Either way the house is probably wasting energy and the homeowners money.
Ways to insulate attic.
How much does attic insulation cost.
Before insulating seal any air leaks and make roof and other necessary repairs.
If you want to keep the area behind the sidewalls.
In general an attic s r value should be between r 30 and r 49.
Houses built before the energy crunch in the early 70s might just have a little bit of fiberglass insulation in the attic or empty cavities between the joists.
Statistics show that 85 percent of a house s heat loss is straight up through the attic space.
Here s a quick overview on your options for attic insulation including the average cost of each material.
The pros charge 1 500 to 2 000 to do a 1 200 sq ft.
If you need to add insulation in your attic save big by blowing in cellulose insulation yourself.
While insulating your attic space with foam can be an effective way to lower heating costs you can use a simple reflective foil material as a cost effective alternative.
By stapling the foil sheets to your attic roof rafters you can reflect the heat that hits the rafters back down into your home s living space.
Insulate and air seal any knee walls vertical walls with attic space directly behind them in your home as well.
You can do it yourself for about 500.
Determine your desired r rating.
Insulating the attic is a surefire way to warm your home this winter.
If you ve reached your target depth but still have a few bags left over keep adding the material at an even depth throughout the space until all the bags your calculations called for are empty.
In this case the area behind the knee wall will be uncomfortably hot or cold.
If it is located in a conditioned part of the house also remember to insulate and air seal your attic access.
There are two basic ways to insulate a finished attic.
Read this guide to learn the basics of doing it yourself.
But other home maintenance tasks can also defend your house and all of its inhabitants from chilly weather and blustering winds.
Your home s r value score will guide you toward the type of insulation you need.
If only the living space will be insulated wrap the insulation around the room s walls and ceiling and then continue along the floor of the non living space.
In particularly cold climates you might go up to r 60.
Depending on the difficulty of your job the size of your attic and the type of insulation material you choose the final cost for professional placement will likely fall between 1 50 and 3 50 per foot.