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I had a insulation company give me a quote on adding insulation to R38 in my second floor attic. The current insulation is the 10 year old pink fiber glass which does seems flimsy compared to the the material the insulation company provides.
I live in Texas where the only two weathers here are hot and hotter.
Would you guys think it's worth the $1000 for the attic and $700 for the attic wall?
Last edited by TheStupid; 06-27-2010 at 08:02 PM..
Location: Visitation between Wal-Mart & Home Depot
8,309 posts, read 38,779,335 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TheStupid
I had a insulation company give me a quote on adding insulation to R38 in my second floor attic. The current insulation is the 10 year old pink fiber glass which does seems flimsy compared to the the material the insulation company provides.
I live in Texas where the only two weathers here are hot and hotter.
Would you guys think it's worth the $1000 for the attic and $700 for the attic wall?
How big is your attic? What kind of insulation are they going to use? (if it isn't fiberglass, you may want to reconsider) How much insulation are they going to leave in your attic?
If you're paying about $1.00 / sq. ft that's fairly reasonable, particularly for this time of year.
Are you planning on turning your attic into finished living space? Unless you are going to finish that space I am familiar with any benefits you gain by insulating the attic walls.
Is your attic sufficiently ventilated? The R038 is a good start but adequate ventilation is important too. Do you have some type of reflective thermal barrier. This could further help reduce your cooling bills in addition to the insulation you've already planned for the attic floor.
You don't mention how much insulation is currently in the attic, so hard to say. I believe more is better when it comes to insulation. Do make sure it is well vented, or the roof will wear out quicker from the heat.
I just had 4400 square foot attic reinsulated. Removed all the old insulation (putrid with rat nesting & rodent urine) vacuumed and then replaced with 12" deep of pink blown in insulation. $6000. It took them almost 2 weeks. I live in Texas.
Location: Visitation between Wal-Mart & Home Depot
8,309 posts, read 38,779,335 times
Reputation: 7185
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheStupid
I believe is cellulose. They suggest to add another 12 inch on top what I already have, which is about 10 inch right now.
The guy said that I had enough ventilation in attic. I still prefer to add a fan or something to draw the hot air out but he said it's not necessary.
It's not the money I am concerned about. It's the return of investment. If I do this, how much benefit would I get back?
Definitely make your own decision about this, but I wouldn't put cellulose insulation in an attic in Houston; fiberglass has worked here for a long time and will continue to work for a long time, cellulose is iffy. Getting your attic insulation overkilled will make a big difference, a lot more than installing additional vents and probably more than adding a tech-shield barrier.
If your attic is already ventilated, it probably doesn't make sense to add more.
Don't put cellulose on top of f/glass. In the long run you'll actually have less R-value.
Blown cellulose is treated with boric acid/flame retardents- the majority of it's physical weight. It's loses more than half it's fire retardency within five years. And as it absorbs moisure it gains more weight, thus compressing the original f/glass insulation and reducing the original R-value.
With regular f/glass insulation you should have between 12-14" of thickness to obtain an R-38 rating. With a little math and you should be able to figure out how much F/glass you should need to get to that rating.
When you figure out the ft/3, call around to a few places and ask how much for a re-spray of (X)-ft/3.
House Insulation R value of Blown in Cellulose Insulation is 3.70 per inch
House Insulation R value of Fiberglass Insulation is 3.14 per inch
That would be an R-rating of 44.4 (12X3.7)
Plus the 10" of f/glass you already have= 31.4 (10X3.14), that would equal an R-value of 75.8.
The department of Energy recommend your zone (4) to have an attic rating of R-38.
I believe the company is trying to pull the wool over your eyes- or maybe they're just trying to rape your wallet!
Last edited by K'ledgeBldr; 06-28-2010 at 11:12 AM..
Definitely make your own decision about this, but I wouldn't put cellulose insulation in an attic in Houston; fiberglass has worked here for a long time and will continue to work for a long time, cellulose is iffy. Getting your attic insulation overkilled will make a big difference, a lot more than installing additional vents and probably more than adding a tech-shield barrier.
If your attic is already ventilated, it probably doesn't make sense to add more.
The company that gives me estimate is Payless insulation. They seem to only recommend cellulose which has twice of the density of fiber glass and claim they don't even sell those cheap pink fiber glass.
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