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Renewable Energy for the Home

Tricks for installing insulation in a trussed attic?

15 years ago

This may seem like a silly question.....

I have a trussed attic. I don't like it, but I can't exactly change it.

I'm re-doing insulation in part of the attic to see if I can track any improvements in heating/cooling costs and because the current insulation has no vapor barrier.

The first layer is easy. I'm putting down faced R-19 insulation

The second layer is the problem. Obviously I'd like to lay it perpendicular to the first layer, but that's very difficult with trusses because of all the vertical connections on the trusses. Is the usual solution to just cut the crap out of the insulation you have so you can place it crossways, or do most people go ahead and lay it parellel to the trusses to save time and trouble?

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Comments (2)

rjoh878646
15 years ago
Don't even bother with the batt insulation. just blow in cellulose to the depth you need.
solargary
15 years ago
Hi,
Have you thought about using blown in cellulose?

It does a good job, has a descent R value per inch, and you don't have to worry about fitting it around the truss frames. It also does not have the loss of R value problems with cold conditions that FG has -- see link attached.

The book Insulate and Weatherize by Harley is really good -- lots of hands on material from a genuine expert.

Gary

Here is a link that might be useful: Convective loss in FG insulation
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