Attic and Gable end insulation

Peter683

Wonder if someone can answer a few qustions for us. Our house was originally built as a one floor and in the 60s they cut the roof open and built a scond story with gable end on the front and back and a side dormer which is a third bedroom.. We noticed that the interior of the gable ends have no insulation only the gypsum board on it. Should these be insulated and if so whats the proper material technique for it? Also I noticed that there is insulation bats stuffed into the edges of the attic at the eaves. Is this incorrect as I am sure I had heard that there should be a gap all the way around? When we moved in, there was only thin bat insulation and we had blown insulation put in back in the 80's.
I have attached pictures.
Look forward to any help.

Attached Thumbnails

     

joecaption

Gables do not need to be insulated.
Need a picture of the outside of the house to see if there's any roof over hang or any soffit vents.
There was suppost to be soffit vents and baffles installed to keep the insulation out of those bays before the blown in when in.
It was also suppost to be air sealed before the blown in when in to seal any holes where wires were ran, or ceiling fixtures.
That gable vent is useless if there's no make up air from the soffits.
Try sucking on a straw with your finger over the tip of it.
If not you have a negative pressure which can draw the conditioned air from inside the home up into the attic.

Peter683

Thank you for the reply as we were not sure of the gables. I think the insulation was put in at the soffits so it would have to be pulled back or out of them then?
I have attached a picture of the outside of the house.

Attached Images

 

joecaption

That's the gable, need the soffits.
http://www.todayshomeowner.com/adding-soffit-vents/

Peter683

Oh I see...you mean the soffits on the gable end or the side of the roof?

joecaption

Lowest part of the roof, take one looking up.

HomeSealed

that fiberglass batt is stuffed in there to prevent your blown in insulation from falling down in to the soffit, or being blown back by wind. That said, if you have vented soffits, at least some of those cavities should have baffles stuffed in there allowing air from the soffits (intake) to flow into the attic. Around here, a lot of homes that have gable vents do not have any soffit overhang, so the point would be moot.

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Peter683

Oh I see.. yes there are vents at regular intervals but they are not detachable like some of the newer houses.

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HomeSealed

The "detachable" vents are only used on wood and some other materials... Your setup is pretty conventional... Now go back in the attic, and see if there is a baffle near the location of each of those soffit vents. If not, you'll want to install them, otherwise those soffit vents are doing nothing.

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Peter683

We know for sure there are no baffles in the attic.

HomeSealed

Definitely add them... You want to also check to make sure that you actually have holes cut behind those vented pieces. Some unscrupulous contractors will add the vented aluminum soffit pieces without even cutting a hole behind it.

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Peter683

Ok we will look into it. I imagine we would be able to see if there are holes behind them in the attic itself? The addition was put on around the late 50's as the house dates back to 1947.

joecaption

Yes when you pull the insulation back you should see day light of there's holes or an opening for venting.

HomeSealed

What he said ^^^

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Peter683

I have to apologize... In the third picture, that was taken in the upper attic not the side attic. The upper attic floor is about halfway up the roofline. unfortunately the soffits are un accessible from the side attics because of the old roof still in place.. sorry about that..