Attic insulation

Originally Posted By: rray
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http://www.nachi.org/bbsystem/usrimages/more/atticIB.jpg ]



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Originally Posted By: tlempe
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Not sure why you would want to put insulation on the ceiling of the attic, was there also insulation on the floor?


Originally Posted By: rcloyd
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Russel:


Two things would concern me about this installation,

1) The flame-spread and smoke developed ratings of what appears to be a kraft paper facing should be 25 and 400 respectively. If not, the insulation should be covered with something such as drywall, fiberboard etc.

2) If the insulation shown in the picture is the only attic insulation
obviously there will be quite a bit of energy loss at the ceiling line
of the home.

Regards,


--
Russell G. Cloyd
Intra-Spec Home Inspections
& Code Consulting, LLC
859-586-4591
www.intra-spechomeinspections.com

Originally Posted By: rmagee
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The other problem with batts up tight against the roof deck is lack of ventilation. Black stains are already staring to form and this may lead to deterioration of the deck from the inside out. The lack of ventilation can also cause roofing shingles to curl and the surface to fall off prematurely.



Rick Magee


Building Check Ltd.


Fredericton, N.B. Canada


1-506-454-3332


bcheck@nbnet.nb.ca


“check with a professional”

Originally Posted By: aslimack
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Russel, here in the norteast,(western New York) you see alot of that. Insulating the roof line(rafters) as well as/or instead of the attic floor. The potential issues with the rafters , would be the potential for condensation trapped at the bottom of the roof deck and the resulting decay. An air space must be left between the insulation and roof deck, with proper soffit to ridge,top,or gable venting to minimize this potential. The only time it is really practical to pay to heat this attic space is if you are using it as living space. Many “do it your selfers” are not aware of the science of it ,and will fill the entire rafter cavity,in which case ,any present soffit to ridge,etc. venting becomes useless. (no space for the inlet air(soffit) to make to the outlet vent.(ridge,top,gable) Ventilation baffles are used to keep the gap betweenthe insulation as well.If someone choses to insulate the attic floor AND the between the rafters, the key is to not have a double vapor barrier to potentially trap the moisture.(no vb in floor)If they choose to just go roofline,limit insulation thickness or fir roof rafters to accomodate desired thickness of insulation and maintain air space between insulation and roof deck. It should be noted ,i have seen it done totally wrong, here in the northeast, without noticable damage.


Originally Posted By: psisler
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Russell,


The only time I have seen these is when they are used as baffles for soffit vents to keep them from covering the vents to allow for the proper ventilation of the attic when blown in or multiple layers of insulation is used which may cover the soffit vents.

Patrick


Originally Posted By: kmcmahon
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yep…same here. up here they are called “proper vents” but in some places they just refer to them as baffles. However, they only work if the way is clear(a space between insulation and the roof decking) from the proper vent to the ridge/roof vent. Proper vents are about 3-4’ long and made of flexible foam and fit between the trusses/rafters from the soffit and go up the roofline.


Sort of like this...except in your case the insulation follows the rafters.



--
Wisconsin Home Inspection, ABC Home Inspection LLC

Search the directory for a Wisconsin Home Inspector

Originally Posted By: jpeck
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I agree with Russell Cloyd.


There are problems with the facing being exposed and being on the roof (fire) , not on the ceiling (the attic is now semi-conditioned space and must be calculated into the heat and cooling load, as well as may need a/c and heat supplies to the attic to make it 'conditioned space').

The best solution may be (may, as there needs to be a design review to make sure this was not an early version of what is being done with Icenyne foam insulation) to move all the insulation down to the ceiling.


--
Jerry Peck
South Florida