Insulation an Attic?

Rhino

Anyone ever do this? My grandpa showed me how to insulate when I was little. I looked up there and everything is just rafters. Looks like I can just slap down some insulation rolls, stable it and be good. There is already a 'vapor' seal in place. I'm also thinking of boarding it up and making it nice.

Any tips or tricks? I haven't done this in while. I'm going to wear safety googles and long shirt and gloves.

Liquid Hellz

It's pretty simple you seem to have the idea right. Go all the way to the edges of the attic, where the roof rafters meet the floor, don't let it touch the plywood on the underside of the roof though. Don't forget any small spaces or pockets or they will become a point where the heat/cool air gets funneled too and escapes. If your going to be living there a long time (10+ years) I would say spring for the best insulation you can get as it will help more. The attic also needs some kind of ventilation if it doesn't have any.

ALSO.. wear a mask too! That fiberglass goes not feel good in lungs.

Here is a tutorial http://www.doityourself.com/scat/atticinsulation

rfalias

Edit: Just realized redundant post was redundant.
*hides*
Gotta start reading more closely.

matt has a problem

Are you planning on using your attic for something that needs to be climate controlled? Most of the time if it's just a bare attic, it's not the rafters that are insulated, it's the ceiling below, usually with some kind of blown fill. Running insulation in the rafters of the attic is only worthwhile if you're planning to finish the attic and heat or cool it really.

Djeet

I done my whole attic with R-19 batts, and I've partially installed a radiant barrier. It's hot, sweaty work (since the attic seems to get like 20 degrees higher than it is outside) so I'd recommend waiting til the fall if you can. I did the ceiling joists and then put down some subfloor so I could have a bunch of storage space. If you do that it's a good idea to mark on the subfloor where the light/fan boxes are and where the electrical wires are running.

-Phil-

You can also use an insulator blower. It should be a lot quicker, and just as effective. You can usually rent a blower from any major hardware store.

Nice little guide

Newton

If you already have a vapor barrier in place and you are getting rolls of insulation, get the stuff that is unfaced. That is, it doesn't have paper or anything glued to one side. You also don't need to staple or secure it in any way. It can just lay there.

If you're going to put flooring over it, then you'll probably be limited to a 6" depth, which may not be very much insulating. I think for fiberglass bats, thats only an R-19. Minimum recommended value for attics is R-38 for most of the US, so you would need to put down two layers of fiberglass. If you do that, run the second layer perpendicular to the first.

You want to cover as much of the attic as you can, but don't shove the insulation so far into the corners that you cover your soffit vents. Also be sure to leave the space between the rafters above your soffit vents clear up to the top of the roof. Attics need to be properly ventilated to prevent some very expensive problems from forming.

Also, be careful adding insulation around any recessed lighting fixtures you have. If they aren't rated for being in contact with insulation, you need to leave that area open.

Vladimir7

I am actually getting the attic insulated this week (note: this is a 150 year old house, where the attic isn't used for anything except storing useless junk)
We are going to be using R50 insulation, and blown-in cellulose