I need to insulate my attic in my 1955 ranch with 3 – 12 pitch roof.
Problem is there is no room to get into the attic.
I have roof vents just like these
https://www.hardwareworld.com/Square-Aluminum-Roof-Vent-pN7NTQ5.aspx
It looks like the top or cap is riveted in place
I would like to drill out the rivets and place the hose into the hole and spray insulation into the attic space
Has anyone done it this way?
Is there a better way?
Replies
you gotta get into the attic or you are just wasting your time
you should have space hear the ridge
either cut a hole in the roof or one of the gable ends... or make an attic access scuttle thru the ceiling
Today I examined at a roof vent at Home DepotMy idea probably will not work.Here's why, if you remove the top of the vent and look inside the vent, you will find that the opening is louvered and so you would not be able to insert the hose to shoot the insulation into the attic.I guess you could cut away the louvers and do it that way but this is probably not advisable as the louvers are designed to keep bugs and animals from entering the home.
3 means of access come to mind...
cut thru the ceiling in a closet and insulate the access like_______________posted
cut thru the gable end and install an architectural feature.... like a "loft door"... so you can access it in the future
remove some roof shingles , and cut a hole in the sheathing, then replace
Mike Hussein Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
I did my house by pulling shingles in about 3-4 places and cutting holes. Much easier access for the hose.
http://www.quittintime.com/ View Image
Thanks guys I'm on "steady pay" program meaning you pay the same amount every month year roundNatural gas bill jumped up from about $85 to $100 per mo and avg electric is about $90 so I would like to cut it down
JLC just did a piece on insulating the outside of a roof deck with ridgid foam panels then strapping it ans putting on sleapers for a new deck above the foam. All the old insulation in the roof that's mashed down and useless for heat now is used for simple sound deadening. You seal up your old vents that weren't doing much good in the first place, and now you have the option of opening up the ceiling in various parts of the house for dramatic effect.
Much easier to do, more bang for the buck, and you get a new roof out of the deal.
Tu stultus es
Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
Look, just send me to my drawer. This whole talking-to-you thing is like double punishment.
Interesting....Thanks!
I really, really like that idea. Is a link available?
It was in the last issue, here it is online:
http://www.jlconline.com/cgi-bin/jlconline.storefront/493b14130e7a250d27170a32100a05cb/Product/View/0811retr
Tu stultus esRebuilding my home in Cypress, CAAlso a CRX fanatic!
Look, just send me to my drawer. This whole talking-to-you thing is like double punishment.
now that is a dumb idea........... imnshoMike Hussein Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Kaaaaayyyyyy, Whhhhyyyyyyyyyy????????????
Tu stultus esRebuilding my home in Cypress, CAAlso a CRX fanatic!
Look, just send me to my drawer. This whole talking-to-you thing is like double punishment.
where to begin ?
1) what is the goal ?
to insulate the living space from the exterior
the attic area represents almost half again the same volume as the conditioned area
so... if you move the insulation envelope to the exterior of the roof, you will wind up conditioning more volume with no increase in living area.... and the attic will become a partially conditioned space
2) the labor and materials to insulate the exterior of the roof vs. adding insulation to the attic is several orders of magnitude more.... even if you have to pay for new attic access
3) what r-value do you hope to obtain with the exterior foam insulation ? what is the best ? r-7 per inch ? is that what you'll buy ? or r-5 ?
so... are we going to add 2", or 3", or 4" ? at what cost ? say 4" (r-20 to r-28 ) ?
the n the venting layer, then the sheathing, then the roofing .....and ...4" of foam will add about 6" to the roof thickness.... and all those edges have to be trimmed
the exterior insulation is a VALID solution if the interior is a finished cathedral ceiling that cannot have insulation added to the interior....
we have done exactly that.....in a steel roofed A-frame with wooden cathedral ceilings.... but this is a ranch....with a 3.5/12 pitch..... with an attic
KISS :plug the air leaks, create access, and blow a cap on top of the existing insulation
Mike Hussein Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Edited 12/6/2008 11:41 pm ET by MikeSmith
Why didn't you say that in the first place? :)
No arguments from me about what you posted either.
Tu stultus esRebuilding my home in Cypress, CAAlso a CRX fanatic!
Look, just send me to my drawer. This whole talking-to-you thing is like double punishment.
Hi from cold Canada
Cut and attic access prefeably outside. if not make a good one inside so you can insulate the top with rigid styro insulation and use some kind of weather strip gasket.
