Make your attic rooms more comfortable by air sealing and insulating
If your attic rooms aren’t retaining temperature well, it may be due to a lack of proper air sealing and insulation. With this relatively simple project, you can make a big impact on the comfort of these rooms, and save energy in your home.
Project Overview
Tools and Materials:
- Utility knife
- Table or circular saw
- Caulk gun
- Measuring tape
- Lights
- Straight edge
- Markers
- Foam/caulk/construction adhesive
- Cavity insulation—fiberglass batts
- Blocking material—rigid foam board
- Sheathing—OSB/plywood, code-approved foam board or bubble-wrap radiant barrier
- Fasteners—screws with washer or button-capped nails
Safety:
- Dust mask/respirator
- Gloves
- Safety glasses
- Kneepads
- Attic kneewalls help separate a conditioned attic space from the unconditioned attic. Unfortunately, if these kneewalls are badly insulated or air sealed, then they may not be doing a very good job.
- Add blocking first, to help prevent air leakage. Once blocking has been put in place, you can begin to airseal the space by using caulk or spray foam.
- Cavity insulation and sheathing can also help to further protect your attic rooms from air leakage, but should be added last.