simplegreen

so before cellulose insulation really got popular this year i purchased two huge bundles of R38 for my attic last year. I didnt want to do it durning the searing heat of the summer so what better time to do it then the first day of snow?

My back and knees hurt like a bitch i have a F'ed up attic that doesnt open up to a lot of free space, it has a lot of interlocking joices and supports so i was crawling all over the place. Anyway, i started in the back of my house over the bedrooms and no shit i can already tell a difference in just comfort level. In fact i had to take my socks off last night in bed i was getting hot.

I literally had MAYBE 2-3 inches of insulation in the attic, either, it compressed (massively) or it was scadly insulated when the built the house or blew away when they rebuilt the roof a few years back. Regardless in many places i could see the drywall for the ceilings. So i had to do something about it this year.

Unfortunately however, the insulation i bought only got me slightly over half way done the entire attic so it looks like im going to have to get back up there sooner than i hoped. Anyone in the Baltimore area wanna ear a few extra bucks?

I'll have a few before/after pictures up soon. Soon as i get my pellet stove in it'll be nice and toasty up there.


So here is a question i can tack on to this fyi post.

I plan on getting a pellet stove in the next month or so. I have two options on location, upstairs or downstairs. Im not sure what is going to net me the best result, Pellet stoves produce most of their output heat by blowing air over space above the combustion chamber basically heating only the outside air so no soot/open flame are accessible. I want the best possible heat saturation for the house. The coldest part of the house is upstairs, our basement as you saw from the remodel is very well insulated and its underground so there is more of a constant temp. For those principles alone, even though there are more open areas for heat to escape upstairs via windows, door jams etc. Am i correct in assuming that it will still be better upstairs then down?

The downstairs argument i have is the fact that heat rises, there is no insulation blocking heat transfer between my floor only the sheetrock. Anyone major in thermal dynamics? or at least have an opinion?

ScrapinSTi

You won't get that much heat transfer out of the basement... If you need more heat upstairs, do it upstairs...

James

I wouldn't put insulation between the main floor and basement. You'll just insulate the main floor to retain the cold air that's sinking.

Anyway, I'm not in the baltimore area but I can run around attics. 4 years of running wire across studs and laying in the fiberglass/paper insulation. I'm used to it.

__________________
1927 2200 sq feet 3 story renovation project.

Done
Washing Machine - 10.27.07
Windows Install - 02.13.08
(New) Gas Oven - 11.22.08
New Front Door - 02.26.11
New Garage Door - 05.13.11


Needs to be Done
Uh... Alot more.

Chadwilliam1

why dont you just use the blow in insulation?

simplegreen

plus they compress slower.