But then the questioner mentioned that the spray foam contractor had intentionally left big holes to the outside by not sealing the gable vents.
Builder sprayed insulation all over furnace in attic.
The attic floor needs an insulation value of r30 40.
The material becomes very problematic when wet.
Spray foam attic insulation image.
She asked me to go into the attic to find the roof leaks or where the snow is blowing in through the soffits.
In cases where there has been a furnace in the attic i have put a grill in the pull down stairs to insure there is enough air getting into the house.
Damp blown in insulation can promote fungal growth.
If we insulate to r60 that attic is going to be mighty cold in the in winter and hot in the summer.
A while back i wrote about the incompatibility of putting an atmospheric combustion furnace in a sealed attic.
If this house has a basement then both handlers or furnaces should be installed there.
If the builder says that will cost more then use the money you would have spent on the foam insulation and attic enclosures to do this.
The attic is the worst place to install hvac equipment and duct work.
Basically you re in a pickle if you have an atmospherically vented furnace in your attic.
A lot of builders and homeowners are going with spray foam insulation because of the airtightness benefits.
A case of incompatibility.
Most often the attic is sealed by installing spray foam insulation at the roofline thus bringing the attic inside the building enclosure and turning it into conditioned space directly or indirectly.
Any new batt or roll insulation installed over existing insulation in the attic needs to be without a vapor retarder face.
What do you all think.
Dunktanktechnician via flickr cc by sa 2 0.
The concern with a furnace in an unvented attic is to be sure there is enough combustion air so the furnace has adequate air for combustion and drafts properly.
I found instead a vintage 3 ton ac unit with 1 rigid insulation taped all over it and insulated flex duct snaking all over the poorly insulated attic.
As you compare spray foam attic insulation pros and cons keep in mind that the material is available as an open cell or closed cell polyurethane spray foam.
Faced insulation should not be placed on top of existing insulation in the attic.
Of course spray foam is very expensive so i am not sure i want to spring for it in the larger attic which could be addressed with traditional insulation.
The vapor retarder on top of or between layers of insulation can trap moisture.