[3caddydaddy]

I can feel the heat bearing down from the ceiling in the living room, there is only the plastic covering at the top of the ceiling where the 2 sides join together. It was 85 degrees in the living room, rest of house was cool with doors closed, I can see there is no insulation up there to keep the heat out just a crack under there. What should be up there? Why do I feel heat coming in? I held up a temp gauge & was over 105 degrees this is killing the AC & its hot in here. Should I pull this cheep plastic down & stuff it with insulation or expansion foam? Isn't there anything better to put up here than this cheep plastic?

 

[Gary in WA]

Welcome to the forum!

Sounds like you need insulation/ventilation in your attic, where are you located?

http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/digests/bsd-102-understanding-attic-ventilation?full_view=1

Find your place on map or closest big city for the ZONE: http://publicecodes.citation.com/icod/irc/2009/icod_irc_2009_11_sec001_par001.htm

Attic insulation requirements for your Zone; http://publicecodes.citation.com/icod/irc/2009/icod_irc_2009_11_sec002.htm

Gary

 

[Wiscbldr]

If youre missing insulation in your attic then its creating the heat problem, and cooling problem as well. Contact some contractors to give you some quotes on getting some insulation up there. Id recommend cleaning whatever is up in your attic, foam your cracks, then blow in borate cellulose insulation. Save your receipts for tax saving purposes.

 

[HomeInsulation]

3caddydaddy,

I'm going to bet that room is cold during the winter and your heating bills are pretty high.

You have a great opportunity to make your home more energy efficient and comfortable. I'm not sure how handy you are but it's definitely a DIY project that can be done over a few weekends. You don't have to spend a lot of money.

Post some pictures of the outside of your house and the inside of your attic and we'll be able to make some more recommendations.

At the very least, you'll benefit from air sealing and insulating your attic.

 

[Perry525]

Insulation.

The best way to deal with this (its expensive) is to take off the roof, cover the rafters with SIP's panels and put the roof back on.
SIP's panels are a sandwich of polystyrene and plywood or oriented strand board.
Covering the rafters with five inch thick SIP's stops the connection between the sun heated roof and the rafters that conduct the heat into your home.

If you cannot afford SIP's then pulling down the ceiling, filling the spaces between the joists with sheets of polystyrene and then fitting five inch thick sheets of polystyrene below the joists will make a very welcome difference and will lower your air con bills.

Once you have done the ceilings then to get the full benefit you need to do the walls on the East, South and West sides.

Do one room at a time and feel the difference.