Attic Stuffed With Construction Materials

If building a knee wall for storage like karl did with this project make sure to insulate that area as well.

Attic stuffed with construction materials.

Use r 30 insulation for the ceiling and r 13 for the walls. Fortunately this is a fairly easy fix. A material device or construction installed to restrict the movement of air within open spaces of concealed areas of building components such as crawl spaces floor ceiling assemblies roof ceiling assemblies and attics. You might open up your attic and find bare joists with fiberglass or cellulose insulation between the joists.

Staple insulation between the wall studs and ceiling joists image a. You can sister the joists by cutting 2 x8 boards the same length as the joists applying construction adhesive and affixing each to a joist with nails. It needs a certain amount of loft to work properly. In order to facilitate this exchange of warm and cool air the general rule of thumb suggests installing at least 1 sq.

Of vent for every 300 sq. Wet roofing panels have even less of a chance of drying in an unventilated attic when insulation has been applied directly to the underside of the roofing panels. Building codes vary. This truss is commonly used over garages to create a bonus room but sometimes the space becomes bedrooms offices or even second living rooms.

A naked light bulb hanging from the center cast an amber glow. The attic in my great grandmother mimi s home in kensington md a big old victorian with a view of the railroad tracks in the distance was a cabinet of wonders. The opening around a furnace or water heater flue or chimney can be a major source of warm air moving into the attic. Draftstopping draftstop is defined by the international building code as.

For example if your attic is accessed through a hatchway or dropdown ladder you can install a few thin plywood panels across the joists or attic trusses within reach of the hatchway. Construction design attic truss an attic truss is a type of roof truss with an integrated living space built into its design. If you are just looking for extra storage space consider the minimalist approach of installing flooring in just part of the attic. The insulation fiberglass or cellulose is then placed on top of the drywall with no vapor barrier above or below.

Don t mash or compress the insulation into the space. The best approach for a vented attic in a cold climate is installing a layer of drywall with a good coat of latex paint the paint creates a semi permeable vapor barrier.