Attic Insulation

If your home is more than 20 years old, additional attic insulation should be a top home improvement priority item. Depending on the age and size of your home, adding insulation could be much more cost effective than you might think. Temperatures in your attic during the hot months can easily reach 130 degrees Fahrenheit. Similarly, cold weather an lead to burst pipes and equipment failure. Insulation provides the barrier to keep extreme temperatures away from the conditioned area of your home. 

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Building code for new construction in Texas is R-30, while Energy Star guidelines recommend a minimum of R-38. The more insulation the better, however, there are diminishing returns to insulating above R-49 value.

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The primary options on the market today are cellulose, mineral wool, and fiberglass and each have advantages, disadvantages, and preferred applications. We typically only use fiberglass for loose fill attic projects. The loose fill fiberglass used today is far different than the pink and yellow stuff used years ago. Advantages to modern fiberglass include that it is spun differently now which removes the majority of the itchiness and inhalation hazards. Fiberglass is also cleaner to install and keeps your home clean of typical insulation dust. The only real downside to fiberglass is that it is not as effective as its counterparts for air transfer. 

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Your attic hatch is typically a huge culprit to air inflation and heating and cooling loss. Uninsulated attic accesses can drastically lower your overall R-value. For example, a R-38 1,000 sq. foot attic with an uninsulated 8 square foot attic hatch can reduce the overall R value to R-30!

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