Attic Is Full Of Fiberglass
The first step of your project will be choosing an insulation type.
Attic is full of fiberglass. To gain access to an attic often a piece of sheetrock needs to be moved away from the access point. It also can help increase the value of your home. Yes there was a study from the early 1990s that showed blown fiberglass in attics could lose 50 of its r value when the attic temperature dropped. First things first you need to go up into your attic inspect the condition of the insulation and calculate the current level of insulation.
Your attic should have a certain amount of insulation in it and the recommended level of insulation for your attic is dependent on where you live. The reason for this is simply because the glass fibers work exceptionally well with insulating temperature. If the access into the attic is in a closet or another part of the house it must be treated as an important part of the thermal envelope. When i think of insulation what comes to mind is fiberglass blanket insulation.
The problem was the way the insulation was made and the fiberglass industry fixed the problem. Fiberglass attic insulation one of the most popular home improvement projects for both diyers and professional contractors. See my article for more details. Fiberglass is like the mcdonald s big mac of insulation material.
Adding insulation where it was never designed to go mainly the walls of an old house causes a host of problems all due to the moisture issues it creates. If you re just beginning the process of adding or replacing insulation throughout your house the attic is the perfect place to start. Inspecting your attic insulation. Its r value ranges from as low as 2 2 to as high as 4 3 in the case of specially manufactured high density fiberglass.
It s certainly not the highest quality option but it s easily the most popular. Fiberglass has been the preferred method for attic insulation for a very long time now. Then a few decades later we come by and stuff those cavities full of fiberglass which acts like a sponge and we wonder why our old house is having so many problems. Adding insulation to the attic is an easy and proven way to increase home comfort and decrease energy costs.
This type of insulation is ideal for attics with standard spaced beams and joists and very few obstructions. Compression in fiberglass insulation is a bad thing.