Attic Insulation Mistakes

An attic that’s properly insulated can help decrease energy consumption, make your house feel cozier and lower your utility bills throughout the year. But, to fully realize these benefits and savings, it’s important you install insulation correctly. Below are five common mistakes you can make when insulating your attic.

  1. Eliminating Ventilation

Every house should have vents for allowing fresh air to come into and go out of the attic. This constant airflow helps exhaust condensation and moisture and prevent mildew and mold growth.

Attic vents are usually installed:

Along the underside of your eave
In the soffit
On the gable end of your home
Along the ridge of your roof

When you’re insulating your attic, you’ll want to be careful you don’t install the insulation over your vents and block them. Attic ventilation helps to exhaust moisture generated inside your home outdoors.

When moisture reaches the cool underside of your roof, it condenses, causing mold. Plus, if you reside in a snowy climate, the heat from your attic can melt the snow on your roof which can turn to ice dams.

Along with not blocking your vents, you should also consider installing an attic fan. Attic fans, such as the SmartAttic Roof Mount Fan SMT 2.0 2116 CFM, help to ventilate your attic and keep it at a consistent temperature to avoid moisture buildup, excessive heat and ice damming.

  1. Not Properly Sealing the Attic Floor

Insulation is more effective if your attic floor doesn’t contain any gaps that might cause the below air to seep through into your attic space. If you have gaps along the soffits and edges or if areas where electrical wiring or pipes aren’t properly sealed, the insulation won’t perform as effectively as it should.

  1. Gaps in Insulation

Depending on what insulation type you have in your attic, you could also have some seams or gaps running along the edges of the insulation layers. You’ll want to combine blown-in insulation and sealants to avoid these types of compromising gaps.

  1. Focusing on R-Value Alone

Of course, you should take R-Value into consideration when selecting the right insulation for your house, however, it’s not the only thing you should focus on. A big reason for installing insulation is for preventing air leaks and whether you know it or not, R-Value doesn’t have anything to do with preventing air leaks. Along with R-Value, you should also consider resistance to:

Moisture
Mold
Air leaks
Pests

  1. Not Insulating the Attic Entry

It’s likely your attic has a hatch, access panel pull-down staircase or fold-back door. It’s essential you insulate these access openings as well to block the warm flow of air into your attic. Openings like these can sometimes be fairly large — eight to 10 sq. ft — resulting in significant heat loss.

These are just some of the many attic insulation mistakes you could be making. To avoid costly mistakes like these, consult with a professional before insulating your attic.