Insulate or Nah??

9 years ago

So I have a 4-year-old house. There is a room in the third story, the attic level. It gets hot in the summer, not just warm, but break-out-sweating hot. We have two HVAC units, one dedicated to the first floor and one for the second and third floors. Two bedrooms on the second floor get stuffy in the summer when the doors are closed. The third floor and two bedrooms can be a bit cool in the winter but not comparable to the summer heat.
We have tried playing with vents to control temp better. Some improvement in bedrooms but third floor is still sweaty.
Brought out HVAC company who said the ducts could be better run and insulated but thought adding a mini split on third floor would be the best remedy. Would not even give us an estimate on re-running ducts.

I've done some research on whether the roof rafters should be insulated and keep coming up 50/50. Tonight we have an insulation company coming out for an estimate. We're also asking them about improving sound reduction (not soound proofing). We live in a twin and hear more of our neighbors than we'd like and interior sound proofing in our unit is awful. You can hear someone urinating upstairs while you're sitting downstairs.
Any advice about expectations for the sound reduction?
Any advice about insulating to keep our AC in the third floor? I've attached photos of current attic insulation, which I think is poorly installed.

Featured Answer

ksc36

9 years ago

That attic will perform much better (as will the whole house) with an encapsulated attic.

Creating a Conditioned Attic

http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/creating-conditioned-attic

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Comments (7)

kudzu9
9 years ago
If you are talking about insulating the roof rafters themselves, I doubt that will do anything for energy savings or sound transmission reduction. Sound problems like you are describing are a result of poorly planned construction, with no thought being given to isolation of common walls and floors to reduce sound transmission. After construction is completed, changes to reduce sound transmission are complicated and expensive, and probably would be more effort than you are willing to expend.
Marilyn B
Original Author
9 years ago
Thank you for answering.

To clarify, I wasn't insulating the attic to cut noise but rather to adress the heat in the third floor.

We're considering adding spray foam or cellulose to interiors walls to reduce noise.
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kudzu9
9 years ago
How much insulation (inches) is in place now?
rwiegand
9 years ago
Moving the conditioned envelope up to the rafters will offer multiple benefits. It should help a lot with your heat and will get your HVAC equipment inside, making it much more efficient.

Many on GW will tell you that foam does nothing to attenuate sound. I will tell you that when I insulated my barn for my woodworking shop my first reaction on walking into it after the spray foam guys left was "it's like a tomb in here"-- utterly quiet.
Marilyn B thanked rwiegand
Mrs. S
9 years ago
Not an expert here! But, if you have rafters, then there is some space above the 3rd story bedroom, right? Top stories get hot because the roof gets hot. We got a $500 (the largest size they had) attic fan at HD about 15 years ago, and never even put in an air conditioner. It sucks the the cooler air from a couple open windows, and blows the hot air out of the attic. It keeps the temperature cool upstairs, the same as downstairs. Would an attic fan help you?
Marilyn B
Original Author
9 years ago
rwiegand, thank you for posting. I recall reading your barn story on another thread and it carried a lot of weight with me.

I think we will request quotes for insulating the roof, exterior walls, and interior walls.

I measured the insulation the other day as I have pondered and tried to get an understanding of our current situation. The insulation in the attic is about 4.5 to 5 inches thick. Sorry for the inexact measurements--I just stood a ruler in the attic by the insulation to get a rough reading.

If that measuring technique worked, the insulation between the first floor and the cellar is about a 1/2 inch thick. It was a little trickier to measure there--I expect there is an air gap between the insulation and the bottom of the first floor. But it could be thicker than that. I've been wrong about other things in my life! If that measurement is right, I expect that's true throughout the house, except the attic.