An adequately insulated attic reduces your home s energy costs by keeping warm air in during the winter and hot air out during the summer.
How hard to work in attic after adding extra insulation.
Inspecting and evaluating your insulation.
Gaps in the attic or between the lower floors and the attic will let heated or cooled air escape to the great unconditioned outdoors making any insulation you add essentially useless.
The higher the r value the better the thermal performance of the insulation.
Blown in insulation overview.
When adding additional insulation you do not have to use the same type of insulation that currently exists in your.
Currently i would estimate that there is r 22 insulation in the ceiling of the room and i could fairly easily access the attic and.
Warm spaces have less condensation risk than colder space so when you add insulation to the attic floor you re intentionally blocking some of that heat from keeping the attic warm.
How much does attic insulation cost.
Floors walls and ceiling are insulated with batt insulation.
According to the u s.
To determine whether you should add insulation.
Department of energy fibgerglass batts have an r value of 3 2 per inch while loose fill fiberglass.
Multiply the number of inches of insulation by the r value per inch.
You can do it yourself for about 500.
Find a diagram of common air leaks here.
Blowing attic insulation isn t hard but it s dusty sweaty work.
The only area where i could possibly add insulation would be in the attic above the room.
The recommended level for most attics is to insulate to r 38 or about 10 to 14 inches depending on insulation type.
Check the attic walls and floors adjacent to an unheated space like a garage or basement.
The pros charge 1 500 to 2 000 to do a 1 200 sq ft.
Whether you live in a warm weather state as i do or in a cooler northern climate it s hard to stay comfortable and keep your energy bills in check if you don t have adequate insulation in the attic.
If a diy project costs to simply add a layer of r 13 or r19 23 fiber glass blanket over my existing insulation assuming it is also f g blanket style.
This makes the attic colder and a colder attic with moisture leaking from the house can result in condensation mold and wood rot.
If you need to add insulation in your attic save big by blowing in cellulose insulation yourself.
How to add extra insulation to an attic.
Adding more insulation is almost always a good long term investment but before i would trust a sales pitch from a door to door vendor i would investigate alternate routes.
To install fiberglass batts over existing insulation lay the batts perpendicular to the joists so they do not compress the insulation below.