Attic Insulation

bbo

yes, like I mentioned previously. similar to the accuvent.

Amitabh

So, i went up in the attic, its pretty tight walking around up there, you can see from the pictures the type of insulation that was used.

I measured random places and i would have to say that its disappointing, alot of 5" to 7" spots, some crumpled spots and a few 8" or greater spots. I definitely need a top up and everywhere

As for the rafters, not sure how i could reach them. Or even do then, i could not even see my soffit vents, it looks like there is a fiber glass dam already. thats good no?

Quick question, what happens if i dont walk on the wood, could i fall through the dry wall? probably a dumb question.

PTMD

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HomeSealed

Nobody said it would be easy. That's why my insulation guys are about 5'6 and 150lbs soaking wet.
And yes, you will most likely go through your ceiling if you step on the drywall with any amount of weight. Get your self a nice plank or two to use so that you can move around up there more freely.

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Fix'n it

dang, my neck is hurting AGAIN.

OP, you have a lot of working room up there. i have seen houses with 1/2 that(roof pitch).

btw. when buying the cellulose. buy a LOT of it. you "think" you need 20 bags = buy 40. wait, no, buy 50-60 bags.

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Amitabh

ah, dont meet those height and weight requirements, i am not allowed on the ride!

so, i am going to have to remove the fiber glass wall (touching both the floor and rafter) in the corner and figure out whats going on there? Hopefully seeing a soffit vent below it or behind it?

Given what is already in place, would I actually improve the insulation system by putting a baffle and vent system in place instead of the existing system? Obviously the house was built to code in 2004 (i hope), so if that pass doesnt that mean its ok?

Safety question? what should i be wearing when up there? Mask? Gloves? i dont know.

I am assuming the material is cellulose fiber, correct?

This project is going to take a few days, am i right?

Amitabh

So - i did a rough estimate of my second floor area, assuming that it would be the area that needs to fill the attic.

1100 sq. ft is a rough estimate of coverage, how many of these bags do it need. knowing that i already have 5" to 7" in place already.

http://www.lowes.ca/greenfiber-blown...4021.html?rd=A

Fix'n it

just a guesstimate. but i would say that you would use 70-80 bags, and then want more. i did about 800sf to about 9" and ate up 30 bags. and i had some old insulation under parts of that 800sf. just to top off that area, i figure i would need about 40 bags.

my advice = buy way more than you "think" you need. then, if you do not use it all. just take back what you do not use.

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HomeSealed

That is fiberglass that you have. It looks fairly clean, but it will irritate your skin and throat so wear a mask, gloves, and either some junky clothes or a tyvek suit (be prepared to sweat if you do that because it doesn't breathe). I would add FG rather than cellulose since that is what you already have. If you can figure out where your soffit vents are, just stuff the baffle down over the fg batting to let that airflow through. Leave the fg in place to prevent wind-washing of the insulation. I would spend the a day doing that and airsealing the major chases (chimey, electrical boxes, drop soffits, etc) and then come in the following day and blow over it with the additional insulation. You could hit all of the top plates etc as well (would be ideal), but it is not gonna be easy with that blown fg in there.

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Amitabh

So, i did it, after all the chatting and learning, i did it, i added one rafter (with baffle) vent. lol

check the picture out.

Here was my experience, first off, dress up in junky clothes, wore a mask, hat, and gloves, got a plank of wood (need more than 1) - man did it get hot

Used a leaf rake to move the FG blown-in insulation away from the corner. - great tool for attic work and moving blown-in insulation.

The FG insulation was used as a wall that touch the rafter and the joist, so no air flow (or at least block). I removed the FG insulation and behind the insulation itself was a little dirt, but the soffit vent itself was clear open.

I did notice something interesting, and you may see it in the picture, there is a piece of plywood acting as a rafter vent (i have maybe 4 of these, across the entire attic).

After cleaning out the area, i stapled the rafter vent in, it didnt fit perfectly or even flush, it require some bending to "squeeze" in between the rafter joist.

i noticed that i don't have a ridge vent, but circular holes in the rafter itself, that are attic vents. (perhaps 3 to 5, didnt count them all)

I put back the FG insulation wall back into the newly created dam and brush back and puff up the blown-insulation.

Thoughts? suggestions? validation?

p.s. to the people that do this as a profession, you have found another humble person that respects what you do.

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HomeSealed

Looks like you are on the right track It sounds like you have regular box style roof vents as opposed to a ridge vent. Those are perfectly adequate provided that you have the correct amount.
I see that plywood tacked on to create a cavity. Does that extend down between the joists to block the insulation from falling into the soffit?

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Amitabh

Yes, i could see the soffit vent clearly.

I called an attic insulator and he told me that i dont need rafter vent in every bay, is that true?

framer52

Maybe maybe not. In order to tell you must figure out the airflow through the vents then match to the outflo in your attic vents.

Buildingscience.com might help you

Gary in WA

It is best to vent EVERY cavity as this is where most of the heat/moisture from below follows the exterior wall wiring/plumbing holes. A good reason to air-seal the attic first... Then there will be no "dead" spaces not receiving incoming air to remove the heat that causes ice dams or the moisture removal.
http://www.buildingscience.com/docum...on?full_view=1

Gary

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Dave Sal

Just read this whole post and noticed that no one mentioned insulating the attic hatch. I am assuming that you enter the attic through a ceiling hatch? If so, make sure to insulate that as well using foam boards glued together to achieve whatever R value you need. They sell a special foam adhesive to use for that. Then when you have your hatch all insulated, apply a weatherstripping along the perimeter where the hatch sits to prevent heat from escaping into the attic. I did mine last year, which was a huge improvement as the builder used a plain piece of wall paneling cut to fit the hole. I used R10 rigid foam and glued three pieces together and glued it to the plywood hatch. I probably should have added a fourth piece of foam board but can do that this spring to bring it up to R40. The snow on my roof stays there a lot longer now.

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Amitabh

Thanx for the information everyone. Appreciate everyone's insights. I dont remember if i asked this earlier or in another post, but am working out the math between doing it myself and hiring a professional. So, could someone help me calculate the number of bags i need. I figured i need about 50 to 60 bags of the cellulose.

Here is what i have

1300 sqft
7" currently of blown-in FG


If i use http://www.lowes.ca/blown-in-insulat...ductItemsImage how many would i need to get to R50?

i figured about 50 to 60 bags, is that right?

PTMD

as for the hatch cover, it has about 8" of rigid foam already, but i have to reinstall the weather stripping.