How To Properly Insulate And Ventilate An Attic

Fans and vents may be installed on the roof system that will draw the air out of the attic space and exhaust it to the exterior.

How to properly insulate and ventilate an attic.

Whole house fans powered attic fans. A hot ceiling tells you that the attic is acting like a solar oven raising your cooling bills and. Touch your ceiling on a warm sunny day. To effectively ventilate your roof create a 1 in.

Insulate your finished attic properly choose your insulation. If you re finishing your attic insulating it to the proper r value can cause a dramatic loss of. Find a pre screened local home insulation contractor. Plan to pull up the flooring and layer new insulation on top of the old.

In addition insulation baffles must be installed at the point where the attic floor meets the roofline to prevent the attic insulation from migrating into the cavities and restricting the airflow from the soffit vents. 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. These fans may be controlled by a switch or a thermostat which detects heat build up in the attic space and. Your attic also needs passive ventilation so that the attic temperature matches the outside temperature the way it should.

Because the simplest and cheapest way to insulate an attic is to add material to the floor. Look at your eaves and roof. Set up a step ladder by the side of the house to inspect the soffit vents and bring an old paintbrush with you to clear them. Also when laying down additional insulation work from the perimeter toward the attic opening.

If the attic is insulated with fiberglass batts just pull back any that are blocking the flow of air. Fill every joist space completely and evenly with the insulation leaving attic vents uncovered. If there s blown in insulation like ours rake back the fluffy stuff with a 3 or 4 ft long 1 x 6 or use a garden rake or hoe. The soffit vents are now installed but you still need to make sure there s no insulation blocking the new vents.

Keep all insulation at least 3 inches away from can lights unless they are rated ic insulated ceiling. Instead you should make sure your attic floor has sufficient insulation. Level uneven spots with a rake. Intake vents located at the lowest part of the roof under the eaves allow cool.

Learn why it makes no sense to insulate the walls and ceiling of your attic if it is unfinished and you have no intention of finishing it. Your roof vents may not look. If you notice insulation clumped around any of them go into the attic. With a helper to load the blower with insulation as needed start at the perimeter of the attic and work toward the attic access door.

Never lay insulation over recessed light fixtures or soffit vents. Find out how to properly insulate and ventilate an attic.