Question:
Dear Group, On the kitchen/family room addition I want to upgrade the insulation. There is no access to the limited space above the ceiling and below the roof. There are three passive vents on the roof. The insulator plans to blow in the insulation through these vents. The soffits around this addition are not continuous and so I am concerned that the extra insulation might cover these limited venting areas. And because it is not possible to enter this space he cannot install soffit guards to keep the area clear. He says he will be careful that they don’t become blocked. Is there any solution to this type of situation? Thanks for your thoughts, Doug
Response:
How much insulation do you have now? How much more do you hope to gain? Is it a cathedral ceiling? Can you cut out an opening in your ceiling and patch hole with new drywall? Maybe you need better ventilation in the attic rather than more insulation. Contact your local building dept. to see what their recommendation is. Terry
Response:
> On the kitchen/family room addition I want to upgrade the insulation. > There is no access to the limited space above the ceiling and below the > roof. There are three passive vents on the roof. The insulator plans to
May want to think about creating access to the space above the roof. My mother has a similar problem, and the contractor solved it by punching a hole in the ceiling drywall big enough for a typical athletic contractor type to get through, then framing this hole (wood framing) and setting the drywall on top of the frame as an improvised door. Only downside I’ve seen is that this little square of ceiling doesn’t have insulation on top of it, but having the additional insulation in the rest of the attic was well worth it. — Eric Lee Green http://members.tripod.com/e_l_green ^^^^^^^ Burdening Microsoft with SPAM!
Response:
>the drywall on top of the frame as an improvised door. Only downside >I’ve seen is that this little square of ceiling doesn’t have insulation
I have two attic access hatches as you describe, and they both have a batt of insulation on top of them. It isn’t attached to the rest of the stuff in the attic (sprayed in cellulose) and it most likely has leaks around the edges, but the vast majority of each hatch is well insulated. It has to be better than leaving the hatch uninsulated. sdb — Do NOT send me unsolicited commercial e-mail (UCE)! Watch out for munged e-mail address. User should be sylvan and host is cyberhighway.net.
Response:
> IMHO, anybody who would leave a loose piece of drywall as an > "improvised door" in a finished room, has a lot of nerve calling > himself a contractor. What a half-assed shoddy job. Or maybe that’s > what the low-budget homeowner wanted, absolute minimal cost and not > even a few bucks more for at least a piece of luan ply set on stops > with a batt of insulation above.
It does have a batt of insulation above it. It’s sitting on a wooden frame. As for shoddy construction, I’m sure you’re right, my mother also had to get a contractor to put in two posts because the transom between the living room and the added-on family room was sagging (the family room had been added on before she bought the house). I watched as he jacked up the middle of the transom by at least six inches. Ouch! — Eric Lee Green http://members.tripod.com/e_l_green ^^^^^^^ Burdening Microsoft with SPAM!
Response:
>hole in the ceiling drywall big enough for a typical athletic contractor >type to get through, then framing this hole (wood framing) and setting >the drywall on top of the frame as an improvised door.
IMHO, anybody who would leave a loose piece of drywall as an "improvised door" in a finished room, has a lot of nerve calling himself a contractor. What a half-assed shoddy job. Or maybe that’s what the low-budget homeowner wanted, absolute minimal cost and not even a few bucks more for at least a piece of luan ply set on stops with a batt of insulation above. -v.
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