Home / attic insulation question

[easeup]

another rec for the going to Lowes or HD and rent the machine. did mine years ago and it was easy.

[Bryan2014]

My dad went thru this problem this year. 5 year old house….spray foam…ACs molded up….$15,000 replacement cost.

One reason i’m polling the folks that know more than we about the topic.

I do ac work and see attics that are spray foamed with soffits sealed and no way for the attic to breathe. I’m not familiar with how spray foam should be installed but on the coast where I am and you are, attics get extremely humid with spray foam. I don’t recommend it for this reason. If you consult the insulation company on this they may have a different opinion, but that’s my personal experience.

I’ve done blown in on a lot of homes and it’s cheap, easy, and very effective. Also doesn’t irritate your skin like traditional fiberglass insulation.

[txlawdog]

Do the blown in but not cellulose. It settles and is a paper product. Gets real dusty. It goes against logic but attic should be the same temp as the outside. If not you get moisture building up, that's why there are soffit and ridge vents so the attic can breathe. Tom Tynan, Home Show radio AM 610 Saturday and Sunday mornings, he explains it way better than I can especially for the gulf coast. He tries to keep it simple and save you money.

[M16]

I do ac work and see attics that are spray foamed with soffits sealed and no way for the attic to breathe.

Ours has an air exchange for that problem. I’ve heard of some people foaming the roof part and doing batt insulation on the rest to save money.

[Colton]

We are in Houston and we used Turbo Home Services. Our attic had almost no insulation when we moved in, and we suffered a busted pipe during the freeze of 2021. Having insulation blown in has made a big difference.

[mavrick]

I would add batts over what’s there. Adding insulation is not going to fix the uninsulated pipes that caused the problem.

[Cookiemonster1]

I would talk to an AC guy familiar with spray foam. See what he says regarding spray foam. Might need to install fresh air return and a dehumidifier. Not sure if the cost of those will make it less appealing.

[Benno]

Ours has an air exchange for that problem. I’ve heard of some people foaming the roof part and doing batt insulation on the rest to save money.

air exchange is the way it is supposed to be done. When you foam seal the attic becomes part of the envelope and the sqft is added to a final energy inspection if one is preformed. The attic is no longer intended to "breathe" like a traditonal attic.

[91cavgt]

Back in 2010 I got an extra 6” of insulation sprayed into the attic on an 1,800 square foot house. At that time it cost a little over $600. It ended up paying for itself in less than a year. It was WELL worth the investment, even at twice the price.

With how electricity prices are only going up, same with natural gas, and inflation is causing the price of everything to go up too, if you are going to do it then DO IT NOW!! It won’t get any cheaper.

[dope hunter]

My dad went thru this problem this year. 5 year old house….spray foam…ACs molded up….$15,000 replacement cost.

One reason i’m polling the folks that know more than we about the topic.

Pro tip! If you decide to do it yourself, with the machine from Lowe’s or Home Depot, I recommend getting an expandable pole saw for assistance. Remove the saw blade and duct tape the hose to the pole. You will be able to stay in one spot and cover way more area without having to move. I’ve done the insulation twice and it was a life saver!


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