How To Insulate Your Attic Rafters

Don a long sleeved shirt safety glasses gloves and a dust mask to prevent irritating fiberglass from reacting with.

How to insulate your attic rafters.

Fill every joist space completely and evenly with the insulation leaving attic vents uncovered. Staple it to the rafters or scabbed on boards with a staple gun so that the paper backing is toward the interior of the room to act as a vapor barrier. Attach the insulation to the rafter scab board by the paper flange so as not to compress the fiberglass. If you do need to do your rafters use closed cell foam it green.

You get a seamless air barrier and high r value even in just 1 inch. Hire a pro to install spray foam insulation. If your attic is going to be converted into livable space then you will need to insulate the roof rafters. Install ventilation baffles into the space between the rafters before you install the insulation usually by stapling into place.

Don t be duped into thinking other types of insulation will give you a tight air seal. If you have a solid floor covering the roof rafters use the claw end of a hammer to pull the floor up in several locations and blow the insulation under the boards. Then blow another layer on top of the roof rafters. Blow in insulation until the hopper is empty.

If you re considering turning your attic into conditioned storage or living space it s worth changing tactics to insulate between the rafters and wall joists instead of the floor. You can use rigid foam panels or do as tom silva does with nearly all houses these days. Then pivot in place and do the same thing to the other side. That air seal means you keep the air you heated or cooled inside your home.

Attach baffles to the bottom of the roof sheathing the plywood or solid wood strips onto which roofing material was installed. In finished attic rooms with or without dormer insulate 2a between the studs of knee walls 2b between the studs and rafters of exterior walls and roof 2c and ceilings with cold spaces above. 2d extend insulation into joist space to reduce air flows. How to install rafter insulation.

Move across the attic until you ve hit your desired height at every point. With a helper to load the blower with insulation as needed start at the perimeter of the attic and work toward the attic access door. Plus spraying the rafters also uses more spray foam it s a larger surface area. For the center areas hold the hose level and blow in insulation evenly until you ve reached your level lines photo 6.

Use 3 8 inch heavy duty staples every six inches. Make sure the paper flange and the staples lie flat against the board to create an even surface for attaching the finished wall material.