Putting Insulation In My Attic

Loose fill or batt the common term for blanket insulation.

Putting insulation in my attic.

Block all vents in the attic floor with baffles making sure to extend the baffles at least four inches above the planned thickness of your insulation. In general an attic s r value should be between r 30 and r 49. Your attic should have a certain amount of insulation in it and the recommended level of insulation for your attic is dependent on where you live. Find your zone on the map and then use the chart to determine the level of insulation you need to properly insulate your attic walls floors and crawlspaces.

Loose fill or batt insulation is typically installed in an attic. In particularly cold climates you might go up to r 60. If your insulation doesn t measure up and you need more installation can be done as a weekend diy project or you can call a professional installer to handle the job. Loose fill insulation is usually less expensive to install than batt insulation and provides better coverage when installed properly.

A lot of builders and homeowners are going with spray foam insulation because of the airtightness benefits but then the questioner mentioned that the spray foam contractor had intentionally left big holes to the outside by not sealing the gable vents. Nothing unusual about that. For diy attic insulation you ve got two choices. Does your attic insulation measure up.

The first step is to make sure you ve sealed your attic bypasses. Put it in an attic full of blown insulation and you re forcing it to work harder to vent its heat. It needs to be unfaced. To find out if you have enough attic insulation measure the thickness of the insulation.

Both can be added to uninsulated attics or layered over existing material. If you use fiberglass over loose fill make sure the fiberglass batt has no paper or foil backing. Earlier this year i got a question about a home that had spray foam insulation in the attic. First things first you need to go up into your attic inspect the condition of the insulation and calculate the current level of insulation.

Once you ve decided which type is best for you examine the material options and prices to home in on the right product. You can add loose fill on top of fiberglass batts or blankets and vice versa. The answer depends on where you live the heating and cooling costs in your area your existing insulation levels local codes and more. 3 have a friend add material to the hopper.

Let s say the insulation you ve selected has an r value of three per inch and. When adding additional insulation you do not have to use the same type of insulation that currently exists in your attic. See more on different types of insulation.