The overlap must be at least 6 to 12 inches and those seams should be taped.
Should you insulate lower level flooring.
Maybe you have rooms in the basement that need quiet and privacy.
Seal out that moisture with overlapped sheets of 6 mil polyethylene plastic.
Maybe you have an entertainment room or home theater and you don t want to bother people upstairs while watching your favorite movies.
Insulating the attic floor.
Find a diagram of common air leaks here here s a quick primer on fixing draft prone spots.
Find your zone on the map and then use the above insulation r value chart to determine the level of insulation you need to properly insulate your attic walls floors and crawlspaces.
4c as an alternative to floor insulation foundation walls of unvented crawl spaces.
Where damp is evident ensure external ground levels are lower than the floor and drains and gullies are not blocked.
A dirt floor even one topped with gravel releases and absorbs moisture with changes in humidity levels.
You could get to it from a hole in the wall that was covered by a plywood panel but as.
So insulating the floor of the attic is not only the best solution but it is also the simplest and cheapest.
Also insulate 4a any portion of the floor in a room that is cantilevered beyond the exterior wall below.
Whether the crawl space has vents or not moisture is the first problem to limit.
In practical terms you can choose between mineral wool or insulation boards.
Also check that water pipes are not leaking.
The higher the r value the better the thermal performance of the insulation.
4b slab floors built directly on the ground.
Without lifting solid floors it s difficult to introduce any permanent thermal insulation but coir or other breathable floor coverings can help.
The table below shows what levels of insulation are cost effective for different climates and locations in the home.
During energy audits we get into a lot of building shell discussions should i insulate my basement or should i insulate my interior walls to pick two completely random questions that i totally haven t written about.
R value is a measure of insulation s ability to resist heat traveling through it.
Insulation level are specified by r value.
Floors above cold spaces such as vented crawl spaces and unheated garages.
The question of whether you should insulate between floors is remarkably similar to that of insulating interior walls.
If you do not use the attic much it is pointless heating this area.
Gaps in the attic or between the lower floors and the attic will let heated or cooled air escape to the great unconditioned outdoors making any insulation you add essentially useless.
For example if you have a type of insulation.
These r values are a sum meaning this should be the total r value once you add up the entire depth of insulation.
