When it comes to insulating your attic, it can be difficult to decide whether to insulate the roof or floor. The standard practice for an unfinished attic is to insulate the floor, but if you're looking to convert your attic into something usable or habitable, you may need to consider other options. To ensure you have enough insulation, measure the thickness of the insulation and make sure it's at least R-30 equivalent (about 10 to 13 inches). Before insulating, seal any air leaks and make necessary roof repairs and other repairs.
If your attic is located in a conditioned part of the house, remember to also insulate and seal access to the attic. Properly insulating the roofs of your cathedral will allow the roof temperature to be kept closer to room temperature, providing an even distribution of temperature throughout the house. Cathedral roofs should provide space between the roof terrace and the roof of the house for adequate insulation and ventilation. This can be achieved through the use of lattice beams, scissor lattice frames or sufficiently large beams.
For example, cathedral-style ceilings built with 2x12 beams have space for standard 10-inch blocks (R-30) and ventilation. Cathedral-style roofs without ventilation (warm roof design) are also an option. The warm roof design allows more insulation to be installed in the roof cavity, as the need for a ventilation gap is eliminated. It is important that the roof cavity is fully sealed with respect to the conditioned space below to prevent moisture from entering and roof degradation. Insulating a tile in an existing house can be expensive and annoying, but if the slab of your house is cold, it's possible to dig around the perimeter of the house and install insulation, usually foam panels.
In most parts of the United States, insulating the outer edge of a slab can reduce heating bills by 10 to 20%. Should you insulate your attic roof? Insulation is a wise choice to increase the energy efficiency of your home. Quality insulation will make it more cost-effective to heat and cool your home. Department of Energy estimates range from 10% to 50% savings, depending on several factors.
However, attic insulation is not based only on heating. Proper attic insulation can also keep the roof in better condition by helping to prevent ice build-up and condensation. Inner-insulated tile foundations provide more termite resistance, but some builders in the southeastern United States have even reported termite infestations through foam insulation in the contained slabs. If headroom in the attic is not a cause for concern, it would be easier to install rigid insulation (polyiso) under the rafters. Therefore, you may need to install higher quality insulation that can provide a high R value even when it is very thin. Isolate the air handler and ducts, or isolate the lower part of the roof and remove the floor insulation.
Insulate and air-seal knee walls (vertical walls with attic space directly behind them) in your home as well. Let's move on to the other side and talk about insulating attic beams very quickly, also known as an attic roof, roof terrace or warm roof system. Finally, if you live in a hot or hot climate, consider installing a radiant barrier on your attic beams to reduce heat gain during the summer. It should also be noted that the insulation of the attic floor separates the attic from the rest of the house, making it an unconditioned space that can experience large temperature changes depending on the climate. To save money on insulation in attics with low-slope roofs, it is possible to install very thin, high-quality insulation around the edges of the attic (and any other critical area) and install different, thicker and more cost-effective insulation in the rest of the attic. Thermal insulation is installed at the bottom of the roof cover, at the top of the attic, just below the roof cover. The most important thing to keep in mind is that if you're insulating the attic floor, you'll need ventilation.
I hope that when you have installed new insulation on your roof cover, you have installed wind deflectors so that ceiling vents do not get clogged with insulation.
