Attic insulation ?

[Hangfire]

To help get some of the heat out of the attic during the hot summer months six years ago I added ten more soffit vents and three gable vents and my a/c guy (also a friend) told me yesterday that I would also benefit with more attic insulation for both summer and winter......my house was built in the early 70's and what's up there now has never been added to and I don't have a clue of what my 'R factor' is currently.

"R factors' don't mean squat to me but I understand what a inch is......assuming I go with blown in, which is the way I'm leaning, as opposed to sheets how many inches of blown in do I need ?

Is all blown in insulation pretty much created equal or is there good, better and best ?

Do you need to be cautious on how much to add as far as the added weight to the ceiling ?

I recall receiving a letter from OG&E a few months ago that said they give some sort of rebate for attic insulation but I no longer have the letter so I'd have to call them to get the particulars on the rebate.

Any OSA'ers here in the Norman / metro area install blown in installation and if not any recommendations on who can be trusted to call ?

 

[golddigger14s]

R factor is just a way of measuring insulation values. Basically the bigger the number the better.
https://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=home_sealing.hm_improvement_insulation_table

 

[jumpman250r]

I added 2 solar power vent fans in my attic last year and it’s dropped the temperature 30-40 degrees, reduced my electric bill about 20% from last summer and makes the AC run much smoother.

 

[Tanis143]

I added 2 solar power vent fans in my attic last year and it’s dropped the temperature 30-40 degrees, reduced my electric bill about 20% from last summer and makes the AC run much smoother.

I want to do this as well. Right now I have two spinners that don't do squat. I cut in 16 soffit vents but my house was built with gable vents (house is a single roof across the whole house with a smaller roof over the garage that is perpendicular to the house roof) and I think the spinners just pull air from those vents. I want to take the spinners off, put in fans in those two spots and one blowing out from each gable vent.

Hangfire, from what I've seen in most houses 24 inches is what I normally see for blown in. And the original insulation is probably extremely low on r value because over time it compacts. What gives it the insulation is the air pockets, no air pockets means very little insulation factor. You could also look into mylar sheeting, but I've heard thats pretty expensive and a pain in the keister if any work needs to be done in the attic afterwards.

 

[skyhawk1]

2 years ago I had the nasty rockwool insulation cleaned out(most anyway) and they sprayed the rafter area with 6 inches of insulation. Cut the electric bill by at least 35-40% attic is so much cooler now. Guys working on it only fell thru ceiling 3 times.

 

[druryj]

I need to get this done too. Somebody here must have some recommendations on who can blow the stuff in at a fair price.

 

[NightShade]

I was looking at a house at one point and one of my plans was to put in a ridge vent and soffits all along the bottom. Then put firing strips on the rafters and install the blue semi rigid foam sheets. Then when the roof heats up it's really only heating the area between the roof and the foam. Heat rises up and out and the area underneath stays cooler but you still have ventilation keeping the roof materials dry. If the peak is high enough you could put in a large flat area and use the solar vents to exhaust even more heat.

And installing blown in insulation is pretty easy if you have an area to walk. But you will still need to put the semi rigid foam panels in around the edges so you are not blowing the soffits full. A lot of times the big box stores will lean you the machine if you buy enough of the insulation so if it's a point where you buy one or two more go for it. Just remember that it settles over time so if it says to blow in 15 inches do that and then go back over with the extra left over at the end and add a little more. And remember that the walking areas need to have insulation as well so again the foam panels laid down and CD over top with foam stood up to prevent the blown in from falling over.

While you are up the run cat 5 and coax cables. You will not want to try and do it afterwards. Will cost you about 250 extra to do it yourself and increase the value of the house at the same time.

And if you have a crawl space under the house you actually need to insulate it as well. Slab homes are just sol.

 

[Tanis143]

I was looking at a house at one point and one of my plans was to put in a ridge vent and soffits all along the bottom. Then put firing strips on the rafters and install the blue semi rigid foam sheets. Then when the roof heats up it's really only heating the area between the roof and the foam. Heat rises up and out and the area underneath stays cooler but you still have ventilation keeping the roof materials dry. If the peak is high enough you could put in a large flat area and use the solar vents to exhaust even more heat.

And installing blown in insulation is pretty easy if you have an area to walk. But you will still need to put the semi rigid foam panels in around the edges so you are not blowing the soffits full. A lot of times the big box stores will lean you the machine if you buy enough of the insulation so if it's a point where you buy one or two more go for it. Just remember that it settles over time so if it says to blow in 15 inches do that and then go back over with the extra left over at the end and add a little more. And remember that the walking areas need to have insulation as well so again the foam panels laid down and CD over top with foam stood up to prevent the blown in from falling over.

While you are up the run cat 5 and coax cables. You will not want to try and do it afterwards. Will cost you about 250 extra to do it yourself and increase the value of the house at the same time.

And if you have a crawl space under the house you actually need to insulate it as well. Slab homes are just sol.

Just get with me to find out what coax to buy. There is a difference. Most of the stuff they sell is worse quality than even the crappiest ammo you can get at Academy. And if you are tempted to run it to the master closet, don't. Run all the coax to a spot as close to the power meter as you can.

 

[crrcboatz]

Don't know the r factor but have 30 inches of blown in. Had 16 that had sagged to 12-13 so had it brought to 32 a few yrs ago . Probably down to 30. NO ONE is allowed to disturb it this time Installers,remodelers, etc,NO one is allowed to disturb it! The guys that put the last up there said the R facture AND the saggin is caused by it being sturred up and then trying to spread it out again!

 

[snafu21]

Just get with me to find out what coax to buy. There is a difference. Most of the stuff they sell is worse quality than even the crappiest ammo you can get at Academy. And if you are tempted to run it to the master closet, don't. Run all the coax to a spot as close to the power meter as you can.

You sound like a cable guy. I sure don't miss the 10 years I did cable and satellite.