Attic Storage Over Insulation

Squashing insulation stops it working the us department of energy states that everyone should insulate their attic to save on heating and cooling bills.

Attic storage over insulation. This will make the installation of these new joists easier while spreading the weight across several joists. For example don t block any vents to protect your stored items from cold air. The joists for this riser should run perpendicular to the existing ceiling joists. To give yourself enough space to ensure adequate insulation under the flooring construct a riser of 2 x 4 s in the attic over the existing joists.

Place a 2 inch by 3 inch board directly on top of the joist nearest to the edge of the attic with its largest. The insulation should be at least 12 deep. Adding insulation to the walls and ceiling won t keep an unheated attic substantially warmer in cold weather or vice versa in summer and it can create problems with attic ventilation if not done properly. You can use rigid foam panels or do as tom silva does with nearly all houses these days.

Hire a pro to install spray foam insulation. If your attic joists won t bear the weight necessary to finish out a living space but the engineer cleared them to support floor decking for light storage you can install inch plywood or. Ventilation is critical to the health of your home so make sure your storage plans won t affect the existing ventilation system. But once you have got all that insulation you cannot use the attic for storage anymore and you cannot see where to step safely.

Attics are great for storage but flooring directly over the attic floor joists doesn t provide room for the recommended 12 to 16 of attic insulation needed to keep your house cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Watch this easy diy guide on how to fit an attic sub floor and boards. Since an average attic needs 16 inches or more of insulation the insulation is always thicker than the ceiling joists or trusses. As such adding a floor can cause the insulation to compress thus reducing the efficiency of the fiberglass insulation.

Loftzone gives you a strong storage platform above even thick insulation in your attic. Award winning raised attic floor that provides attic storage and safe access above the full depth of attic insulation. Walk to one end of the attic by carefully stepping only on the wooden ceiling joists.