Insulation for insulation - not soundproofing
I’ve been through the archives – and am still not clear as to the opions when it comes to insulating a brownstone. We have a crawlspace above the top floor ceiling and below the roof. It has a few skyights. Right now it’s empty – and I’m gathering that I can get a significant savings…
I’ve been through the archives – and am still not clear as to the opions when it comes to insulating a brownstone.
We have a crawlspace above the top floor ceiling and below the roof. It has a few skyights. Right now it’s empty – and I’m gathering that I can get a significant savings in heat loss if I insulate. I see there’s blown-in. Home Depot sells the pink fiberglass kind. What’s the best way to go, and who are the best companies/contractors to do the work.
Thanks!
We just had a home inspector come and evaluate a property we are interested in buying. He did not inspect the crawl space, but did offer this advice regarding insulation in his report: ATTIC ACCESS
“We were not able to get access to the area under the roof to examine
the insulation or the roof framing. Since a tremendous amount of
heat is lost in a building through the ceilings, you should open up
this area in the future and examine it for insulation. Follow these
guidelines:
1) If there is 5 to 6 inches of insulation, just make sure that there are
no gaps or spaces in it, and leave it alone, it is fine.
2) If there is insulation, but less than 5 or 6 inches, add UNFACED
insulation to it. Make sure that there is no vapor barrier on the new
material.
3) If there is NO insulation, install new 6 inch material with a vapor
barrier (foil face or plastic) with the vapor barrier towards the
heated area. You can use loose cellulose or other insulation without
a vapor barrier, but you must then increase the ventilation of the
attic spaces.
4) In any event, you MUST have adequate ventilation on top of the
insulation to eliminate moisture buildup in the winter and to
remove heat in the summer.”
Hope this helps.
Thanks for your post. I was thinking of someone else to do the insulating – is it easy to do? I want to be thorough, which is why the blown -in approach was attractive – although I have no idea what it might cost. There is a tenant living in the top floor now.
We have access to the crawlspace above with a trap door, and also via a removable 4 pane window which is be low the skylight. and rests in an opening in the ceiling. Do you think the insulation bats are a good option for us? What do you estimate the cost to be?
Can you get in there to install insulation bats?
We have been focused on natural fibers – paper (blown in), cotton & wool. Ended up choosing cotton because we wanted bats given we have opened up ceiling & hence installation ease. Wool was too expensive. We are using Bonded Logic Ultratouch – made of 85% post-industrial recycled cotton fibres. Should be good for:
1. insulation
2. Sound-proofing
3. low environmental impact