![]() Packing fiberglass insulation along the exterior perimeters resulted in 5″ fiberglass insulation in most of the attic, which gives us R12. Adding 8″ cellulose gives us another R30 (R3.7 per inch), brings our attic insulation to the minimal requirement in our zone, R49.įigure 3. We already have 8″ fiberglass insulation in the attic, which gives us R19 (R 2.375 per inch). But we are dealing with really lower roof pitch, so 52″ on the roof only gives us 16″ rise.įigure 2. That is because that with modern roof pitch (steeper) and better insulation materials, 52″ on the roof usually gives plenty of rise (height) for effective insulation. And trust me, we tried to buy rafter vents that are longer than 52″ and really did not find any affordable options. We can only add loose insulation up to the top of the rafter vents, which is 16″ from the attic floor. Here are some nerdy schematics for my argument:įigure 1. It makes blowing cellulose easier, but more importantly, piling the fiberglass insulation against the corner allows us to have better insulation in majority of the attic. At least they are 3-month-old nails, so they do not have rust on them yet.Īfter each rafter vent was stapled down, Slav piled the old insulation against the corner as high as he could without blocking the vents. See the nails protruding out of the plywood subroof? I had to keep my head down to prevent them from protruding my dura. And as a good wife and a hardcore DIYer, I crawled into the corner, carrying one rafter vent at a time, and stapled it onto the top plate. But he did it so I did not have to crawl through loose fiberglass and plant my face into it, so #husbandoftheyear. It was nice for him to do that because moving around 55-year-old fiberglass is incredibly dusty (our camera would not even focus). It happens to be that Slav is a regular size guy with regular size arms, which makes me the chosen one to crawl into corner and staple the vents.Īs any good husband would do, Slav raked away the loose fiberglass insulation to give me a few feet of clear working space. A regular size guy will not be able to reach the top plate unless he is super flat and has ridiculous long arms. But in our case, we had to retrofit them in, which means crawling into the tight corner where the roof rafters meet the exterior wall, and stapling the the rafter vents to its position. Typically, rafter vents are installed before the ceiling drywall is hung, allowing workers to stand below the roof structure and easily staple the rafter vents onto the plywood subroof. ![]() Without rafter vents, loose insulation can block the soffit vents and moisture will be trapped in the attic and cause rot. It is basically a piece of foam or PVC board that has build-in tunnels, and it is meant to be installed tightly against the top plate of your exterior wall pointing up, so fresh air from the soffit vent can rise along the cold roof, out from the roof ridge vents, and bring moisture out with it. If you do not know what rafter vent is, here is a video. And due to the soffit venting system, we need to retrofit rafter vents to ensure adequate air circulation in the attic. Ha!īasically, because of the trusses, we have to use blown-in insulation instead of laying down fiberglass batts. ![]() ![]() Why? Here is the logic – by the way, please do not tell me if I am wrong, because we are already waaay too far into the process and there are 1100 pounds of cellulose insulation currently sitting in our garage. But it is incredibly challenging to add insulation into our attic, due to the roof trusses system and the 4:12 pitched roof. We also like the idea to make our house run more efficiently, even through the cost of adding insulation takes years to pay off. ![]() It is necessary to say the least, since we have only R19 in our attic in a zone calling for R49 to R60. The real test for my love and commitment came a couple weeks prior, after we decided to beef up our attic insulation. I almost do not mind doing it for living, which is the most one can say before actually doing it for living. I have to admit, although I knew I’d like renovating, I did not know I’d like it this much. It sounds crazy because renovation is basically spending money to create work for oneself, but it makes sense if you like tangible tasks and working with your hands. I was not only looking forward to owning my own place, but also to renovating and creating in it. During my rental years, I was obsessed with buying a house. ![]()
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