BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

1. Field of the Disclosure

The present disclosure relates generally to building products. The present disclosure relates more particularly to an insulation-retaining sheet, e.g., for blown-in insulation, that includes an integral vapor-retarding membrane.

2. Technical Background

Conventional insulation for walls and ceilings of buildings is provided in the form of thick batts of fiberglass-based insulation material. These batts of insulation are typically installed between the framing members of the wall or ceiling, with a vapor-retarding membrane being installed to cover them in a separate operation. A wallboard encloses the insulation and the vapor-retarding membrane in the interior of the wall or ceiling.

However, in recent years, blow-in insulation has found increasing use in the insulation of such cavities. Blown-in insulation is provided as a loose fluff of material, with air pressure being used to convey it into a cavity that is to be insulated. The framing members of a building are typically themselves unable to form a cavity in which insulation can be blown; at the stage of insulation, while the outer sheeting and framing members can close off five of six faces of a rectangular cavity, the face of the cavity oriented toward the building interior remains open. To form an insulation cavity, a sheet of mesh is installed across the open face of the cavity, with an opening left for a tube to convey the insulation. As air pressure is used to blow the insulation into the cavity, the material of the mesh typically has to be open enough to allow air to escape the cavity. If the material enclosing the cavity does not allow air to escape the cavity at a sufficiently high rate, the resulting backpressure can cause that material to burst. In a typical installation, after the cavity is filled with insulation, a vapor-retarding membrane is installed over the mesh to provide the wall with a desired performance with respect to water vapor.

These conventional methods for insulating these walls can be difficult and time consuming. There remains a need for improved methods and materials for use with blown-in insulation materials.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

In one aspect, the present disclosure provides an insulation-retaining sheet having a top edge and an opposed bottom edge, and a first side edge and an opposed second side edge, the insulation-retaining sheet including:a sheet of mesh having an air permeability of at least 200 cfm per square foot, a top edge and an opposed bottom edge, and a first side edge and an opposed second side edge; andone or more strips of vapor-retarding membrane, each of the one or more strips of vapor retarding membrane each having a top edge and an opposed bottom edge, and a first side edge and an opposed second side edge, the one or more strips of vapor-retarding membrane being laminated to the sheet of mesh, the first side edge each of the strips of vapor-retarding membrane extending to the first side edge of the sheet of mesh, the second side edge each of the strips of vapor-retarding membrane extending to the second side edge of the sheet of mesh,wherein the insulation-retaining sheet has a plurality of open zones extending laterally from the first side edge of the sheet of mesh to the second side edge of the sheet of mesh in which no vapor-retarding membrane is laminated to the mesh.

In another aspect, the present disclosure provides a method of insulating one or more building cavities, the method including:providing one or more insulation cavities, each having an open face defined at least in part by a plurality of building members;substantially enclosing the one or more insulation cavities with an insulation-retaining sheet as described herein by affixing the insulation-retaining sheet to the plurality of building members; andblowing insulation into the one or more cavities.
Such a method can further include, after blowing the insulation into the one or more cavities, covering one or more of (e.g., each of) the open zones.

In another aspect, the present disclosure provides an insulated building cavity, the insulated building cavity includinga cavity closed off on one face by an insulation-retaining sheet as described herein; andloose-fill insulation disposed in the cavity.

Additional aspects of the disclosure will be evident from the disclosure herein.

