Is It Okay Not To Insulate Your Attic

There are three common attic insulation types used today.

Is it okay not to insulate your attic.

I think the thing i ve learned is that if your not going to finish the attic area and the walls to the finished room are insulated you don t have to insulate the roof joist but you do need to insulate in between the floor joist and the finished walls. It isn t important to insulate the ceiling between the attic and the garage because those areas are not affected by a home s heating and cooling system. You must not cover up any recessed can light fixtures unless they are ic rated ic stands for insulation contact. You could see your energy bills go down by as much as 15 to 25 percent depending on your climate and existing levels of insulation.

The long term payoff of insulating an attic is impressive too. The danger is that the can light could overheat and cause a fire. If you have fiberglass insulation batts rolled out between joists and blown in fluffy insulation piled on top of that you have enough insulation. According to the department of energy properly insulating the attic can save 10 to 50 percent on a typical heating bill.

Some types of insulation are found in older homes and some of them may no longer be used. Batt spray and blown. However building codes only require an r 38. 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.

There are different types of attic insulation and they each have their pros and cons. There is a similar fire risk with older houses that have knob and tube wiring. Degraded or chewed by. And you may also qualify for a tax credit on the blown in attic insulation cost check with the irs or at energystar gov.

A lot of builders and homeowners are going with spray foam insulation because of the airtightness benefits but then the questioner mentioned that the spray foam contractor had intentionally left big holes to the outside by not sealing the gable vents. In the baltimore area the u s. Attic insulation is measured by an r value which indicates how insulation controls the flow of heat and cold through your home. Earlier this year i got a question about a home that had spray foam insulation in the attic.

If these walls are not insulated the temperature of the garage can affect the rooms and make the house. Thanks everyone for your insight. Replace or supplement your attic insulation if it is. Nothing unusual about that.

Here s a good rule of thumb. In the washington area there are many styles of homes and roofs but. It is important to insulate any walls that separate the garage from air conditioned rooms in the house. There are a few things to note when insulating an attic.

There are better ways to spend your money on garage improvements that may help lower your energy bills. Department of energy recommends r 49 attic insulation. Plan to pull up the flooring and layer new insulation on top of the old.