Redshirt 24
Premium
join:2003-08-08
Plano, TX
 ·Verizon FIOS
| So I want to get my attic insulated...
...well, probably more like need to get it insulated--and it's overdue as well, since I had the air handler (and connected hard ducts--in retrospect, I should have left the damn thing alone for another couple of years) in my house replaced last year. Can someone point me at a reasonably reputable/decent local company to get an expectedly costly quote from?
(Sake of reference: this is for a 1300-odd square foot house, one-story, vaulted attic. The way it's designed, though, part of the attic skips around the living room and covers the garage.)
--
Genoa City Limits: Y&R from the outside, looking in. |
|
Dogwood
Premium
join:2001-01-14
Texas
clubs: 
·OneSource Communic..
| I just had insulation blown in over my garage by Stark Air.
The area was about 650 SqFt with and they charge me $550 to cover that 8" deep.
The stuff they used is, of course fire retardant, but also does not make you itch like fiberglass does.
They were quick, professional, did a very good job, and did it exactly like I had asked them too.
They are in Euless, but I'm sure they go up your way.
817-633-2665
and
972-263-7766
--
Proud Member of Team Discovery |
|
twojciac
join:2003-05-22
Sachse, TX
| Does anyone have any personal reviews of spray on radiant barrier paint? I have a feeling that it's a scam with negligble benefits. I'd rather do the foil based barrier applied to the rafters, but then I'd have to look at putting in ridge vents... so it's even more work involved.
Or am I better off blowing in another 6-8 inches of insulation? I have R38, but it's settled in some places. |
|
warlock56
Premium
join:2002-07-31
Arlington, TX
| reply to Redshirt 24
said by Redshirt 24  :...well, probably more like need to get it insulated--and it's overdue as well, since I had the air handler (and connected hard ducts--in retrospect, I should have left the damn thing alone for another couple of years) in my house replaced last year. Can someone point me at a reasonably reputable/decent local company to get an expectedly costly quote from? (Sake of reference: this is for a 1300-odd square foot house, one-story, vaulted attic. The way it's designed, though, part of the attic skips around the living room and covers the garage.) Am I to understand that currently your attic has zero insulation? Sir don't delay in getting some blown in (if possible) while the weather is still cool.
If you can't get it blown in...really I don't know why you couldn't, you could purchase insulation in batts from Lowes or Home Depot. Offhand though I really have no idea how much the quote will run.
quote:
Does anyone have any personal reviews of spray on radiant barrier paint? I have a feeling that it's a scam with negligble benefits. I'd rather do the foil based barrier applied to the rafters, but then I'd have to look at putting in ridge vents... so it's even more work involved.
Or am I better off blowing in another 6-8 inches of insulation? I have R38, but it's settled in some places.
Paint? Can't say I've heard of that, but I have seen the radiant barrier foil pretty much in any hardware store. Very cheap and that is the stuff you put on the rafters. It can add up to about another R-5 worth, but remember you need to make sure you still have proper ventilation.
Blown in insulation will ALWAYS settle. Many people who first get it blown in are like "Wow, I got 10 inches for only a few hundred dollars, that was a bargain." Well, give it time and it'll settle down. If you want to blow in more, it won't hurt anything. Ideally a good rule of thumb is to have your insulation levels even with the height of your joists.
--
The moment the idea is admitted into society, that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence. -John Adams, 1787 |
|
Redshirt 24
Premium
join:2003-08-08
Plano, TX
·Verizon FIOS
1 edit | To answer your question, warlock56: the attic has some insulation, but definitely not much at all. More of a very thin lining in between the beams; I probably would never even have noticed this if I hadn't had the air handler (which was mounted directly above the main hallway in my house) replaced entirely, hard pipe and all.
I know I want to get as much blown-in insulation as I can now, but of course my cash is tight...I should have done it during the winter when I had money. Stupid, stupid git... 
--
Genoa City Limits: Y&R from the outside, looking in. |
|
Bilbo8
join:2007-05-08
Irving, TX
| reply to Dogwood
Most places don't recommend insulation over the garage or any space that is not heated or cooled. The insulation keeps heat from moving from the hot space to the cooler (less hot) space. Generally, you want the heat to move out of your garage in the summer, especially after you have just parked your car after a hot drive. Of course, this works better with plenty of ventelation in the attic.
Bilbo |
|
Bilbo8
join:2007-05-08
Irving, TX
| reply to Redshirt 24
We had about 12 more inches blown into our attic last month by Efficient Attic System, along with the spray on radiant barrier. They have a deal with Home Depot for financing, but I'm not sure what the current deal is. We got 12 months no interest. So far, the weather has been pleasant enough that the system hasn't had to run for more than a few minutes at a time, so I guess it must work pretty good. Cost wasn't too bad and the work was done very well, but with most outfits, that depends pretty much on the crew you get.
The foil barriers on the bottom of the rafters may be more efficient, but it can be very labor intensive, depending on the configuration of your attic. imagine getting into those tight spaces out next to the eaves with all the nails hanging down over your head.
Hasn't really been warm enough to know how much effect it will have on the electric bill, but I guess we'll find out.
