Charlie:
Lori writes to us from Facebook. Charlie moving on here wasn’t sure how to ask a question so I thought I’d start here, she writes, “We’re finishing off an attic. It’s quite large,” she says, “1000 square feet. It has high ceilings. Probably a 12 foot peak going down to 4 foot sides. We had that spray in silver paint. I think they call it Radiant Barrier, put on the ceiling a while back when it first came out, but now we’re going to use the attic as a living space. Should we add insulation as well? Should we add fiberglass insulation or is there something else to use? Thanks for all your advice we’ve received over the years.”
Tom:
Fiberglass, formaldehyde free fiberglass. Here’s the trick, because you have a Radiant Barrier, you don’t want to shove it up against the Radiant Barrier. You want to leave just a little bit of air space. That’s that silver paint by the way.
Charlie:
When they insulate between the rafters, they’re going to leave some open space?
Tom:
Just a little bit of space between the back of the insulation.
Charlie:
Just a skotch.
Tom:
Like an inch.
Charlie:
Just a smidgen.
Tom:
Yeah. It’ll both work, but yes you need to have insulation or it’s going to be god awful hot in there. That’s all I’ve got to say.
Charlie:
Amen to that.
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