Floor Attic Insulation

The most effective places to add insulation to older homes are exterior walls attics basements and crawl spaces.

Floor attic insulation.

Find your zone on the map and then use the above insulation r value chart to determine the level of insulation you need to properly insulate your attic walls floors and crawlspaces. No matter how old your home is it s a good idea to see if there are ways to improve its insulation. Modifying an attic floor s joist system is a job for the pros. But before even they can start on a job that involves altering your home s structure they ll.

How to lay attic flooring on top of fiberglass insulation. Attic flooring consists of materials as basic as sheets of plywood as well as more elaborate interlocking floor systems. Insulation level are specified by r value. When you are in the attic you re usually stepping carefully on top of the floor joists looking down at the back side of the drywall.

But if the floor is covered in plywood you can t stuff enough insulation beneath it to do the job sufficiently not even in warm climates. Stop using your attic for storage. The higher the r value the better the thermal performance of the insulation. These r values are a sum meaning this should be the total r value once you add up the entire depth of insulation.

Attic insulation between roof trusses. Start with the attic floor. Because the simplest and cheapest way to insulate an attic is to add material to the floor. The solid base.

R value is a measure of insulation s ability to resist heat traveling through it. Plan to pull up the flooring and layer new. Most homes are insulated in the attic and any floors located above unfinished basements or crawl spaces. They have floor joists or the bottom chords of roof trusses with drywall below.

Although it s common to talk about installing insulation on the attic floor most attics don t really have a floor. However if you keep the storage weight to a minimum you may be able to build a storage platform above the insulation by attaching supporting beams to the sides of the trusses. Bringing the floor up to code. Even easier you can also use a prefabricated attic floor kit designed specifically to raise the attic floor above the insulation.

4c as an alternative to floor insulation foundation walls of unvented crawl spaces. 4b slab floors built directly on the ground. Also insulate 4a any portion of the floor in a room that is cantilevered beyond the exterior wall below. Floors above cold spaces such as vented crawl spaces and unheated garages.

You ll have to construct a wooden frame or sub floor with boards 16 inches apart to provide extra support for the floor.