Adding insulation into attic?

[z06_23_45]

How much of a difference will adding extra insulation into an attic make? How much cooler will it make the house? How much $$$ will I save on my electric bill? Is it worth doing?

At the present time I am probably at a R15ish and will be going to a cellulose R40, if I do it.


Anyone with experience or experts give me your opinion.

TIA,

Mike

 

[oilwell1415]

In Texas I wouldn't add insulation to the attic immediately above the ceiling. I would add a UV barrier in the rafters right under the roof decking and cover that with fiberglass insulation. That creates an airspace between the roof and ceiling that helps save energy.

My cousin built this house a few years ago and used a technique similar to above. The power company pays them for electicity. Their house is completely air tight, so theirs will be more efficient than yours, but you will still get results.

 

[z06_23_45]

Why wouldn't you put insulation right above the attic? Waste of money?? Not enough help with heat loss?

 

[ac427cobra]

How much of a difference will adding extra insulation into an attic make? How much cooler will it make the house? How much $$$ will I save on my electric bill? Is it worth doing?

At the present time I am probably at a R15ish and will be going to a cellulose R40, if I do it.


Anyone with experience or experts give me your opinion.

TIA,

Mike

R-15 is squat Bo-Diddly up here in the Great White Nort! I'd bump it up to like a minimum of R-50 if you can! :read:

In my old house, the blown-in insulation barely covered the 2x6 ceiling joints. In the Summer, you could feel the heat radiating off of the ceiling in the house on hot days. Touching the ceiling drywall would feel VERY warm to the touch.

I had a guy come in and add additional roof ventilation and blew another 8" of cellulose in and the ceiling was cool to the touch on the hottest day of the Summer. Cooling AND heating bills dropped like the Hindenburg.

Once Cap and Trade kicks in you'll be glad you went the extra mile.


YMMV

:thumbsup::coolman::beer:

 

[thomas91169]

+1 on the highest R-value you can get. Its minimal cost over a lesser R-value, and the savings are exponentially greater.

FWIW, R-48 was the insulation value of a 6" urethane core insulated panel that my last company used for cold storage freezers for the metal building industry. literally on a 110* summer day you would have a 26ga steel exterior skin, 6" Urethane foam core panel, and a 26ga interior skin and 0* freezers on the inside and NO condensation. If 6"/R48 is good enough for that application.....

 

[WishIHadSVT]

Yes, it will help but its all in execution as said above.

 

[SpectorV]

who do you contact for this type of job, I need some more insulation added to my attic

 

[CobraBob]

Just look in the Yellow Pages for a local contractor. They're all over the place. Look under....
* Roofing
* Construction
* Home Improvement

You could do a Google search, too. I just did one for Connecticut and found many.

 

[Avispa]

How much of a difference will adding extra insulation into an attic make? How much cooler will it make the house? How much $$$ will I save on my electric bill? Is it worth doing?

At the present time I am probably at a R15ish and will be going to a cellulose R40, if I do it.


Anyone with experience or experts give me your opinion.

TIA,

Mike

Do it!

I've done blown in cellulose to the house I lived in for 14 years in Houston and the current one in Richmond. Both insulation jobs paid out within 2-3 years in reduced electric costs. The old house had one A/C unit and could not maintain 78 degrees inside on a summer day. After the extra insulation, the unit would shut off at least once or twice during the afternoon. I had the essentially same experience with the upstairs A/C unit on the Richmond house.

 

[tistan]

Get sprayed foam insulation. It is as air tight as you get. We have been using this on every home we have built in the last 7 years. It is amazing how good this stuff works compared to the highest r value fiberglass insulation.

 

[Domingo]

Adding insulation to the attic makes a good bit of difference if you're lacking. When we moved into our house, we couldn't keep it cool. After noticing we only had about 4 inches of insulation, we had 11" more blown in. Now the system works great and we noticed a difference in the power bill.

 

[z06_23_45]

Do it!

I've done blown in cellulose to the house I lived in for 14 years in Houston and the current one in Richmond. Both insulation jobs paid out within 2-3 years in reduced electric costs. The old house had one A/C unit and could not maintain 78 degrees inside on a summer day. After the extra insulation, the unit would shut off at least once or twice during the afternoon. I had the essentially same experience with the upstairs A/C unit on the Richmond house.

Get sprayed foam insulation. It is as air tight as you get. We have been using this on every home we have built in the last 7 years. It is amazing how good this stuff works compared to the highest r value fiberglass insulation.

I was looking at getting the blown in cellulose. Are you saying the foam is even better?