Insulate Attic Without Removing Flooring

Upon inspection of the attic insulation we noticed that the underside was indeed wet.

Insulate attic without removing flooring.

The attic floor which is the ceiling of the living space below often already is insulated. It will trap the heat up in the attic and the attic will get even hotter than it would without insulation on the attic floor. Rather than insulating the whole home and potentially causing problems like excess humidity you can properly seal the attic of an old house. I know we will need to remove the old insulation which was only r 19 maybe and replace it.

It may seem counterintuitive but while attic insulation is critical ventilation of the attic is equally important. Attic insulation between roof trusses. Without removing the flooring you have the option of blowing loose fill insulation fiberglass or cellulose fiber over the top of the floor. If your existing attic flooring isn t adequate for conversion to a living space all is not lost.

If it is and you plan to provide heating and cooling to the finished attic space you need to remove. Even easier you can also use a prefabricated attic floor kit designed specifically to raise the attic floor above the insulation. This of course would preclude using the area for. Virtually any attic floor can be brought up to code it s just a matter of how much.

Without ventilation moisture can accumulate and condense eventually rotting. A finished attic should be insulated much like the rest of the house with insulation in the walls and ceiling. Stop using your attic for storage. We have a ridge vent that runs the length of the house and also installed baffles in the attic for more airflow.

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. 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. Because the simplest and cheapest way to insulate an attic is to add material to the floor. Plan to pull up the flooring and layer new.

Laying devil s advocate the case for removing the insulation on the attic floor aka extraction is that leaving the insulation on the attic floor will work against the spray foam insulation on the roof deck. Roughly a quarter of the average home s heat is lost through the roof. How to insulate a finished attic. That means insulating the attic floor only not the walls and having vents in the roof.

With a finished attic insulation must help keep the attic areas comfortable.