Q–I purchased a three-flat over the summer. The top unit I live in is a converted attic. It has a (gas forced-air) furnace that does a good job when it kicks in but it seems to cool down rather quickly. I looked above the ceiling, under the roof, and the insulation looks rather old.
Additionally, there isn’t a lot of room to move around up there so I can’t see if the roof is insulated all the way back. I’m wondering how long insulation lasts and who I can trust to do the work. Do you think a professional should do it?
My house is in Roscoe Village and is a typical long, narrow Chicago house.
Edward Mahoney via the Internet
A–We’ve got several suggestions for you, thanks to the help of Michael Chimack, a senior research engineer at the Energy Resource Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
First of all, you might want to look beyond insulation if your home is that uncomfortable. Temperatures rise and fall with a forced-air furnace but the changes shouldn’t be that drastic.
Chimack’s advice is to start by looking for sources of cold-air infiltration through the windows, walls and doors.
This is a simple procedure. On a cold and windy day, just run your hand along the walls and floors and feel around for cold drafts. Then try to trace the source. Next, block out those cold drafts by sealing, weatherproofing and caulking.
Then, after seeing if that makes a difference, move on to addressing the insulation.
You didn’t say much about your home, so we’re going to guess that the existing insulation is above the ceiling on what is now the floor joists of the triangular space above your unit.
A note of concern here: You also didn’t tell us how you were able to look above the ceiling. If you don’t have full access to that triangular space above, that could mean tearing out the ceiling in the unit you reside in.
If you have drywall ceilings, that could mean a messy and costly job to add new insulation. “The payback on your initial investment would take many, many years to recoup in energy savings,” says Chimack.
If you can get at the insulation, here’s what Chimak suggests you do:
First, visually inspect as much of the insulation as possible.
“If it looks like it’s been wet or it’s moldy or deteriorating–or it looks like it has been compressed–then tear it all out and start all over again,” he says.
If the existing insulation looks to be in good shape, then you should add more insulation to the triangular space.
The best route, if possible, would be to install insulation batts in the joists of the slanting walls that make up the roof line. “That will create some dead air space in the attic that will provide some thermal break for the house,” says Chimack.
If that’s not possible, then you could place additional insulation on top of the existing insulation. According to the U.S. Energy Department, the attic insulation of Chicago area homes should have an R-value of 38–about a foot deep.
If the existing insulation is at least a couple of inches deep and looks to be less than 20 years old, it probably adds up to an R-value of about 5 or so. That means you’ll need to add another R-33 or so to reach the DOE recommendation.
Another word of caution from Chimack: If you have to compress or cram the insulation into the space, you’ll negate it’s R-value and effectiveness. “Insulation has to be fully lofted to give its greatest thermal barrier,” he says.
As you mentioned, you may also want to consider hiring a contractor to blow in loose-fill insulation. As with selecting any contractor, ask neighbors and friends for referrals and then ask a prospective contractor for references. Also, get several bids from several contractors.
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