There are two basic ways to insulate a finished attic.
Ways to insulate attic.
Insulate and air seal any knee walls vertical walls with attic space directly behind them in your home as well.
If you need to add insulation in your attic save big by blowing in cellulose insulation yourself.
If only the living space will be insulated wrap the insulation around the room s walls and ceiling and then continue along the floor of the non living space.
If it is located in a conditioned part of the house also remember to insulate and air seal your attic access.
To get the target r value from the product you chose use the number of bags your calculations showed that you needed to insulate your attic never fewer.
But other home maintenance tasks can also defend your house and all of its inhabitants from chilly weather and blustering winds.
Either way the house is probably wasting energy and the homeowners money.
Your home s r value score will guide you toward the type of insulation you need.
While insulating your attic space with foam can be an effective way to lower heating costs you can use a simple reflective foil material as a cost effective alternative.
In general an attic s r value should be between r 30 and r 49.
Determine your desired r rating.
Read this guide to learn the basics of doing it yourself.
Insulating the attic is a surefire way to warm your home this winter.
How much does attic insulation cost.
If you ve reached your target depth but still have a few bags left over keep adding the material at an even depth throughout the space until all the bags your calculations called for are empty.
You can do it yourself for about 500.
Blown in insulation overview.
Statistics show that 85 percent of a house s heat loss is straight up through the attic space.
Before insulating seal any air leaks and make roof and other necessary repairs.
By stapling the foil sheets to your attic roof rafters you can reflect the heat that hits the rafters back down into your home s living space.
The pros charge 1 500 to 2 000 to do a 1 200 sq ft.
Depending on the difficulty of your job the size of your attic and the type of insulation material you choose the final cost for professional placement will likely fall between 1 50 and 3 50 per foot.
In this case the area behind the knee wall will be uncomfortably hot or cold.
Houses built before the energy crunch in the early 70s might just have a little bit of fiberglass insulation in the attic or empty cavities between the joists.
Attic insulation is one of the most cost effective ways to reduce your energy consumption without sacrificing a warm house.
