batt insulation

We've had most of the interior walls filled with batt insulation. We're using the insulation to help reduce sound transmission from room to room. We're expecting a 5 point increase in the STC rating (of sound transmission) due to the additional mass in the walls. The Johns Mansville fiberglas batts are made without formaldehyde, which is important for maintaining our health, and are made with glass that is at least 25% recycled.

The insulation has also produced some nice spatial effects...

Having the fiberglas insulation installed in the interior wall cavities helps us visualize the size of the rooms in the house, even better than when the rooms were delimited by cages of galvanized steel studs. We're getting a sense of the density of the bedrooms, and how they act as a foil to the lightness of the living areas.

The insulation also reflects light in a way comparable to what we think the finished walls will, and so the house is getting lighter inside as the walls reflect more light into spaces like the kitchen (left and below).

Now that we've passed the framing inspection (a requirement, even though the metal studs are not part of the house's structure), the next steps are installing the gypsum drywall (currently sitting in the garage) and the first batch of kitchen cabinets (temporarily housed in the living room).