Photo Album: Bi-level Attic Insulation in Oakhurst, NJ
This customer has a bi-level home in Oakhurst and didn't know how to make their upstairs bedroom more comfortable on warm and cold days. Dr. Energy found they had a unique situation with two attics connected by a gap between the bedroom wall and the roof. With this being the case it was difficult to insulate and keep ventilation in the attics. First, we air sealed the bottom attic and insulated it with Silverglo foam board on the bed room walls and roof. On the exterior side walls of the attic we spray foamed the whole wall. For the gap separating the roofs we laid thin pink foam board to create an artificial floor to lay cellulose on. In the upper attic we dense packed the attic deck with cellulose, then sprayed the rest of the attic with 18" of cellulose resulting in an R-Value(resistance to heat flow) of 60 on the ceiling of the bedroom. In effort to ventilate the upper attic properly, we ran soffit vents up the length of the lower attic into the upper attic behind the foam board insulating the roof deck. This leaves room for air to run up the roof line properly ventilating the upper attic. Separating the attics allows the lower attic to serve as an insulated storage space, which will now likely remain within 10 degrees of the conditioned space in the house because it is air sealed and insulated.
Lower Attic
Side walls not insulated, bedroom wall insulated with dirty, thin fiberglass insulation.
Lower Attic Dirty Insulation
Dust gets trapped in fiberglass insulation like a filter and ruins the insulation.
Upper Attic
Ineffective dirty fiberglass rests on the ceiling of the master bedroom.
Staircase
Staircase was largely under insulated allowing outside air to move into the home.
Lower Attic Insulated
Everything is air sealed. Reflective foam board insulates the bedroom wall and the roof deck, while the side wall is spray foamed.
Closet Encapsulated
Bedroom closet encapsulated by foam board to ensure no air leaks into the bedroom. Rest of bedroom wall air sealed. Pink foam board lays overhead to separate the two attics and serve as a bed for the cellulose.
Upper Attic Insulated
Attic flats covered with cellulose, maximizing the R-value of the insulation. Soffit vents allow air to pass up roof line into upper attic from the eave of the roof-line, ventilating the upper attic properly.
Staircase Encapsulated
The edges of the staircase were air sealed and the whole thing was encapsulated by foam board ensuring no outside air will pass through.
