What is the best radiant barrier for the underside of roof decking?
John
Tom: You have two basic products. You have the paint–people call it the spray on because it’s really not a paint; it’s more of a spray on radiant barrier–and you have the foil. The foil will stop about 97% of the radiation from coming through. The paint, they’ve gotten up to almost 80%. It’s not quite as effective as the foil. If you’re building a new home and you can put the foil, get the foil back roof decking, do it. You get 100% coverage. The labor costs are not any different than if you didn’t use it. Material’s a little bit more, but it’s all done 100%. If you have an existing home, it’s very hard to staple foil up in the attic. You can’t just get everywhere, and you need to get this everywhere you can. With the spray, you get full coverage or at least as much as you possibly can, a lot better than the foil. You’re going to get better results with that. That’s the best way to answer that question.
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