Insulate Unfinished Attic Rafters

Home ceilings are usually insulated in order to seal off the extreme temperatures in your attic.

Insulate unfinished attic rafters. Insulating between rafters install batting between the roof rafters for finished attic spaces. If the plastic sheeting is in pieces overlap the pieces by 8 inches and staple it in place directly to the roof rafters and the wall. Hire a pro to install spray foam insulation. If the air distribution is in the attic space then consider insulating the rafters to move the distribution into the conditioned space.

Do not use plastic sheeting in this case. I am trying to insulate my unfinished garage roof in order to reduce heat. Depending on your climate an r value between 38 and 60 is optimal. I use my garage as a home gym so i want to cool it off.

Insulating a finished attic there are two basic ways to insulate a finished attic. Attic baffles also known as rafter vents go along the sides of your attic and keep your soffit vents from being blocked by insulation. In this case the area behind the knee wall will be uncomfortably hot or cold. In unfinished attic spaces insulate between and over the floor joists to seal off living spaces below.

You should only insulate your rafters if you have baffles installed to separate the actual rafters themselves from the insulation. When using insulation that has. You can use either faced or unfaced batting for this installation. If only the living space will be insulated wrap the insulation around the room s walls and ceiling and then continue along the floor of the non living space.

If you re considering turning your attic into conditioned storage or living space it s worth changing tactics to insulate between the rafters and wall joists instead of the floor. Batt insulation can be added to the underside of the roof between rafters and a layer of batt or loose insulation can be added over the attic flooring. 1a attic access door. I live in california with summer days usually over 90 degrees.

You can use rigid foam panels or do as tom silva does with nearly all houses these days. Place the plastic sheeting on top of the rolled insulation. Attic moisture problems are often the result of heated air from the living space rising up into the attic which is not heated. If your attic is usable space but not lived in then you won t need to insulate the roof rafters as long as the ceiling floor that separates the roof from your living area below is insulated.