Insulate Attic Roof Vs Floor

How to insulate an unfinished attic in an unfinished attic the goal of insulation is to keep the rooms below cool in summer and warm in winter.

Insulate attic roof vs floor.

That would make no sense. At the same time the areas below the roof benefit from increased comfort both during the winter and the summer. But if the floor is covered in plywood you can t stuff enough insulation beneath it to do the job sufficiently not even in warm climates. But the best solution is actually to insulate both the attic floor and the underside of the roof.

Start with the attic floor. That means insulating the attic floor only not the walls and having vents in the roof. When you insulate the attic floor you do want to have a lot of venting to keep the attic space closer to the temperature of the outside. Unless in air conditioned attics insulation is typically installed on the ceiling plane not on the sloped roof assembly.

Then you could simply insulate the pitched roof. Insulating the roof is a priority if the ceilings of your home happen to be part of the roof deck as is the case with cathedral ceilings. Because the simplest and cheapest way to insulate an attic is to add material to the floor. In this way you prevent the heat from the rooms below escaping to the attic rooms above.

You may also insulate your roof to help regulate the temperature in an attic that is a part of your living space. Since the ceiling in the attic is too low to make it into a living space you should only insulate the floor. Insulating the ceiling will create a new heating zone and essentially you will be paying more to heat your attic. Plan to pull up the flooring and layer new.

Materials commonly used for the insulation of the roof deck include. It s more effective and easier to install insulation on the attic floor than in the roof assembly. Another reason you wouldn t want to insulate the ceiling rafters is that you can wind up with ice dam issues. It is not nearly as common as just the attic floor.

Stop using your attic for storage. If you do need to install insulation in the roof assembly take into account some rules. If you insulate the attic roof you don t want any vents that allow outside air between the insulation and the rest of your attic. It may cost a little more to insulate the roof plane but once insulated you re essentially paying nothing extra to heat that space.