Comments on: ER Project House: Insulating the Attic – Part 1

By: Joe

Joe — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 18:48:06 +0000

edit on last comment -

put the barrier ON TOP OF THE INSULATION

By: Joe

Joe — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 18:46:57 +0000

Seal the attic as tight as you can, then blow in your cellulose. After that, roll out a double sided perforated radiant barrier.

R-38 cellulose + radiant barrier = about R-50

barrier must allow about (or more) 100g/sq. m/24hr of water to pass through it or you may have a mold problem later

By: ER Project House: Insulating the Attic - Part 3 | EcoRenovator.org

ER Project House: Insulating the Attic - Part 3 | EcoRenovator.org — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 14:47:30 +0000

[...] up on this project here: Insulating the Attic – Part 1 Insulating the Attic – Part [...]

By: Larry Rose

Larry Rose — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 17:54:32 +0000

Derek, Daox,
True enough, dealing directly againse recest lighting is not recomended. What I have done for others is make a box out of fire rated drywall, and just drop this box over the fixture, and sealing this box to the attic side of the celing. That way, you can use the cheap recessed fixtures, and still get all the benefits of a sealed fixture.

By: ER Project House: Insulating the Attic - Part 2 | EcoRenovator.org

ER Project House: Insulating the Attic - Part 2 | EcoRenovator.org — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 16:47:01 +0000

[...] been a few weeks since we cleaned and sealed the attic in Part 1 of our series. This is how the roof looked in the middle of December. As you can see, the eves have [...]

By: Derek Madge

Derek Madge — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 17:40:00 +0000

I have a couple of concerns about this. I’ll assume you wore a respirator or the correct type (there are several) filter mask. I’m also not sure if when you talk about sealing all air out of the attic, you mean only the air leaking in from heated areas through light fixtures and that sort of thing. That’s all fine- except, not all light fixtures should be sealed around and/or above. Most need some ventilation and should not have insulation on top of them at all. If you want to be super sealed you’ll need to replace the fixtures with the correct types and/or sealed boxes meant for such retro-fits. Otherwise you risk overheating and fires and possibly a denial of insurance claim.

Back to the air getting into the attic. You don’t want warm humid air leaking in from living spaces. You MUST have lots of fresh outside air entering the attic from the soffits and exiting from vents in the roof and/or ends of the attic. Otherwise you can guarantee excess moisture accumulation and mold which can damage health and wood.

By: Larry Rose

Larry Rose — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 15:50:34 +0000

Daox,
Sealing up the attic completely is the single biggest thing to do. Insulation doesn’t block the moment of air, with the exception of Spray foam and dense packed cellulose. Think of iot like this: A sweater might keep you warm until the wind kicks up. The best combo is a sweater with a wind breaker over it. Same for your house. Seal up all the wall headers, and attic penetrations. Install ventilation baffles. I made mine. a 1/2 inch air gap, full stud width will allow more air moment than the staple in baffles at home depot. Use a good cellulose insulation to fill all the nooks and crannies. Next is to make a cover for the attic hatch to seal it up. I used EPDM foam around the edges. works awesome.

check out this threads over at EcoModder:
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthread.php/attic-insulation-3870.html