older home--75-100 yrs old. Looking to insulate attic. Attic is not used for living space.
Presently has "balsam wool" insulation between the roof rafters & it's disintegrating. Floor of attic has no insulation at all. Attic is fully floored with T & G boards. My question is: how important is a vapor barrier? Contractor wants to pull up some flooring and blow in cellulose. Ok, but there won't be any vapor barrier. Since I don't use the attic space, is it feasible to just roll out some insulation over the existing flooring? And, if so, should I use faced insulation ? The ceiling below is plaster & I would suspect has been painted a number of times over the course of 75+ yrs. Would a number of paint coatings (some probably lead-based) act as a vapor barrier ?
Presently has "balsam wool" insulation between the roof rafters & it's disintegrating. Floor of attic has no insulation at all. Attic is fully floored with T & G boards. My question is: how important is a vapor barrier? Contractor wants to pull up some flooring and blow in cellulose. Ok, but there won't be any vapor barrier. Since I don't use the attic space, is it feasible to just roll out some insulation over the existing flooring? And, if so, should I use faced insulation ? The ceiling below is plaster & I would suspect has been painted a number of times over the course of 75+ yrs. Would a number of paint coatings (some probably lead-based) act as a vapor barrier ?