Insulate Old House Attic

The insulation materials used in older houses are not as effective in keeping heat in as the new ones.

Insulate old house attic.

Roughly a quarter of the average home s heat is lost through the roof. For anyone living below the mason dixon line it is never worth the expense to retrofit an old house with wall insulation. But that might be a bad idea. Even if you bought the house with insulation already installed into it it s best to double check.

People fall in love with the character rich architecture of these homes but they don t want the crazy heating and cooling bills that come along with that character. In older homes specifically asbestos may be found in many different materials from pipe insulation to flooring adhesive to roof shingles. This answer will vary from old house to old house. See below for a shopping list and tools.

This old house general contractor tom silva shows affordable ways to create an energy efficient attic how to know what insulation is behind your walls if you live in an older home understanding what pads your walls is essential to keeping your family safe. Affix rigid foam insulation to the attic side of the hatch or door. Attic hatch or door. As mentioned most heat loss is typically through the roof.

But just because your insulation is old doesn t mean it is dangerous. Rather than insulating the whole home and potentially causing. There are a couple creative yet expensive ways i would consider retroactively insulating the walls of an old house if you are in a far northern climate where it might make financial sense. Since warm air has a tendency to rise and cool air to fall insulating the attic is the place to start.

Add weatherstripping around the perimeter and a sweep to the door of a walk up attic. The answer to making an old house inhabitable is insulation. Some common insulation methods can actually cause long term damage. Chances are good that if your house was built before the 1960 s there is little to no insulation.

See below for a shopping list and tools subscribe to this old house. Use a zippered insulated tent to keep the enclosure draft free attic tent at 7 attic cover insulator 120. This old house general contractor tom silva and host kevin o connor demonstrate the proper way to insulate an attic. Cost effective way to save energy with this old house general contractor tom silva.

If the attic is unfinished the insulation should be installed on the floor. Before you take that step learn how to insulate an old house effectively. One of the most common materials containing asbestos fibers is attic and wall insulation. The insulation must meet doe standards.