How To Insulate An Attic In Texas

Most attic insulation is either fiberglass batts roll out blankets pre cut to fit in the spaces between ceiling joists or cellulose loose fill pulverized paper or fabric that is blown into attic spaces with a large hose.

How to insulate an attic in texas.

Uninsulated attic spaces are responsible for significant heat loss since heat rises in a building. If you live in the texas panhandle consider increasing your insulation level to at least r 38. In a standard insulation system ceiling insulation reduces the transfer of heat from the attic to the living space in the summer. This old house general contractor tom silva and host kevin o connor demonstrate the proper way to insulate an attic.

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. Attic temperatures can often approach 140f during the day. The two types of attic insulation available for diy are loose fill insulation and batts insulation. Spray foam is great for hard to reach gaps because it starts off as a liquid that expands creating an insulation barrier.

The best way to insulate your house or church school or office building greatly depends on what type of environment you live in if you look at historic houses and buildings you can learn a lot about how to design for your climate because early builders had to adapt to the local conditions to try to make buildings as comfortable as possible. See below for a shopping list and tools. Achieving greater r values in attics the higher the r value the better the thermal performance of the insulation. Because the simplest and cheapest way to insulate an attic is to add material to the floor.

Insulation tips for hot humid climates. Residents of southern and central texas should insulate their attics to at least r 30 or about 9 5 inches of conventional fiberglass batt insulation. Spray foam is a more expensive and more effective alternative to batt insulation. Properly installed a foam attic can average 80 degrees in the hot texas sun.

Find your zone on the map and then use the chart to determine the level of insulation you need to properly insulate your attic walls floors and crawlspaces. Plan to pull up the flooring and layer new insulation on top of the old.