Best Attic Insulation For Old House

If you live in an older house you ll have to inspect the insulation.

Best attic insulation for old house.

The national park service advises using insulation treated with borates in historic structures because it won t corrode piping. The traditional option is fiberglass insulation. When you choose this solution and work at it alone be careful and wear safety gear. It s available in fiberglass mineral wool plastic fibers and natural fibers.

Or you can also use blown in insulation which has environment friendly materials available. This type of insulation is mainly made from recycled paper mainly newspapers and sometimes cardboards and other kinds of papers and comes in loose fills. For anyone living below the mason dixon line it is never worth the expense to retrofit an old house with wall insulation. For diy attic insulation you ve got two choices.

Achieving greater r values in attics the higher the r value the better the thermal performance of the insulation. This type of insulation. The attic is often the easiest place to add insulation. To keep the ventilation space clear above soffit vents special baffles need to be installed before the insulation goes in.

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. Thickness must not be used as the sole factor in determining the r value of loose fill insulation particularly for attic insulation. Check the attic walls and floors adjacent to an unheated space like a garage or basement. Inspecting and evaluating your insulation.

Loose fill or batt the common term for blanket insulation. Some homeowners also take the time to build walkways and or storage platforms in the attic prior to installing insulation. In most cases the best type of attic insulation will be blown fiberglass or blown cellulose insulation. Read more about the 3 types of heat here.

Blanket insulation is available as batts or rolls and is the easiest diy insulation material. The majority of heat loss and gain occurs in your attic. There are a couple creative yet expensive ways i would consider retroactively insulating the walls of an old house if you are in a far northern climate where it might make financial sense. Cotton batting treated with borates is a good choice for an old house retrofit.

If you are looking for some organic way to insulate your home cellulose insulation will work best for you. Both can be added to uninsulated attics or layered over existing material.