Fiberglass Insulation + Me + 90 Degree Heat = What was I thinking?!

Fiberglass insulation is no joke! I’m sorry this post does not include a selfie of what I looked like at the end of insulating my garage. (Actually it includes some pretty crappy pictures to be honest and I’m sorry about that too.) I didn’t even want to touch anything out of fear that I may somehow infect it with the fire ants that were covering my entire body. It was GORGEOUS outside and NO ONE was allowed to complain about the heat because we just had winter for like nine months. It was 90+ in my garage, it was a Friday, I was stoked to tackle it, to sweat, to work in the heat, to work outside, to insulate my garage, I couldn’t wait!

(So begins the story of finishing my garage… For the plan and to catch up on why it looked like this when I started CLICK HERE.)

My favorite time to tackle a project is on Friday after I get off work from my day job. Everyone thinks this is kinda crazy and I even wondered why the heck I don’t wait for Saturday too but I finally figured it out.

For one thing: I have a desk job so by Friday I’m ready to run around the block because I’ve been sitting so much!

For another thing: Weekends just don’t last long enough so if I get a lot done on Friday then I have the whole weekend to look forward to and take my time with! Every single time I’ve worked my butt off on a Friday I’ve woken up on Saturday and been literally delighted that it was NOT Sunday!

Oh I was so excited to get home and get that insulation put up!

You see the weekend before that I ran all of the wire and put in all the outlets. During the week, after work, I had hooked up all of my power and I was totally ready to cover those walls.

My studs are 20 inches on center in my garage but the 15 inch insulation was VERY VERY ON SALE – like saving me nearly $150 over getting the correct size so it was a total no brainer for me. (I did not splurge on my insulation, I don’t plan on heating this garage, the insulation is really just a buffer – it will help keep my car protected in the winter and help keep the heat out in the summers.)

Because the insulation I was using wasn’t wide enough I had to cut it in half to fill in beside each full piece. Not a huge deal just a bit more labor intensive then it normally would be…

Because of the heat I was in a pair of jeans and a tank top with my hair up, I also (of course) had a pair of gloves on too. With my radio tuned to one of my local country stations and a cold drink – I tackled it at about 5.

By 5:45 I was about halfway down one wall and had settled into a state of total misery. I knew I couldn’t quit or I feared I’d never come back to it.

I was absolutely on fire. Because I was covered in sweat I, in turn, was a porcupine of fiberglass.

It was EVERYTHING I could do to not rip all of the skin off of my face.

I treated myself like I had chicken pox: DON’T SCRATCH DON’T TOUCH DON’T SCRATCH.

When it started getting dark and I was forced to call it a night because of mosquitoes the size of my head (with about two out of twenty 32 foot long rolls left to put up) it was after 9pm.

I threw my gloves away in the trash and then I went directly into my house, locked my front door, went into my laundry room and took off all of my clothes and put every single thing I was wearing into my machine including my shoes! I went to my shower being very careful not to touch anything along the way.

I’ve worked with fiberglass insulation before (its not difficult) but what I have never done before was do it in that kind of heat with bare arms. I’m an idiot.

After SO MUCH SCRUBBING and A LOT of time in the hottest shower I could stand I poured myself a very strong drink and sat on my couch and proceeded to NOT itch myself. I probably stayed up another 2 hours after that but, eventually, I was just too miserable to do anything but go to bed.

By the next morning I was better… a bit raw feeling but no longer wanting to rip my skin off.

My mom stopped by for dinner and I absolutely FORCED myself (after she left) to just finish the job. It was only another 2 rolls, it didn’t kill me and I did the same thing again by removing everything I had on and going directly to the shower afterwards.

By the next day (Sunday) I was no longer miserable but I was so totally done. It was a staying-in-my-jammies day because I, for real, felt FRAGILE like I had something close to a really bad sun burn or maybe I was just getting over an infection or bad flu or something. I did the same the next night Monday after work.

Tuesday I returned to my garage ready to go and excited again! I had previously already grabbed four florescent lights out of the barn which my Grandpa had hung out there some thirty years ago.

By some kind of ridiculous miracle they ALL worked… And so did almost all of the bulbs!!!

No, they’re not hung evenly. No, they’re not perfect and yes they’re actually quite rough looking but, ya know what? I can go out to my garage for the very first time EVER and turn the lights on! OMG I can’t even express how happy and excited I was in that moment!

This is not perfect but, for now, I am so totally thrilled!

Just a few more things to do!