this post was submitted on 13 Oct 2026

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Reverendender@sh.itjust.works

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Re-insulating the attic. Yep, there's your problem right there. (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 2 days ago by hereiamagain@sh.itjust.works to c/loadbearingwisdom@sh.itjust.works

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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 ⅛-¼ 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 🤦‍♂️

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.

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[–] greedytacothief@lemmy.dbzer0.com 16 points 1 day ago (3 children)

You should count yourself lucky you've got insulation up there. So many old houses around here have it all stolen by mice.

[–] Etterra@discuss.online 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Peanut butter is the best bait for mouse traps I've ever used.

[–] Whats_your_reasoning@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Mice haven’t responded to any traps I’ve set, regardless of bait.

Leaving a plastic bag on the floor, however, seems to attract them every time. I caught one when it went into a Costco-sized bag of paper towels. No food in it, no trash in it, just individually-wrapped paper towel rolls. I guess mice are so used to plastic bags being full of food, they gotta explore them whenever they find them.

[–] Noodle07@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

Works on both mice and cats

[–] hereiamagain@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 day ago

That's fair! So far no mice. Lots of neighborhood cats, much to the chagrin of my lawn.. cat dooky everywhere.

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[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 9 points 1 day ago (2 children)

To be fair, that was code in 1962.

[–] hereiamagain@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 day ago

Lol fair enough

[–] SCmSTR@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 1 day ago

Over half a century ago. 64 years.

[–] davidagain@lemmy.world 21 points 2 days ago (3 children)

As a Brit, I find it wild to see a measuring device with imperial but no metric on it. Like, do Americans seriously not need to interface with any measurements beyond the 18th century?

Upvoted, obviously, for getting your insulation functional.

[–] Crashumbc@lemmy.world 15 points 1 day ago

Says a country that drives on left. (Against rest of world), stills uses pounds (currency), and uses"stones"

[–] rbos@lemmy.ca 8 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Canadian, same. Dual measures are pretty universal. It's honestly nearly impossible to find a stupid metric only tape. Super weird to see imperial only. Could be an old tool?

[–] hereiamagain@sh.itjust.works 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

It's crazy I know.

If I'm doing 3d design by myself? It's metric all the way. Imperial fractions are the dumbest form of measurement, just beating out biblical "hand breadths" and cubits.

But alas, I grew up imperial measurements. So in my brain, for big measurements, feet and inches are easier for me to Intuit, so that's what I use. And fractions get you close enough in most cases without having to go smaller than an 8th or maybe a 16th, so that's what I use. Doubly so if you're working with someone else.

I have had many tape measures in my time, most of them have had metric on the other side. I've literally never used it, because when I'm doing metric it's small stuff and I'm using calipers. Frankly the metric on a tape measure just gets in the way, since that's just not how I use it.

I sought out this tape measure because it was cheap, and it has the fractions written on it. Most tapes don't, you just have to remember the length of the lines and the meanings of the general positions. I hate it, because I don't do construction often enough to remember 🤷‍♂️

I got it at Menards, it's proforce or something like that. Lime green.

All in all, I wish we were metric. But we are not. And it makes my life more difficult to try learning and then forcing others to use it. So imperial it is 🤷‍♂️

[–] rbos@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 day ago

You can only travel from where you are, not from where you wish you could be.

Sounds like it fits your needs well!

I wish I could find a metric-only tape measure tho.

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

You can buy imperial only tape measures at any hardware store in Canada.

[–] rbos@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 day ago

Maybe if you're specifically looking for 'em. Never really checked.

Still weird to me.

[–] piccolo@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Most things are measured in imperial. Only like small precision things are measured in metric, but mils is still common enough where measureing tools must do both.

[–] A_Union_of_Kobolds@lemmy.world 51 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Am electrician, if youre considering adding any lights or power to that floor you should do so NOW vs after you insulate.

[–] CompactFlax@discuss.tchncs.de 35 points 2 days ago

Or Ethernet, for example AP drops or cameras in the soffits.

[–] hereiamagain@sh.itjust.works 16 points 2 days ago

Already in the works, adding a ceiling fan to the living room, and a couple extra lights in places.

[–] Nefara@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

There's reasons not to do spray foam. Batts are great, mineral wool is the best but fiberglass will be fine if you can't afford it yet. Can save up for more in the future. Just doing 8 inches now and making sure you have a well installed membrane/air barrier will probably be a huge improvement

[–] Humana@lemmy.world 27 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (6 children)

Had almost this identical insulation situation when I bought my house. The ceiling just had some thin rock wool. First I went to Lowes and got a few cans of fire-rated spray foam and used it to seal around all ceiling fixtures, canister lights, wire penetrations, anything air can leak from. Next I built a little dam with scrap wood around the access hatch. Then spent one Saturday with a friend blowing insulation in. 8 hours of blower rental was free for every 3 bags of insulation you bought, but it didn't take nearly that much time. Had it up to R-48 depth in only about 4 hours of blowing. I submit the receipts to my state's energy rebate program and was 100% reimbursed. I think the blow-in did a much better job and was easier to get into odd shaped framing than bat would have been.

My winter gas bill halved, much better than I hoped. I also wasn't expecting for my summer AC to bill drop by almost 75%. My house was MUCH more comfortable too. Almost all the draftiness disappeared after that.

I paid $0 after rebates, spent probably 12 hours labor total, and save easily $100-$200 a month.

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 day ago

wasn’t expecting for my summer AC to bill drop by almost 75%

Southern Anerican states dont understand how insulated attics work. They do stupid shit instead like white paint on roofs.

[–] Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 1 day ago

when i hear shit like this it suddenly makes more sense why so many americans have insane ideas about electricity not being able to heat houses or whatever

[–] Bane_Killgrind@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 2 days ago

submit the receipts to my state’s energy rebate program and was 100% reimbursed

So many people don't know to look for these reimbursements, many countries have them

[–] hereiamagain@sh.itjust.works 9 points 2 days ago

That's amazing!

I did look into my states rebate programs, and they only allow them if you pay a contractor to do the work, and even then, they have to be an approved contractor, and they get the rebate, not you, so hopefully you trust them 🤦‍♂️

Someone else mentioned blow in insulation, and I did consider it, but it's a bit messy and fussy for what I want to do with the space in the future. So batting it is 🤷‍♂️

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[–] Yerbouti@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 day ago

I've never felt the need to insult my attic so I'm definitely not gonna insult it again.

[–] mushroommunk@lemmy.today 25 points 2 days ago (1 children)

"it compacts, it was 8inches when we installed it" <- words I've heard way too much

[–] Lemmyoutofhere@lemmy.ca 18 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I was in the pool!

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[–] StabbingSky@lemmy.zip 10 points 2 days ago (15 children)

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.

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 day ago

Overdone. There is no benefit above 16 inches.

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 day ago

Overdone. There is no benefit above 16 inches.

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[–] Wizard_Pope@lemmy.world 13 points 2 days ago (1 children)

What kinda wack fuck inaulation is that? Our garden shed is better insulated than that.

[–] hereiamagain@sh.itjust.works 11 points 2 days ago (1 children)

It's super old, and I doubt it was 8 inches when installed, probably 3 or 4. Crazy. Old houses 🤷‍♂️

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[–] HubertManne@piefed.social 13 points 2 days ago (1 children)

ugh im in a condo and can't convince people on the need for much more attic insulation. its so cheap and we can recover the cost so quickly. face palm.

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[–] Malica@lemmy.zip 6 points 2 days ago (4 children)

Looks like you'll have a much better winter this time around.

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