Previous owner said they always had huge icicles off the back of the house. This would be why.
.75 inches of fiberglass, where there should be at LEAST 8 inches, and code for our area more like 15 inches.
Combine that with the uninsulated, unblocked floor cavities in the upstairs floor joists, that lead directly to the uninsulated attic space...
And combine THAT with the 4(!!!) access points to the attic that were not only completely uninsulated, but also had no weather sealing, and β -ΒΌ inch gaps around all edges.
This house was literally leaking warm air like a sieve, all winter long.
I'm only putting in 8 inches of fiberglass batting. And sealing every crack and joint I can find, as well as the gaping holes π€¦ββοΈ
It'll still be under code, but, insulating it properly with spray foam would cost literally SIXTEEN TIMES MORE than just using the batting. And considering that our long term goal is to condition the attic space by insulating the roof deck, obsoleting the insulation I'm putting in now, I'm not eager to overspend.
I'll settle for only blocking 95% of heat flow, instead of 99.
Edit, update: I took a few days off, the temp outside went up, and it was sunny, so the attic got real hot real fast. No thanks, I'm not in that kind of rush.
But I got all of one side done yesterday, still need to put the boards back down, and insulate the gappy door, but it's sealed.
I have the reverse situation. There's only like 3ft of clearance and 2.5ft of blown in fiberglass insulation.
Doing anything in the attic is a fucking nightmare.
The times I've gone up into my attic to do anything and have to crawl on my belly in blown in fiberglass are too many. I feel you.
I don't even know how to get in mine. The opening is at the top of a tiny closet, and the hole is built for someone the size of like a 4 year old Ethiopian child. I could fit my toddler up there... But I am not really sure what that would actually accomplish.
Just leave them up there and let them figure it out, not your problem
This is my issue as well. I don't know any professional small people that can do roof repairs.
Once it gets cold enough one of the roof whirlygigs freezes until spring so I had to seal the attic hole up so the insulation pellets (asbestos free) don't get blown down everytime a outside door opens.
Lol what's a whirlygig?
They likely mean a spinning turbine vent.
Exactly, a whirlygig.
Those were never good. Ridge vents work much better.
I have no opinion one way or the other, but most home owners arenβt really involved in the choosing of the vents unless theyβre getting their roof redone.
Those passages are for hiding illegitimate children.
My house originally had only this little sliding panel between two joists, so the opening was like 24" x 15". Just the most insanely claustrophobic experience I've ever had in a house. One of the first things I did on the house was to install a dropdown folding ladder access hatch -- still blows my mind that the thing cost only $109. Found a hat up there that one of the builders must have lost when the house was intially constructed in 1942.
Overdone. There is no benefit above 16 inches.
Overdone. There is no benefit above 16 inches.
But it's warm!
It is that. During snowpocolypse a few years back our house didn't drop below 55F despite it being single digits outside with no power.
Unfortunately, it doesn't hold on to cold air as well.