Home Attic Insulation Recommendations

Add insulation to attic.

Home attic insulation recommendations.

Why attic insulation r value matters for california homeowners at this point you may be wondering why this r value matters so much especially when it s for an attic that you probably go into once a year to fetch your christmas decorations. The higher the r value the better the thermal performance of the insulation. Plan to pull up the flooring and layer new insulation on top of the old. You can achieve better thermal performance in your attic by adding an additional layer of insulation.

Achieving greater r values in exterior walls in exterior walls add insulating sheathing to achieve a greater r value in your wall system. Because the simplest and cheapest way to insulate an attic is to add material to the floor. Existing 3 4 inches of insulation. But if the floor is covered in plywood you can t stuff enough insulation beneath it to do the job sufficiently not even in warm climates.

While federal and in some cases state guidelines for insulation levels are merely recommendations the local building code is the true authority over insulation requirements. In general an attic s r value should be between r 30 and r 49. If your insulation doesn t measure up and you need more installation can be done as a weekend diy project or you can call a professional installer to handle the job. Recommended insulation levels for retrofitting existing wood framed buildings.

And approximately 550 sq. Depending on where you live and the part of your home you re insulating walls crawlspace attic etc you ll need a different r value. We have a 700 sq. Recommended attic insulation in california here in southern california and any other hot climate it s usually recommended to install both a radiant barrier and blown in fiberglass or cellulose in the attic in cooler climates it can.

Of attic space above the ground floor with no insulation and problematic access. Second story addition with 40 year old r 19 insulation in the attic that could be replaced or added to. Your home s r value score will guide you toward the type of insulation you need. In particularly cold climates you might go up to.

We are also hopeful of being able to take advantage of. The best type of insulation for the attic and other areas of your home mainly depends on where you live. Typical recommendations for exterior walls are r 13 to r 23 while r 30 r 38 and r 49 are common for ceilings and attic spaces.