Insulation: Green + Savings = Smart (heating, tax credit, heat pump, electric)

[Moth]

Originally Posted by Omaha Rocks

Out of curiosity, why are you pulling up and disposing of the old insulation? Is it moldy?

But yes, doing insulation correctly is a little difficult. But it certainly is rewarding - both financially and in other ways.

Just the other day, my brother-in-law (he & his family live in a rental house of mine) told me that the extra insulation I recently put in the attic has made a very obvious, and marked, improvement in the comfort of the house.

Life is good!

You know, I ask myself that every time I go up there.

Its very old and worn down. It is also completely encased in paper as opossed to having the paper on one side acting as the vapor barrier- imagine long paper bag like tubes full of insulation. It has shredded somewhat in a few places. Add to that, an additional layer was placed on it in some spots and that means there are two vapor barriers which is a no-no.

I probably could have left a lot of it as is, but I needed to do a bunch of tweaks and decided to replace it. And I am 2/3 done, so may as well finish.

[KarenBo]

Right now I have a window on either side of the house, couldn't I just install a ceiling fan? Or do I need to install soffit vents?

Originally Posted by Omaha Rocks

You make an excellent point, and one I think I forgot to mention.

It is EXTREMELY important to make sure there is proper air-flow in the attic. In most attics, air enters through the vented soffits, rises and exits through some sort of exhaust vent or vented ridge cap in the peak of the roof.

The following DIY site is about installing soffit vents, but it shows how/why the air flow is so important.

Installing a Soffit Vent Tutorial

[Omaha Rocks]

Originally Posted by KarenBo

Right now I have a window on either side of the house, couldn't I just install a ceiling fan? Or do I need to install soffit vents?

I'm not sure. It depends on what kind of attic you have.

Is yours a walk-up attic, with windows in the attic itself?

[lifelongMOgal]

If I may ask: what purpose is there to insulating the roof rafters unless you plan to make the entire attic a controlled air climate? If you plan to use it as a finished room instead of just storage it makes sense. But, if not, what is your thinking behind it?

I don't know what kind of roofing you have but if you are thinking of insulating the rafters as a means to keep heat out(summer) rather than keeping it in (winter) then there may be more effective ways such as a reflective layer under the roof or those reflective blankets that lay upon your attic insulation.

I had a number of "spray insulation" installers try to convince me to insulate my rafters because they had a product to sell...and an expensive one at that. However, I knew that this would only be effective if I had soffit vents installed. Considering the metal roof (vented at ridge) and soffits were brand new I did not want to re-do them just for their insulation to work correctly. In addition it would have added significant space to the HVAC square footage requirements which I was not willing to pay for a larger unit. Adding insulation to the floor of the attic and building walkways and storage platforms was significantly less expensive. While aethetically not as pleasing the appearance of the attic is good enough for me for storage purposes and the 5-7 times a year I might go up there.

Of course, your wants and needs for your attic may differ.

[Omaha Rocks]

Originally Posted by lifelongMOgal

If I may ask: what purpose is there to insulating the roof rafters unless you plan to make the entire attic a controlled air climate? If you plan to use it as a finished room instead of just storage it makes sense. But, if not, what is your thinking behind it?

There would be very little - if any - value in insulating the roof rafters in a conventional attic.

You're right. The only reason to do it is if you have a walk-up attic that you could convert into living space.

[KarenBo]

Originally Posted by lifelongMOgal

If I may ask: what purpose is there to insulating the roof rafters unless you plan to make the entire attic a controlled air climate? If you plan to use it as a finished room instead of just storage it makes sense. But, if not, what is your thinking behind it?

The thinking behind it was that I know nothing about installing insulation which is exactly why I asked a question in the first place. It seemed easier to put insulation in the rafters which are exposed than to pull up all the boards in order to insulate under the floor which has all of our storage items on it. I didn't realize that it wouldn't do anything for the house to do it that way.

Eventually we might do something (gable dormers or shed dormers) and create a master bedroom up there. It a fairly big attic. But that will be at least a few years down the road - and we'd have to add real stairs because right now its a hatch with a pull down ladder.

[Omaha Rocks]

Originally Posted by KarenBo

The thinking behind it was that I know nothing about installing insulation which is exactly why I asked a question in the first place. It seemed easier to put insulation in the rafters which are exposed than to pull up all the boards in order to insulate under the floor which has all of our storage items on it. I didn't realize that it wouldn't do anything for the house to do it that way.

Eventually we might do something (gable dormers or shed dormers) and create a master bedroom up there. It a fairly big attic. But that will be at least a few years down the road - and we'd have to add real stairs because right now its a hatch with a pull down ladder.

Gotcha.

In that case, do not bother insulating between the rafters of the roof. At least not now.

Since you are probably going to make a master bedroom at some point down the road, I'd suggest you install rolls or bats of insulation, rather than blowing it in. That way you can roll it up and re-use it later on.

[lifelongMOgal]

Originally Posted by Omaha Rocks

Gotcha.

In that case, do not bother insulating between the rafters of the roof. At least not now. ...............

+1

Hey, we all have to learn these things and we all started where you are now KarenBo. Just glad you didn't have to learn the hard way by your roof sweating, not being able to breathe, and the decking/rafters rotting!

[KarenBo]

Originally Posted by lifelongMOgal

+1

Hey, we all have to learn these things and we all started where you are now KarenBo. Just glad you didn't have to learn the hard way by your roof sweating, not being able to breathe, and the decking/rafters rotting!

Very true! Thanks for all the advice, Lifelong & Omaha.

[Moth]

KareBo:

There are different size crowbars for pulling up floorboards at any hardware store. Once you get the hang of it, its not that bad.

What I have taken to doing is pulling up 2 or 3 rather than all and then sliding the batts underneath. Then I renail the floorboard.