Attic Insulation Basics

R value is a measure of insulation s ability to resist heat flow.

Attic insulation basics.

Sounds excessive but it isn t. Blanket insulation is available as batts or rolls and is the easiest diy insulation material. We all know that insulation makes our homes more energy efficient. It s available in fiberglass mineral wool plastic fibers and natural fibers.

If the cost to heat and cool your home is getting you down don t worry. The more heat you can prevent from escaping into your attic the healthier your attic and roof will be. The higher the r value the better the thermal performance of the insulation. The recommended level for most attics is to insulate to r 38 or about 10 to 14 inches depending on insulation type.

Actual costs will depend on job size conditions and options. In frigid areas experts recommend 12 of fiberglass insulation between the living space and attic giving you an r value of 38. 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. For attics cellulose insulation is blown in parallel to the joists.

The installation process for dry cellulose insulation looks like this. But even if you re lucky enough to have insulation in your home you heating and cooling bills might be out of control. How insulation works to understand how insulation works it helps to understand heat flow which involves three basic mechanisms conduction convection and radiation. Blown in dry cellulose insulation is commonly used in this area of the home.

You should do this in the planning and design phases of your home. Attic most building codes also require insulation in the attic. Blowing insulation into an attic the most popular project for using blown in insulation is adding insulation to attics. Check your attic insulation.

Insulation levels are specified by r value. 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. This type of insulation.

To estimate costs for your project. Here the insulation can be blown right over top of existing insulation to any depth or r value. Batt insulation is a type of insulation made of loosely matted fibers fashioned into a blanket like form.