Bilbo |
|
Teasip
join:2001-05-14
Plano, TX | reply to Redshirt 24
Square footage of area and cost please? One or two story? |
|
Redshirt 24
Premium
join:2003-08-08
Plano, TX
·Verizon FIOS
| reply to Bilbo8
said by Bilbo8 :Most places don't recommend insulation over the garage or any space that is not heated or cooled. The insulation keeps heat from moving from the hot space to the cooler (less hot) space. Generally, you want the heat to move out of your garage in the summer, especially after you have just parked your car after a hot drive. Of course, this works better with plenty of ventilation in the attic. Never heard that, myself...not that I'd be complaining that much if it's correct, though, since that chops a nice chunk off the relevant square footage I'd need to get done...
--
Genoa City Limits: Y&R from the outside, looking in. |
|
twojciac
join:2003-05-22
Sachse, TX | reply to Bilbo8
The only problem with getting insulation and radiant barrier is that if it works, you don't know which is really helping. It seems like most of the companies try to bundle these together, which makes me hesitant. |
|
Dogwood
Premium
join:2001-01-14
Texas
clubs:
·OneSource Communic..
| reply to Redshirt 24
said by Redshirt 24 :said by Bilbo8 :Most places don't recommend insulation over the garage or any space that is not heated or cooled. The insulation keeps heat from moving from the hot space to the cooler (less hot) space. Generally, you want the heat to move out of your garage in the summer, especially after you have just parked your car after a hot drive. Of course, this works better with plenty of ventilation in the attic. Never heard that, myself...not that I'd be complaining that much if it's correct, though, since that chops a nice chunk off the relevant square footage I'd need to get done... Yeah, that might be true for a small garage, but I have an oversized 3 car, only a car and motorcycle are parked in there, the rest is workshop.
--
Proud Member of Team Discovery |
|
Bilbo8
join:2007-05-08
Irving, TX
| reply to twojciac
They work differently.
The radiant barrier keeps the attic cooler (relatively speaking) by preventing the heat of the sun from penetrating the roof.
The insulation keeps the house cooler by preventing the heat from the attic from penetrating into the living space.
We haven't had enough hot weather so far to make any judgment, but if each one helps a little, we should see lower electric bills this summer.
Bilbo |
|
Bilbo8
join:2007-05-08
Irving, TX | reply to Dogwood
You just need a way to remove the heat from the space. An exhaust fan to the outside will work.
Bilbo |
|
menasco
@vzbi.com | You want to be careful with attic fans, if it has too high of a CFM rating it can pull your cool air into the attic making your AC work harder. |
|
Bilbo8
join:2007-05-08
Irving, TX
| Many younger people don't know what an attic fan is. Our daughter in Ft. Worth has one in her house, but it is maybe 60 years old.
I was thinking of either an exhaust fan through an outside wall, or a big circulating fan blowing the hot air out through an open garage door. With any type of eshaust system, you must have an intake to let outside air in. That should not be through an airconditioned space.
The point is, when it really gets hot, we'll sit around and complain, but we probably won't do much of anything else. |
|
Redshirt 24
Premium
join:2003-08-08
Plano, TX
·Verizon FIOS
| reply to Redshirt 24
Okay, so I got three quotes last week (turns out the house itself is 1300 square feet, not including the garage)--one from Kleen Air Services, one from Cooler Attics, and one from the acoolerhouse.com folks. A couple of them did include ancillary quotes for radiant barrier spray as well (which I'm still curious about), but for just the insulation they ranged from $500 to $1150 for depths of five to twelve inches. (It also turns out that the guys that installed my new air handler last year left some of the old hard-metal ductwork in the attic, conveniently shoved behind the new hardware. Thanks a lot, guys.)
Turns out that, in theory, I have between three and five inches of cellulose-on-top-of-some-gray-stuff insulation in the attic as it is now. Yeah, that's got to be augmented...so I'm kind of leaning towards Kleen Air's quote (under $700 for ten inches of fiberglass), but I have no idea how reputable they are...
--
Genoa City Limits: Y&R from the outside, looking in. |
|
Teasip
join:2001-05-14
Plano, TX | reply to Redshirt 24
Let us know how it goes. I'm probably in the same boat here with an 18 y/o house. |
|
Coach P
join:2007-07-07
Plano, TX
| I was in this boat a couple of months ago. I got several quotes from different places for: Radiant barrier (paint), ventilation, and insulation. I got quotes from EAS, Cooler Attics, Knotts Insulation, Garland Insulation.
They all were around the same price, EAS and Knotts were a little higher. We were pricing out for us and 2 other neighbors.
One of my neighbors called Ameritex roofing to get a quote. They said that our insulation is fine but that we needed better ventilation. So we went with them to install radiant barrier (foil material between the rafters) and a vents.
In all of my research the raidant paint blocks between 50-75% radiant heat and the foil material blocks 97%. We also added about 12 ft of ridge vent and one power vent.
They say you get your money back in about 2 years. Plus you can claim 10% up to $500 in tax credits for making your house more efficient. |
|
twojciac
join:2003-05-22
Sachse, TX
| That's helpful... it's exactly what I've been thinking. The rafter foil, plus switch over to ridge vents. What was the rough charge for the work, and how large of an attic would you estimate?
I know it hasn't been very hot this summer, but have you noticed a difference in air temp up in the attic? |
|
Coach P
join:2007-07-07
Plano, TX
| Our house is 1900 sqft plus 2 car garage. I was roughly $2400 to do the work. Ameritex does a deal with Wells Fargo that will finance the amount for 1 year no interest.
I stuck a wireless meat thermometer up in the attic before they did the install and when we had the upper 80's temps the attic was reading around 130ish. With the barrier and vents yesterday when it was upper 90's it was only reading around 115ish. They just finished the install last week so I cant tell anything on the electric bill yet. |
|
