How to insulate a attic

After a couple of unusually cold winters for our southwestern Louisiana location, we decided we needed more insulation. Heat rises, so your first improvement is to insulate the attic. Unless your existing attic insulation is wet or significantly compacted (then you should remove it), just lay new fiberglass over the existing layer - you will increase the.

How do you add insulation to an attic? What is the best insulation for ceiling? How much insulation do I Need? Cut a hole in the insulation wherever there is electrical wiring. Pull the wiring up through the hole and rest it on top.

Lay a two-by-four on top, temporarily compressing the insulation to a manageable thickness. Finally, run a standard utility knife along the edge of the lumber, through the insulation , and down to. Always cover the tops of the ceiling joists to make sure the insulation is deep enough to reach your target R-value and.

The paper facing on insulation contains a waterproof layer which acts as a vapor barrier to keep moisture from condensing when warm and cold air meet. In your case, since both the attic above and room below are heate you can use unfaced insulation without a vapor barrier, faced insulation , or no insulation at all. Between studs and rafters of exterior walls and the roof. The higher the R-Value, the better the thermal performance of the insulation. Adding insulation to the attic is generally a moderately difficult do-it-yourself (DIY) project, but the benefits can be substantial.

If you are doing a major home renovation project, now may be a great time to tackle this project too. Cover the attic hatch with a pillow of fiberglass insulation. You want a nice, big puffy pillow of insulation to stop any air leaks,” says Olson.

Cut two layers of R-fiberglass batt insulation slightly larger than the hatch and staple duct tape to the hatch edges to secure it in place. Single vs double bubble and Prodex Guaranty best price. To insulate an attic hatch, you need weather stripping, rigid foam board and fiberglass batt insulation. Insulation levels are specified by R-Value.

First, install foam weather stripping on the inside of the trim or directly onto the hatch. If your attic has knee walls, install insulation only in the rafters above the knee wall. In ceilings with cold spaces above them. Behind the knee wall, install batts between the ceiling joists, taking care not to block soffit vents and. HugoBuilds 41views.

Ensure you use a foam sealant to seal and insulate around any attic windows. Energy Saver 481views. If you’re finishing your attic, insulating it to the proper R-value can cause a dramatic loss of.

Install air chutes before installing insulation. To effectively ventilate your roof, create a 1-in. Free 2-day Shipping On Millions of Items.

Batts are ideal for spaces free from obstructions like wiring, ducts, etc. Loose-fill insulation is usually less expensive to install and provides better coverage, able to fill small cracks and gaps. In unfinished attics, you should insulate the access. The attic hatch, or scuttle hole, is a removable panel in the dry-walled ceiling, located in. For insulation, create a lightweight box that fits over the stairs and can be moved to allow entry.

The baffles are attached to the roof sheathing (plywood) between the trusses starting at the attic floor. The insulation lays up against the baffles to allow air to circulate from the soffit through the attic to the upper ridge or roof vents. The answer to making an old house inhabitable is insulation. Even if you bought the house with insulation already installed into it, it’s best to double check.

The insulation materials used in older houses are not as effective in keeping heat in as the new ones. If the space requires additional insulation, an easy fix is to place insulation batts or rolls in the attic’s floor joists, on top of any existing insulation. If the air distribution is in the attic space, then consider insulating the rafters to move the distribution into the conditioned space.

A) Attic access door.