Insulating And Venting A Finished Attic

A vented attic where insulation is placed on an air sealed attic floor is one of the most underappreciated building assemblies that we have in the history of building science.

Insulating and venting a finished attic.

Good roof ventilation can do this but shingle color sun exposure and insulation are exponentially more important to overall energy efficiency than ventilation. It can be effectively blown over existing insulation and. Whole house fans powered attic fans. With square foot living space at a premium many homeowners turn to their attics for a little extra room when the attic becomes part of the home to be heated and.

Fans and vents may be installed on the roof system that will draw the air out of the. Most codes require a specified minimum amount of headroom and it s tough to meet this requirement when insulating a finished attic especially since most. The attic floor which is the ceiling of the living space below often already is insulated. How to insulate a finished attic.

With a finished attic insulation must help keep the attic areas comfortable. A finished attic should be insulated much like the rest of the house with insulation in the walls and ceiling. 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. To meet all three goals insulating your finished attic ventilating the roof and maximizing headroom use a combination of dense batt insulation rigid foam sheeting and air chutes.

That means insulating the attic floor only not the walls and having vents in the roof. Loose fill insulation is great for installing in attics with very little headroom and multiple obstructions such as vents and cross beams. Covering up the soffit vents with loose fill or batts which can happen if you stuff insulation along the eaves is a huge no no. Without properly insulating your finished attic room will also be cold in the winter.

Since parts of a finished attic are usually very close to the roof insulation often blocks proper ventilation that is needed under a roof structure. If it is and you plan to provide heating and cooling to the finished attic space you need to remove. So i ll start by saying something that might sound controversial but really isn t. Sure installing roof vents for older homes can reduce your hot air during the summer but there are probably more low risk cost effective ways to increase your home s energy.

The airflow from the soffits to the ridge vent keeps the roof cool and prevents ice dams and the material will block that flow.