Attic Floor Insulation

Most houses attics are built without flooring and are not designed to carry the heavy load of finished space.

Attic floor insulation.

No matter how old your home is it s a good idea to see if there are ways to improve its insulation. How to insulate a finished attic. Air from rooms below will not escape rapidly into the attic. A finished attic should be insulated much like the rest of the house with insulation in the walls and ceiling.

R value is a measure of insulation s ability to resist heat traveling through it. Most homes are insulated in the attic and any floors located above unfinished basements or crawl spaces. The most effective places to add insulation to older homes are exterior walls attics basements and crawl spaces. The table below shows what levels of insulation are cost effective for different climates and locations in the home.

Attic insulation between roof trusses. Stop using your attic for storage. However in some cases the joists are intentionally built strong enough for the homeowner to later build out the attic. Considering usable floor space.

The higher the r value the better the thermal performance of the insulation. First if you never build a room in the attic the insulation in the floor area will save energy costs. That means insulating the attic floor only not the walls and having vents in the roof. How to lay attic flooring on top of fiberglass insulation.

Start with the attic floor. Attic flooring consists of materials as basic as sheets of plywood as well as more elaborate interlocking floor systems. 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. Don t skip the insulation in the floor.

These r values are a sum meaning this should be the total r value once you add up the entire depth of insulation. Plan to pull up the flooring and layer new. While local codes vary many communities will not permit the ceiling in a finished. The ceiling load may include items like drywall ducts recessed lights bathroom fans and attic insulation.

With a finished attic insulation must help keep the attic areas comfortable. The solid base. Even easier you can also use a prefabricated attic floor kit designed specifically to raise the attic floor above the insulation. Insulation level are specified by r value.

The headroom in the attic will determine how much usable floor space you have. 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.