You should put insulation stops around the trusses/rafters so the blowen insulation doesn't block venting from soffits. on a 3.5/12 pitch you will have to be a skinny fella to get into the spots. Rule one up here if you increase attic insulation increase ventilation and make sure your drier or bath vents don't end in the attic space. (just found two in last 6 months)
This allows for removal of moisture in the winter and less cooling demands in the summer. up here R40 is the norm for ceilings.
Have fun
BB
the attic area represents almost half again the same volume as the conditioned area
In general, maybe--but under OP's 3/12 roofed ranch? The one with maybe a 48" x 12" under the ridge?
Now, if you mean for 6/12 and steeper, then sure. It's one of my huger arguments against the "builder style" roofs around here with 9/12 amd 12/12 hip roofs; I've seen houses with attics 160, 170% of "conditioned space." Only insualting the outside of those roof decks and leaving the attics ventilated is dumb, dumb, dumb.
Did find a neat artifact of attics in Texas getting the Chritsmas decor down. Only got warm enough this summer to melt, part-way, a votive candle inadvertently packed with the decor. Good thing my attic is ventilated <eyeroll>.Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
i thought the same thing when i saw his picture...blow it full...Mike Hussein Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
thought the same thing when i saw his picture
Ok, wanted to be sure.
We have a few of those near-flat roofs around here, and there's never tho one 'right" answer for any of them.
Which can lead a person to wanting to just rip the bad boys off and start over from "right" in the first place.
Give a person a bias, it will.Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
Hi there,
Do you know what issue the article was and maybe the title. Was trying to access it online and didn't find it. We are trying to figure the best way to insulate a 3 season camp roof which is open to the room on the inside and my cousin suggested a similar scheme.
cheers and good suggestion
Bob
here's article from JLC in PDF format you'll need Adobe Acrobat reader to view. Adobe has free download if you don't have it here's the link
http://www.download.com/Adobe-Reader/3000-18512_4-10000062.html?cdlPid=10907943View Image
Thanks so much, skimmed it just now, seems well explained.
thanks for posting the article.
We call those "pot vents". As far as I know, most have screens in them.
Increasing your attic insulation is one of your best energy savings investments - value wise. Thing is, as Mike says, whoever blows it has gotta get up there so he can do something besides just wildly blowing insulation where ever it may go. Also, if you have soffit vents you need to be careful not to block those. Is the roof stick framed or trusses or do you even know? Reason I ask is if it is trusses it is most probably 24" OC and cutting an attic access hole in the ceiling, framing the hole, trimming the hole with some one by and casing weather stripping and then cutting a "door" to fit shouldn't represent more than a few hours and $40 max in materials. A fairly standard size for a basic access hole is around ~21"x30" finished. You could even do it with 16" OC, it just that the access would be limited to "skinny people" :-) but would still work fine.
Personally I'd make the access hole and then hire an insulation company to blow in another R-20 or more of cellulose.
If you decide to blow it yourself, here anyway, big box stores will lend you a blower if you buy a certain amount of the loose fill insulation. Be aware though that it is a 2 person job. You won't have much fun.... ;-) and you will probably end up with a mess to clean up too.
How long is the gable end? I'm just wondering if there were access how tall the attic might be. 3:12 is pretty minimal.
Thanks for your input and suggestionsthis is a stick built house with gable roof and gable end vents.There is a closet located in approximately the middle of the house and I have already cut the ceiling out of it so it would probably work just to go through there and see what I can do from that direction.If I need to shoot some more in from the roof, I think it would be easiest to just take the ridge cap off and cut a hole in the ridge area.there's no ridge board if I remember correctlyThe rafters just meet and are nailed together.This house was built in 1995Thanks again
How high would you guesstimate the center of the attic is?
About 2 ftHere's a picture of the house and you can see it's a low pitched roofNot much room in the attic.
What's the garage look like inside, it it flat ceiling or go to the roof?
As small as this is, I'd poke holes wherever I could and just fill the whole attic. Plug the vents.
Joe H
garage has a flat ceiling and so there is attic space above itInteresting idea to fill the attic - the return air is in the attic and that would insulate it really well.I'm estimating 30 bales of insulation at $10 eachI would like to spray in that much and see how much it gets filled in.
I put a new roof on the house a year ago.It had never had roof vents.This pic shows the mess I had with the old roof. Gravel and tar under two layers of composition shingles.the second picture is the new roof which shows the location of the roof ventsThere are five roof vents
Something that happened to me is I went from a light colored roof to a dark colored roofthis caused the house to be quite a bit hotter in the summerI'm thinking about painting the "back half" of the roof with a roofing product which is designed to reflect the sun's rays and significantly cool the attic space The back half faces the southhttp://www.henry.com/Cool_Roof_Coatings.269.0.html