Charlie: Mel, from Pearland sent one in for us. He wants to know, attic foil for radiant barrier, what is your opinion of using it?
Mel
Tom: I think it’s great, especially on new construction, it’s the only way to go. In fact, you can buy the roof decking with the foil on there. You put the deck down, you’d have to do that anyway, there’s a little bit more waste because you can only use one side of the plywood down, but besides that, it works great. In a retrofit, it’s very difficult to put it up and get a good, total coverage. That’s where the sprays come in, and they work great, too.
Charlie: How important is it to have total coverage with the foil?
Tom: Radiation does not seek an opening. It does not move left, right, or any other direction, it stays in a direct, straight line. If you could imagine the sun beating down on you, in all these little rays, and these little straight lines, the more you have on your roof coverage, like a giant hat over your body, or sitting under an oak tree 100%. That’s what you’re trying to do, is keep as much out as possible and keep the insulation cool so the insulation can work and that’s exactly what a radiant barrier does.
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