Everything About the Attic

Installing attic insulation is a pretty easy task, one of the easiest when it comes to house renovation. If you want to do it yourself, you need to know your options. And these aren’t too many: you can choose either batt or loose fit, roll and blanket insulation.

So here are the most important tools you’ll need when installing your attic insulation: the insulation (obviously), a measuring tape, a utility mask, and all the protective equipment you must wear (filter mask, gloves, goggles, a long sleeved shirt and long pants and finally knee pads, which are optional).

The basic steps needed in order to properly install attic insulation are easy to do, but this doesn’t necessarily meant that they shouldn’t be done cautiously. In a very brief fashion, these steps are:
1.Unroll the blanket or the batt;
2.Put it into place by pressing it;
3.Unfold the edges of the facing and if needed, staple it into place.

However, if you want the job to be done in a perfect manner, you need to follow a few basic guidelines. This will prevent you from ever having to deal with insulation problems. Maybe the most important piece of advice of them all is: install the vapor barrier so that it faces the living space! This is a must.

Also, only one side of the insulation should have a vapor barrier. You need to make sure of this in the eventuality that some moisture will eventually be present. In this case, the last thing you need is for this moisture to be trapped inside the insulation. It must be able to escape into the attic.

In order to be able to completely preserve the full R-value needed in your area, you must avoid to compress your existing insulation. The natural state of the insulation is what gives it its default R-value and that’s why you need to keep it in its natural state. Things that are bound to happen in the future are also taken into consideration when the R-value is calculated. Fiberglass batts, after a batt is unrolled, will surely expand. Blown cellulose will settle. All these factors are taken into consideration when doing the R-value calculations, so that’s why you should not temper with that in any way.