Some VERY DETAILED FYI info follow up: I removed the garbage cans, etc., setup yesterday on both my in ground fig trees. I live in Hardiness Zone 6 with a last frost date of May 1st, but I prefer to use May 15th. I do not have ready access to weather data as to how many days in April the temp will drop below freezing (especially during the daytime), or what the local record is for the low temp for April (a previous post addresses what my plan is if that occurs). I had filled the leaf mulch all the way up to the top (which was actually the bottom of the garbage can since I inverted it since the real top had a wider diameter and would be more stable in the wind); the leaf level dropped about a foot over the course of the winter (so next year I will mulch the fallen leaves earlier, and store them for a while so they will lose some of their "fluff"). There were some wet leaves, but NO frozen clumps of leaves (which occurs every year in my compost bin which has a much larger capacity and thus takes a longer time to thaw internally). Perhaps the lack of wet leaves, that were at one time frozen, is due in part that the figs are in my front yard which gets the most sun, and the contractor type garbage bags being black, absorbed the sunÂs rays, and dried out some of the wet leaves (the possibility of the sun's rays turning my setup into a miniature oven has NOT escaped my attention). One tree has a branch (there are only 3 short ones on each) with an obvious new bud; the other not so sure if what I see is a new bud. One tree has some light grey, very thin, like patches that I have no idea as to whether that is mold. One thing that I noticed is that the area of the ground around the trees was very damp. I suspect that over the course of the winter, and we have a great many freeze-thaw cycles, and rain as much as snow, the ground under the garbage cans froze, & when it thawed it became very damp. And obviously, the garbage cans do NOT create a seal around its perimeter, and IÂm sure that when it rained some water flowed around and under the garbage cans. I know that there are rodents about, but zero signs of any attempt to get to my fig tree. And there was zero sign of any attempt for a mouse to get to my bee hive; that is a chronic problem area for beekeepers in all areas (along with the entire genus of rodents). No real idea why I was so fortunate. Thanks to all of you who responded to my original post; hope this FYI helps someone else out there.

I thought I have read energy sites discuss using foam board to construct boxes which would not be very fire retardant. The city that I live in is just now working towards adopting the NEC. If you have codes I would contact the inspector and ask their opinion. I thought about the fire aspect in some other portion of the home and thought about the sealing up the air leakage points of the cans which would be beneficial. If there was a fire in the can the styrofoam would indeed melt and burn which would not be good. Many other techniques that are used like foam board would also. I know the cooler and foam technique is a whole lot easier than sealing around the drywall and sealing up all the holes in the fixtures would have been and I still have a good sized air space for the lights with no insulation contacting with IC fixtures. I think it would all depend on who was inspecting if they had a problem with it. If it came down to it and they said no to it at some point all it would take is a couple pops with your hand and the units would be open again. Thank you Pjb for mentioning the possible code violation and lack of fireblocking. I still think they are pretty hard to beat. Where are the FR coolers when you need em?

can lights are recessed lights if Insulation Contact IC they have holes in the housing. you will be able to see light thru the holes when in the attic. retrofit by boxing in with ice chest with 4" clearance on top and sides, cutting ice chest to fit tightly to attic floor and caulking in place. or buy air tight inserts to retrofit from inside the house. hvac boots are the supply box that attaches to attic floor and supply grill on inside of house. I use mastic tape remove the supply grill from inside the house and seal sheetrock to inside of supply box (hvac boot) at the same time mastic seal plenums (supply and return) to equipment, and mastic seal ducts where they take off from supply plenum. I use hardcast brand mastic tape and paint on mastic that is applied with a brush. electrical & plumbing penetrations are also sealed prior to insulation install. if you insulate without doing any of this you will still see a savings, but to do these things before insulating you will improve the indoor air quality of the house (esp if using cellulose) the average house has 30% duct/return leakage. in our hot humid climate these leakage areas introduct humidity laden air into the house. hvac has to work harder to remove humidity. while I understand the frustration of adding to the list when wanting to simply blow insulation and be done with it..these areas make a huge difference in how the house performs. insulation is essentially useless when air moves through it. to complete the air barrier, and minimize duct/return leakage is the right thing to do. also be aware that cellulose creates a fine 'dust' (actually borate treated newspaper) that enters through small cracks in attic floor into house. we can help advise your diy if you'd like. best of luck.

"My general contractor offered me to hang a drywall on top of plaster but I dont see a value of this." Oh for the love of God - I wish if people didn't know how to do something or it was outside their range of expertise they would just say so and not propose these ridiculous things that do more harm than good. So he adds more thickness with a layer of drywall - what does he do with the trim then? Rip it out and install skinny cheap modern trim from Home Depot (some do exactly that - ugghhhh) Sorry OP I just had to vent there!! Ive been looking at old houses to buy and theres no end of goofy, futzy things that people have done to them. Im glad you saw the folly of that esp in such an old house. Like fine antiques, as time goes on people more appreciate the old things - esp if well maintained in original condition. You may want to go over to thehistoricdistrict.org, which has many old house lovers on the forum including professionals who can advise in great detail about how to do plaster repair. Especially with your age of house - you might want to confirm what type of plaster you have . There was an earlier type of lime plaster with different composition with materials you might have to hunt for (but certainly are obtainable at reasonable cost) The later type of gypsum based plaster used in early-mid 1900s - materials not available at big box - I think Ace had a type of patching plaster that can work but the plaster of paris that they (and home depot) sells is not good - sets up way too fast and hard. Otherwise any small-mid size city should have a building supply store where they carry the more specialized types of materials - while traditionally plater walls had a three coat system, for repairing cracks Ive just used plain patching or veneer plaster - if a bigger hole you can get a rough coat plaster for first layer and veneer plaster for the top layer. Use a bonding agent on the edges of the old plaster and the lath to help the new plaster adhere well to the old. There's various other techniques for bigger areas and different types of situations - and other people will have their favorite methods and materials (some use drywall compound but IMHO if you have extensive repairs its best (and considerably cheaper) to get the real stuff. Re very fine surface hairline cracks - ignoring those works the best! In a nutshell - plaster repair is exactly the kind of labor intensive but very doable thing that a typical home owner can learn to do, and do well.