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#1558 - 05/17/06 12:22 PM insulating vaulted ceiling with rigid board foam
rroth rroth Do It Yourselfer Registered: 05/17/06 Posts: 1 Loc: Western New York	Hi, my wife and I live in western New York in a house we bought last year. Our house is well insulated and weather-tight except for one area. This area was once attic space that the previous owner converted to a loft overlooking the kitchen. It�s ceiling is framed with 2x6�s and the finished ceiling (drywall) is sloped/vaulted. There is currently R-19 fiberglass jammed into the 5.5� rafter cavity with a cheap Styrofoam type baffle that is most likely crushed in several spots. This area is the only one that continually melts snow in the winter resulting in ice dams. Heat during the summer also builds up in the loft due to the roof heat coming into the house. I would like to take the dry wall down and replace the fiberglass with rigid board. This is the only way I can get close to R-38 without lowering the ceiling too much (peak of the ceiling is approx 4� above the loft floor). I have looked into spray expanding foam, but even that doesn�t give me the R-value without adding more rigid board. The only thing I am concerned with is how much the rafters expand due to summer humidity. If I re-insulate during the summer tightly squeezing the insulation boards between the rafters, will the foam boards become loose during the winter when the rafters dry out and possibly shrink? Also, do I need to get the insulation value up to R-38, or is R-30 enough to keep the snow on the roof? Thanks for any help given me.
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#1559 - 05/19/06 04:53 AM Re: insulating vaulted ceiling with rigid board foam
RemodelingGuy RemodelingGuy Super Do It Yourselfer Registered: 03/02/01 Posts: 914 Loc: Houston, Texas	provip must be working for a living. We had a great topic on this not long ago and I know that Bart can give you some advice in the right direction. I'll search for an answer! ------------------ Jimmy McDonald http://www.StartRemodeling.com Jimmy@StartRemodeling.com http://www.ToxicMoldUSA.com McMoldMan@ToxicMoldUSA.com Jimmy McDonald ( RemodelingGuy) specifically assumes no legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information or process disclosed. The above further expressly advises that any use of or reliance upon the information and or opinion disclosed is at your risk . _________________________ Jimmy McDonald http://www.StartRemodeling.com Jimmy@StartRemodeling.com http://www.ToxicMoldUSA.com McMoldMan@ToxicMoldUSA.com Jimmy McDonald ( RemodelingGuy) specifically assumes no legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information or process disclosed. The above further expressly advises that any use of or reliance upon the information and or opinion disclosed is at your risk .
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#1560 - 05/21/06 11:50 AM Re: insulating vaulted ceiling with rigid board foam
provip provip Super Do It Yourselfer Registered: 03/03/01 Posts: 1153 Loc: Victoria, BC, Canada	Hello and back from a business trip. The spray on insulation is the cats meow for 2 main reasons: 1) it creates a blanket across the whole surface insulating the rafters as well. This is ideal because wood is a very poor insulator. As such , a lower R factor is required because your system is now much more efficient. 2) Because the foam is covering the whole surface it leaves no cracks or openings anywhere thus creating an air barrier. As such, you can now fill up the whole area because there is no moisture transfer. If you can't use the foam, then I would suggest ISO board, a highly efficient thermal insulation board composed of a rigid closed cell polyisocyanurate foam core bonded to fiber reinforced facers. It has the highest R-value of any common insulation material. It should be readily available. We recently finished a loft above a shop with vaulted ceilings and 2x4 rafters using 2.5" ISO board tight between the rafters leaving 1" vent gap and 1" ISO board across the whole ceiling covering the rafters. THis is better than double between the rafters. You must make sure the gap can breath. This place is real cozy and easy to heat. Hope this helps. ------------------ Bart Blainey, B.E.R. Consultant/Journeyman Carpenter Building Envelope Specialist Master Renovator provip@prodeck.org http://www.prodeck.org Barton Blainey (provip) specifically assumes no legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information or process disclosed. The above further expressly advises that any use of or reliance upon the information and or opinion disclosed is at your risk . _________________________ Bart Blainey, B.E.R. Consultant/Journeyman Carpenter Building Envelope Specialist Master Renovator provip@prodeck.org http://www.prodeck.org Barton Blainey (provip) specifically assumes no legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information or process disclosed. The above further expressly advises that any use of or reliance upon the information and or opinion disclosed is at your risk .
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#1561 - 05/21/06 12:44 PM Re: insulating vaulted ceiling with rigid board foam
RemodelingGuy RemodelingGuy Super Do It Yourselfer Registered: 03/02/01 Posts: 914 Loc: Houston, Texas	AHHH! To have life 5 feet away from my Pooter! My business trip is to dispose of the last Budweiser during my Houston Astros game! :-) ------------------ Jimmy McDonald http://www.StartRemodeling.com Jimmy@StartRemodeling.com http://www.ToxicMoldUSA.com McMoldMan@ToxicMoldUSA.com Jimmy McDonald ( RemodelingGuy) specifically assumes no legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information or process disclosed. The above further expressly advises that any use of or reliance upon the information and or opinion disclosed is at your risk . [This message has been edited by RemodelingGuy (edited 05-21-2006).] _________________________ Jimmy McDonald http://www.StartRemodeling.com Jimmy@StartRemodeling.com http://www.ToxicMoldUSA.com McMoldMan@ToxicMoldUSA.com Jimmy McDonald ( RemodelingGuy) specifically assumes no legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information or process disclosed. The above further expressly advises that any use of or reliance upon the information and or opinion disclosed is at your risk .
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