Insulate Old House Attic

This old house general contractor tom silva and host kevin o connor demonstrate the proper way to insulate an attic.

Insulate old house attic.

People fall in love with the character rich architecture of these homes but they don t want the crazy heating and cooling bills that come along with that character. Rather than insulating the whole home and potentially causing. The insulation must meet doe standards. Even if you bought the house with insulation already installed into it it s best to double check.

See below for a shopping list and tools. Attic hatch or door. In older homes specifically asbestos may be found in many different materials from pipe insulation to flooring adhesive to roof shingles. One of the most common materials containing asbestos fibers is attic and wall insulation.

But just because your insulation is old doesn t mean it is dangerous. Some common insulation methods can actually cause long term damage. The answer to making an old house inhabitable is insulation. For anyone living below the mason dixon line it is never worth the expense to retrofit an old house with wall insulation.

The insulation materials used in older houses are not as effective in keeping heat in as the new ones. Use a zippered insulated tent to keep the enclosure draft free attic tent at 7 attic cover insulator 120. Chances are good that if your house was built before the 1960 s there is little to no insulation. As mentioned most heat loss is typically through the roof.

But that might be a bad idea. Since warm air has a tendency to rise and cool air to fall insulating the attic is the place to start. Add weatherstripping around the perimeter and a sweep to the door of a walk up attic. See below for a shopping list and tools subscribe to this old house.

I get asked a lot about insulating old houses especially in the wintertime. Insulating the attic and roof. Affix rigid foam insulation to the attic side of the hatch or door. Cost effective way to save energy with this old house general contractor tom silva.

Pull down stair or ladder. Roughly a quarter of the average home s heat is lost through the roof. This answer will vary from old house to old house. If the attic is unfinished the insulation should be installed on the floor.