How would you handle this insulation problem?

[Bob Weisner]

Hi:

Here are some pics of the insulation (or lack thereof) in the attic. Any suggestions? Insulation guy suggested dropping the ceiling and putting up r-38, then a new ceiling. Thing is, we just had a new ceiling put up .


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v200/coyotehunter_1932/P0005074.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v200/coyotehunter_1932/P0005073.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v200/coyotehunter_1932/P0005072.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v200/coyotehunter_1932/P0005071.jpg

[Quinn McCarthy]

If you have a crawl opening you can have someone blow it in. I had it done in the new shop and it worked great. We can also rent the blowing machine if you want to do it yourself. Just make sure that you have good ventilation from the soffits to the ridge of the roof. You may need to put proper vents in so the insulation don't fill this area.

[Mark Rios]

I agree with blown in but you could spend alot of time and cut a lot of R-38 in, under, and around all the duct work.


A few years ago HD would give you free rental of the blower if you bought their insulation material. Not sure if they do that any more though. But the two person process is easy, one to keep the hopper full and one to play firefighter with the hose up in the attic.:D

[Joe Chritz]

Gonna be a lot of work either way you attack it.

If the ceiling is new I would probably opt to crawl around in the dust and install attic baffels and blow in a load of loose fill insulation.

Make sure any light fixture you have in the ceilings are IC rated or build a box around them so they don't get buried. The rest is just messy.

Joe

[Ken Deckelman]

Check your local Lowes if you have one close by, they have a trailer you can rent to blow new insulation in, it's not to bad of a job.

[Bart Leetch]

Check the price of having fiberglass or rock wool blown in & renting the system & doing it your self. If you value your time & effort I think you'll find it isn't that much more cost to just have it done. I used to work in the insulation industry & believe me they can do it much easier than you can. They have blown enough insulation to be able to judge the depth plus they will have it all done just about the time you get set up & maybe half done.

[Chris Fite]

As Bart said, check the price of having it done for you. I was going to blow insulation in my house attic and shop attic. I hired a contractor to do the work for less than I could have bought the materials.

You might do something about that water leak in picture 3 and seal up the attic to keep the spiders out, too. Screening to keep spiders out. I should have been more clear.

[Ken Garlock]

Well, let me add by opinion to the list.

1) Get rid of that polystyrene foam panel 'stuff.' You want your insulation down between the ceiling joists.

2) NEVER seal up an attic. You need air circulation through the attic both summer and winter to keep the insulation dry. Moisture is your enemy when it comes to insulation.

3) Get a company to install 12 or more inches of blown-in fiberglass. They can do it in less than 2 hours. You would spend the entire day fussing with it is my guess. Besides, if they put a foot through a ceiling they have to fix it, not you. Your peace of mind is worth any cost delta.

Remember, insulation works by trapping air in the fiberglass. The trapped air does most of the insulating.

Don't deal with that crazy that wants to drop the ceiling. Sounds like a con job to me.

[Bob Weisner]

I think he wanted to drop the ceiling because the flat roof has less than 10 inches of clearence for insulation. Towards the gutters, the space for insulation narrows to 3 or 4 inches high.

[Ken Garlock]

I think he wanted to drop the ceiling because the flat roof has less than 10 inches of clearence for insulation. Towards the gutters, the space for insulation narrows to 3 or 4 inches high.

4" is a tight space for sure. You might want to consult with some one that installs foam insulation, a urethane foam comes to mind. Urethane has an excellent R value, and I have been told that it no longer shrinks away from the joists. Get a quote for foam under the tight space and fiberglass on the remainder of the attic.

[Jim DeLaney]

BTW, assuming those exposed ducts are for your heat (and not cold air returns), you really need to get them insulated. With the bare metal piping, you're losing a lot of heating/cooling before it ever gets into the house.