Pixie, I am SO happy for you!
As for the fiberglass insulation:
As you all know, I am a contractor by trade.
What Wolfen is talking about, Dale, is the paper backing that goes towards the living area. That paper is 2 inches wider than the insulation itself on each side, and that is what gets stapled to the studs/joists. In other words, you're not stapling the fiberglass itself, you're simply stapling its paper backing to the wood members it runs between. We don't use actual staple guns - we use what is called a tack hammer (or a staple hammer): you swing it like a hammer, and it embeds a staple. These are also used for roofing felt paper.
Dale -
What you are talking about is referred to as a batton. No, not a baton! You don't want to get caught on one of MY job sites twirling a girl's toy. :shock:
Batton is simply a word that describes a piece of backer material that runs the lateral, exposed side of a roughed-in wall, usually used to fur out a wall's hanging surface. It is not to be confused with actual backer material, which we call "meat," that is used inside the wall as a supporting member to secure itmes to, such as handrails, cabinents, and et cetera. Normally, batton boards are a 1x4 (which is actually a 3/4 by 3 3/4) that are secured to the joists/rafters to hold the insulation up, because gravity will eventually tear the paper the staples go through. Ergo, we use battons instead of staples when we have to hang insulation on the horizontal, such as what Miss Pixie has shown us.
Pixie:
Easy fix, young lady!
Measure the width of the attic. Then buy enough Pine 1x4 to span that width every 2 feet plus 1.
For instance, let's say that your attic is 30 feet long and 10 feet high.
Ten feet high divided by two feet is five. Add one to make six. You need 6 boards per their length divided by the span. If your 1x4's are 8 feet long, you'll need:
Lu = {[H / 2 + 1][W(L)]}
All this says is the the needed Lumber is equivalent to the Height divided in half plus 1, multiplied by the product of the Width times the Board Length (that is sold at your local store, which is usually 8, 10 or 12 feet).
If you wanted to buy the wood in 8-foot lengths, then just plug in the variables, solve the brackets, and viola!
Lu = {[10/2 +1][(30)(8)]}
Lu = [5 + 1](240)
Lu = 6(240)
Lu = 1,440
So, you need 1,440 linear feet of material.
To determine pieces, you'd divide by the length you've selected: 8 feet, in this case.
1440 / 8 = 180
You need 180 pieces of 1x4 lumber to fill this task.
HOWEVER, you have to account for the cutoff.
That is, 30/8 = 24. That's not 30. So that cutoff will make up a LOT. 30 - 24 = 6.
The leftover from each piece will serve as a fill:
You have 6 feet of leftover material per board that spans the 30' width.
180/6 = 30
You have 30 extra boards. 180 - 30 = 150.
You need 18 boards.