need-more-insulation/) - [Cellulose or fiberglass?](https://housetite.com/insulation-questions/cellulose-vs-fiberglass/) - [Blown in or batts?](https://housetite.com/insulation-questions/blown-in-vs-batts/) - [How long does it take?](https://housetite.com/insulation-questions/how-long-does-insulation-take/) A wall job, start to finish ## An 1800s farmhouse, from the outside About 1,600 square feet of wall in Athens County, dense packed with cellulose through strips of the original siding. Nothing inside was touched. - [An 1800s farmhouse, dense packed from the outside](https://housetite.com/jobs/exterior-dense-pack-1800s-farmhouse-athens-county/): Siding strips off, every stud bay packed with cellulose, siding back on. Nothing inside the house was touched. Questions about this job ### Do you have to tear out the drywall? No. Existing walls are filled through small drilled holes, then every hole is plugged. Your drywall stays where it is. ### What goes in the walls? Dense packed cellulose or blown fiberglass, packed tight enough that it fills the cavity and stays put. Open walls on new builds and remodels get fiberglass or rock wool batts, or spray foam. ### Is my house a candidate? If it was built before modern insulation was standard, the walls may be empty or nearly so. Across our twelve counties, 26.7% of homes were built before 1960 [1]. We check before we quote, and we look for anything that should not be buried, like old knob and tube wiring that is still live. Get a price ## Tell us about the job A few details and a photo or two is all it takes. We call you back to set up a time to come out, measure, and give you one written price for the whole job. Call 740-590-5352 Text a photo 740-590-5352 Email sprayfoam@housetite.com Hours Monday to Friday, 8 to 5. Weekends by appointment. ## Sources 1. U.S. Census Bureau. [American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, tables B25035 (median year built), B25034 (year built), B25040 (house heating fuel), B25003 (tenure), B01003 (population)](https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034). 2. U.S. Department of Energy, Building America Solution Center. [Blown Insulation for Cavities of Existing Exterior Walls](https://basc.pnnl.gov/resource-guides/blown-insulation-cavities-existing-exterior-walls). 3. U.S. Department of Energy, Building America Solution Center. [Dense-Pack Insulation](https://basc.pnnl.gov/redcalc/tool/dense-pack-insulation). 4. ENERGY STAR. [Attic Air Sealing Project](https://www.energystar.gov/saveathome/seal_insulate/attic-air-sealing-project). --- **House Tite** · insulation contractor · Nelsonville, Ohio · call or text 740-590-5352 · sprayfoam@housetite.com · Monday to Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM Eastern. Weekends by appointment. Get a price: https://housetite.com/quote/ (or text a photo of the attic or crawl space to 740-590-5352).