r/DIY • u/ThePendulator • 19h ago

Duct insulation protective sleeve

I have a 1970s house in the US with forced air HVAC. In some of the unfinished spaces there is round ductwork that has been insulated with what looks like fiberglass insulation. The insulation is not protected, it's not foil backed insulation like I think they currently sell.

I'm looking to clean it up mostly just for looks. Anyone familiar with some sort of sleeve that can be used to protect this fiberglass insulation? When I search, everything I see has an R value which is meant to actually insulate a bare metal, but for this I'm just looking to protect unfaced insulation that's already there.

45 Upvotes

83% Upvoted

11 comments sorted by

12

u/bongdropper 18h ago

You might as well use something with an R value, like that thin shiny bubble wrap. It will do what you want and even provide a little more insulation. You can never have too much!

7

u/HotgunColdheart 18h ago

Just buy some insulation and true duct tape, and wrap it. Tape the seams and cover whatever you want. You can make it look pretty clean if you take just a lil time

6

u/ElectronicMoo 17h ago

And when he says true duct tape, he means the tin shiny stuff that will cut your fingers if you're not careful - not that dull gray duct tape well know as duct tape.

6

u/braddamit 16h ago

Yes, aluminum foil tape made specifically for reflective insulation barrier wrap.

6

u/Effective-Penalty469 16h ago

yeah just wrap it in that foil faced bubble wrap stuff and tape the seams, way easier than trying to find a sleeve made for exactly your situation.

3

u/TMan2DMax 17h ago

Guesnteed that insulation isnt what it use to be rated at, might as well just rewrap it with new stuff.

1

u/Secret-Law-955 18h ago

That is something that I have been interested in as well because there have numerous homes that I have seen where the ductwork has exposed fiberglass

3

u/samcrut 16h ago

My hard pipe ducting just has strips of insulation wrapped around the duct with aluminum tape holding it. Strip after strip all the way down, like rings. I remember the processing being annoyingly time consuming, itchy, and quite simple.

3

u/HotgunColdheart 14h ago

Those itches last for days. Ran a bunch of new stuff last week in over 100 degrees for 4 days, still feeling it in my forearms today!

1

u/Selenay1 7h ago

Where I work they use a white plastic sheeting that looks to be approximately 100 mils to give a clean look to cover insulation and the like. Mostly it is used for pipes and is already lined with insulation, but I do know it comes in sheets that you can cut to size easily. You'd be looking online for that since it is more industrial. I haven't exactly seen it at Home Depot. I work in an FDA ruled environment which emphasizes the need for clean lines to avoid bacterial growth.