I'm renting a three-story house and the third floor is a finished attic. There's a proper attic above the ceiling of the livable area, and it's almost completely uninsulated. The setup includes wood panels on top of the trusses, which are exposed to the livable area below, with no insulation over the wood panels in the attic. I can really feel the heat coming from the ceiling when I touch it, and it makes my home office reach 80 degrees by the afternoon, even with a window air conditioning unit running. I want to know if I can go buy some rolled insulation and put it on the attic side of the wooden panels. Should I go for faced or unfaced insulation since the attic has gable vents? I'm also worried about what happens if I do a poor job. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
1 Answer
If your attic is vented (like you mentioned with those gable vents), you might want to check out local building codes for the best type of insulation to use. Rolled batts are typically easy to work with. Just measure the depth you need and go for it! When laying it down, you can decide on faced or unfaced depending on your local guidelines. One thing to remember: if you're moving the wood paneling, just be cautious since that opens your finished attic to the rest of the living area. It's odd they baffle the rafter tails without insulating the ceiling though – definitely worth a look! Just make sure you chat with your landlord before doing any heavy work.
Good point about checking with the landlord! I'll likely just lay the batts over the paneling as it is, so I don't risk messing things up too much. Thanks for the advice!