Adding Insulation to Existing Insulation in the Attic
The first and most important way for an indoor heat is to escape through the walls and ceiling. The attic is probably the most important escape route for the heat or cool air in your home. Most attics are insulated, but the state of the insulation, whether it remains effective, is anyone’s guess. Mainly because of just not knowing or the house is old.
As a result, many folks think there is no actual need to supervise or check the status of the attic insulation. It will add new insulation to the existing one with no additional work, skill or change.
Insulation specialists that are Pro over-laying Insulation
For some insulation specialists there is no actual need to change or replace the existing insulation, it will suffice to add new insulation to the existing one in an attempt to increase the R value.
These insulation specialists consider that the already existing layout of insulation in your attic is perfect to guide you in setting up the new insulation so that there are no installation mistakes and you do not have to pay additional to either correct them or change them.
For them, you should seek for insulation that is complementary to the insulation that is already installed. Their assumption is that, for insulation that has been in place for a long while, the R value will decrease but will not disappear. So that any new insulation’s R value can easily be added to the existing considering that the existing’s R value will be at least 1/3 of the original R value.
Therefore, if the existing’s R value originally was of 3, then it will become 1 that can be added to a new R value of 9 so your total R value in terms of insulation will be of 10.
Some homeowners and insulation specialists claim that this has worked adequately for them without incidents or damage to the structure of their homes. Others claim that this is not only false but a serious hazard in terms of potential fires and structural damage, regardless of the lack of insulation and the constant financial leak that this comprehends.
This practice technically does save time and money as there is little room for mistakes as the already installed insulation, even if it is in a poor condition, it will serve as a guideline or installation map. It is important to consider if this route is the best route for you, your needs and your home.
The Cons of overlaying
The cons on this approach are both the natural and logical decay of the already installed insulation. It should be noted that are times change and tech it could be that the materials and complements used in the insulation that was used in your home are not banned or forbidden for many reasons including being a hazard to your life and health.
There is a chance for the new insulation to become faulty and misbehave as the previous insulation continues to decay. The fixture of the previous insulation can become unattached and cause both insulations to dislodge. This could happen also with the fixture of the new insulation over the old one.
Therefore, in a worst-case scenario and without considering the evidently possible electrical and fire problems, you could end up having to pay for the entire process twice with an additional plus as the old insulation decays further or needs to be detached from the new one and removed.
If you so choose to follow this path, then the best way for you to do so is to approach your local or trusted insulation specialist and have him do a quick checkup so he can recommend the best course of action and the ideal insulation complement for the existing insulation in your home.
There are a few more tidbits to consider, but those will be enumerated at the end of the post as they are the same for both currents.
Proceeding with adding more insulation to an already insulated attic
Now that we’ve run through in gigantic leaps the benefits and disadvantages of adding new insulation to an existing insulation in your home’s attic, let’s start with a little more in-depth information.
The first thing to do is to decide how much more insulation would satisfy your needs and requirements. This is not done by any other than checking the insulation in the attic itself. The insulation should be level to the floor joists in the attic. If you can easily differentiate it or you notice depressed or concave areas in the insulation inside the attic; then you need to add more insulation.
One common mistake is believing that despite there are no concave places and that the floor joists aren’t easily noticeable in the attic, that there still will be a benefit from adding more insulation as to create hermetical chambers in your home. This is not possible and in most cases it’s an expense that will yield no benefits.
The insulation in your attic is enough if you:
- Can’t see the floor joists
- Check the state of the insulation around the rafter vents and the eaves
- The layout of the insulation should be leveled.
How much insulation is enough?
Insulation levels are graded for informational purposes as R values. These numbers provide information as to the insulation materials ability to resist the heat flow. High numbers mean that the R value is high and therefore the materials ability is also high.
There are standards for attic insulation currently is for R-38 which means that the insulation is anywhere between 10-14 inches. This will depend on the insulation type which is the material in which the insulation is manufactured.
Therefore, in additional to estimating the amount of insulation you will need in your attic, you should also consider the kind of insulation that you will be seeking to install. Mainly because there is no forced reason to have the exact same material, kind, shape, form or R value installed new on your attic when there is already insulation installed.
This gives you a new freedom as there is no need to use the same fiberglass batts or blankets, for instance, you can select complementing insulation presentations. For more information on this, just contact us.
Some helpful Tips for overlaying existing insulation
Nonetheless, there are a couple of guidelines you should be aware of when planning and setting up the installation of additional insulation:
- If you are planning on using loose fill or foam insulation, then it is important to make sure that the already existing insulation does NOT have backing, that would no paper nor foil backing. It MUST be unfaced.
- The new insulation must NOT be faced either.
As a note, it might be a good idea to have a professional install these types of insulation as they are, by themselves a two-person job.
Ok, so there is NO need to remove the old insulation, right?
It depends on a variety of factors. If everything is perfect and there are no negative elements to consider, then there should be need to remove the existing insulation in order to add more.
If you are planning to install additional insulation over existing one to cut costs and maximize the benefit, then you could take this approach just making sure that, as we have said before, you make sure that there are no problems with either the attic, the services that are installed or run through it nor the insulation itself.
To get a quote on wholesale insualtion contact www.pacificinsulationsupply Call or text (424) 343-6530 . We can deliver direct to your site. Call Us Now (424)343-6530 or Message Us Now for bulk pricing.
