What is the hottest attic you have been in?

I had an attic yesterday with blocked soffit vents and no ridge vents. Only a little gable vent on one end.
Sheathing temps were 166-173°F. Outside was 88° and sunny, just a typical June day here.
the attic floor was insulated with 6" of cellulose insulation and it was 150°F and higher.
I only got half way through this attic when I turned around and got out. I love summer, but this was just stupid-Hot. I disclaimed the other half of the attic.

What is the hottest attic you have been in?

I’m no stranger to high temperatures. I once raced my bicycle 72 miles in 112°F (a record high temp in TN for that day) where only 1/4 of the competitors finished. I grew up in the deep south. I seriously could not take this heat of this attic though.
The coldest thing in the attic was my exhaled breath at 99°F

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Jeez, Bert! I sometimes cook my turkey overnight at 200 degrees…be careful!

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That’s funny. I told my assistant that I could put a ham in there and come back the next day and I bet i will be done.
Why was our first thoughts about food?
Ha Ha.

You can be a ham and I can be a turkey, at times…LOL

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I have no idea. I don’t generally bring a wet bulb thermometer into the attic with me!

My AC guy posted this on his Facebook page a couple weeks ago.

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134* is the average down here from now thru the summer.
Sometimes I have to wear gloves or burn my hands.
Attics are deadly - be careful & keep your mind on task.

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What Marc said…the other day in Wellington FL… trusses were certainly toasty!!FLIR3860

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197.4°F? That’s incredible.
I’m suspicious. Is that an IR thermometer? Is it aimed at foil? Is that foil reflecting an image of a flash-light bulb?

I’m not sure exactly. It seemed a little unbelievable to me. It’s been hot here though. 90’s outside and very humid.

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I don’t usually either. But since this was a special situation I did, and It helped me to tie together a few other observations and help my customer with a better understanding of why this is important and how it affects other systems.

  1. When I arrived at the property I tapped the thermostat down a few degrees to 73°F.
  2. I inspected the roof which had new shingles (2019)
  3. At the end of the inspection the temperature in the house had not reduced even one degree. It had run continuously for 2.5 hours. 3950 ft² on one 3.5 ton heat pump manufactured 2018 with flex-duct and 22 registers. I know because i took temperatures at all 22 and they were balanced. I know…beyond SOP.
  4. The attic was my last stop and it was super hot and I stayed as long as I could and just had to bail but not before I observed the ventilation situation and insulation and structure and documented a few other observations like rotten sheathing around the chimney which was improperly flashed on the roof. My assistant fetched me a Flir camera and we got a few thermal pictures.

I know it is beyond SOP to calculate tonnage or comment on adequacy of the cooling system and ducting. And temperatures in the attic are not a required thing.

But my customer (owner of one of the top 5 real estate offices in town) was glad that I went beyond SOP on this house she is buying for her Daughter and Son-in-law. The new Heat pump struggling to push air through 22 registers for 3950 ft² and a ceiling being heated by an oven basically… these are both contributing to the Heat pump running continuously and not being able to get the house cooled. Oh, also the new roof replaced one that was only 12 years old. My first thought is that the last roof wore out pre-maturely because of the lack of ventillation and it cooked the old shingles. The new roof may not fare much better unless the attic is fixed.

This is good information for my client to have; A more complete picture.


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Nice job going above and beyond while looking out for your clients best interests.
The going beyond SOP thing is a fickle bitch, but as long as you are qualified and feel confident in your training and knowledge to perform the investigation, (which you obviously are), I say “go-for-it”!
Thanks for sharing!!

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That’s ridiculous, 3.5 ton unit for a house almost 4000 sq ft!

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I’m sure you know size alone doesn’t matter!! :wink:

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Very impressive! Thanks