Faced Or Unfaced Insulation In Attic Floor

Air migrates from warmer spaces toward colder spaces and insulation is designed to help prevent or at least slow that migration.

Faced or unfaced insulation in attic floor.

The kraft paper on one side of faced insulation keeps moisture from spreading throughout the walls or ceiling. Now here s a situation where a homeowner what looks like many years ago added insulation they added a three inch layer but it has facing on it and that could create a. Any time you use a faced insulation the paper needs to be facing toward the living space. Roll insulation is best for floors ceilings and roofs with a long joist or rafter bays and for tall walls.

Faced or the type with paper is typically used in first time applications such as in walls ceilings floors and in crawl spaces. Unfaced batt insulation is often used for beefing up the r rating with the r rating being the insulation rating scale that says how much or how effective insulation needs to be in that space. The kraft paper. The same applies to faced unfaced and other kinds of insulation products.

I ve always said adding insulation to your attic is some of the best money you can spend to make your house more energy efficient but whether to use faced or unfaced insulation is a great question. Insulation in rolls called batts comes in two varieties. If a moisture barrier is required or recommended in your climate zone you will want to use the faced board again reflective facing is a good choice to insulate your walls. Whether using loose fill or batts put the vapor barrier closest to the warm side of your installation where hot moist air would get in facing the house s interior in cold climates beneath floor insulation and the attic s interior in hot climates on top of floor insulation.

Insulation being unfaced doesn t mean it s a bad choice. If your attic floor has no insulation install faced batts or faced rolls between each joist with the moisture barrier facing down against the drywall or plaster ceiling below. The batts are precut to fit into cavities on standard 8 foot high walls. You should only use faced insulation as the first layer of insulation.

When local building codes require a vapor retardant faced insulation is one of the best options. What is the right insulation for an attic. If there is already insulation between the joists increase the r value by installing unfaced roll insulation right on top. All kraft faced insulation is easy to cut with a sharp utility knife or insulation knife.

Attic ceiling insulation 32 basement wall insulation 18 blow in insulation 1 ceiling 19 certainteed 1 exterior wall 79 floor 38 floors crawl 56. It means ensuring that it s the right product for your space. Like blanket or batt insulation foam board comes in faced and unfaced varieties.