Attic Insulation Basics

But even if you re lucky enough to have insulation in your home you heating and cooling bills might be out of control.

Attic insulation basics.

It can be used by itself to fill in joist cavities that have no insulation or laid as a thick layer over the top of existing batts of fiberglass insulation. The installation process for dry cellulose insulation looks like this. Check your attic insulation. It s available in fiberglass mineral wool plastic fibers and natural fibers.

The recommended level for most attics is to insulate to r 38 or about 10 to 14 inches depending on insulation type. Create your own price list in homewyse lists for a basic project in zip code 47474 with 500 square feet the cost to insulate an attic starts at 1 68 3 25 per square foot. It simply is blown in to the depth required to meet the r value specified by local code. How insulation works to understand how insulation works it helps to understand heat flow which involves three basic mechanisms conduction convection and radiation.

Batt insulation is a type of insulation made of loosely matted fibers fashioned into a blanket like form. Here the insulation can be blown right over top of existing insulation to any depth or r value. This type of insulation. Blanket insulation is available as batts or rolls and is the easiest diy insulation material.

If the cost to heat and cool your home is getting you down don t worry. Actual costs will depend on job size conditions and options. Sounds excessive but it isn t. You should do this in the planning and design phases of your home.

For attics cellulose insulation is blown in parallel to the joists. Now that you know the basics about how insulation works and why it s critical in your home start talking with your builder about the insulation strategy they re choosing for your home and why. Insulation levels are specified by r value. Blowing insulation into an attic the most popular project for using blown in insulation is adding insulation to attics.

Blown in dry cellulose insulation is commonly used in this area of the home. It s a fast and easy diy project that two people can do in an afternoon. Conduction is the way heat moves through materials such as when a spoon placed in a hot cup of coffee conducts heat through its handle to your hand. R value is a measure of insulation s ability to resist heat flow.

We all know that insulation makes our homes more energy efficient. Attic most building codes also require insulation in the attic. To estimate costs for your project.