Bilco roof hatch

I plan to install a bilco type s aluminum roof hatch and I’d like opinions about whether the thermal barrier option is worth the extra money. It’s a few hundred dollars more.

slimc

in General Discussion 4 years and 7 months ago

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dorkofwindsor | 4 years and 7 months ago

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personally I would absolutely do it. my Bilco is rather cold in the winter and my stairwell quite cold as a result. I understand urbandad’s rationale with cost to area ratio, but if you think of it in the extreme it is certainly not. If you had a 36×36 hole in your roof that would certainly be a big deal after thousands in insulation you are doing. Its more of a weakest link exercise like acoustics rather than an isolated cost/benefit analysis.

make sure your curb is insulated… I get interior condensation as well so I might recommend xps on the curb. just make sure they don’t leave the curb walls empty.

hkapstein | 4 years and 7 months ago

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I think the standard bilco hatches are insulated, and that shouldn’t cost several hundred bucks, so what I’m guessing is that this feature refers to a thermal break, or a barrier to thermal bridging. Now unless you’re home is very well insulated, I doubt you’ll notice much difference from this.

slimc | 4 years and 7 months ago

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Urbandad – this roof hatch has morphed into a larger project which includes a new roof and blown-in insulation. So I’m thinking it might be worth considering.. But yes, normally it wouldn’t make sense to just do that small area.

hkapstein | 4 years and 7 months ago

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Well you’d be paying several hundred dollars to insulate 3 square feet, so most likely your money would be better spent on other insulation projects unless that area is particularly important for some reason.