How do I insulate an attic-bedroom conversion?

Question

I've got a house with an attic conversion that was done before I moved in. So far I've been using it as storage, but after living here a year I know that the attic room is an icebox in winter and a sauna in the summer, regardless of the temperature of the rest of the house.

I take this to mean that the attic is not insulated properly? The conversion looks like an amateur job and it doesn't look like it was finished before the house was up for sale.

What do I need to buy and do to insulate the attic properly?
What kind of insulation do I need?

What it looks like I've got is the actual sloped roof itself, with plasterboard panels nailed to the beams, creating a cavity. In the cavity is what looks like plain old polystyrene. Yes, that's right, polystyrene. I'm not aware that polystyrene is a good insulator. What do I buy to replace it with? And is it that simple to put the right kind of material in the cavity, or is there more to it than that?

Answer 1

if you want it done right,strip off the celing boards.pull down the strene,throw it away.go to lowe's,home depot.ect.purchase the wafer panels for celing use.thease are panels that are set up to allow air to flow on roof side.they have a channel built in to them.and a staple adge on both sides.they go up easy.from the wall ends to the peak and overlap.they fit between the roof boards.then you can put up your good old r 38 roll insul.staple this up too.comes in widths of 16 and 24 inches.just measure.then replace your celing board,mud ,tape,paint.done.it sounds like alot of work ,but isnt.just takes time.but thease places all have weekend how to clinics,and really good people to answer your questions.and this way should save you some money on the energy bill.that in a year could pay for the work you did,so get er done"have fun and good luck.

Answer 2

Polystyrene is a good insulater, but there are different densities, i don't know which you have, any way the best insulation is product called kingspan, it comes in 8X4 sheets and you cut it to fit tightly between your roof trusses, you will have to strip the plaster board off to do this, building regulations dictate that there must be a flow of air around your roof trusses, therefore you cant use rockwool or a pumped insulation, you must use a solid insulation fitted in such away that it does not fit close to the roof tiles. Good Luck

Answer 3

If you dont like the appearance of the room I would suggest redoing the room itself. What you need to know is that your attic needs to breath. They sell chutes at the lumber yard they are thin polystyrene pannel like things you staple up to your roofing. I used them every other cavity spaces on the roof, but check with local codes. That will let air circulate threw your attic you need that. The air comes from the eves and goes up to your roof vents. you can buy faced batt insulationand that you can also staple to the rafters. Any cavity that has a chute in it also needs that 2 inch gap for air movement on top of the insulation. When you insulate you dont want to pack your insulation tight you loose R value by doing that, you want it fluffy because the air pockets in the insulation help it insulate.

Answer 4

The polystyrene is a fire hazard, replace it with rockwool!
Check that the insulation under the floorboards is removed, as it will stop heat rising from the bedrooms in winter.
Fit a opening window to the roof for ventilation in the summer, because no matter what you do, it will get hot in the summer!
And fit a radiator for the winter.

Answer 5

I don't think you can just insulate without putting in a vapor barrier and roof ventilation because frost and thaw cycles will occur and soak the underside of the roof and drip down on the insulation etc.

Answer 6

I finished my upstairs off and it has sloped ceilings. you need/ should use R-13 to R-30 this depends on location Lowes web site has all the charts you need and depending on if your going to use it for living space heating ducts/ return lines would help! blown in insulation is great but not for this because you have to put egg crate running up from the sofit to the roof vents if you don't you'll get mold. Lowes will help!!!

Answer 7

get some rockwool insulation and put that in there or get a firm in and have insulation pumped in instead which will save you having to take the existing boards down

Answer 8

first ..strip off all plaster boards.remove polystyrene..buy a roll of TRI ISO TEN .available from insulation centres ..look in yellow pages..nail this to underside of rafters ..tape all joints ..fix 2 by 1 BATONS to rafters either vertically ore cross baton ..this is to create an air gap ..fix new plaster boards either tape joints and fill cracks or better still skim it ..NOTE TRI ISO TEN gives you the insulation value of 250mm of fibreglass ..do it right and it could be the warmest room in the house

Answer 9

by using the roof space there is no need to insulate between ceiling rafters, you are better off concentrating on roof rafters, use cavity bats between them and board with foil backed plasterboard, keep the heat within the house, from ground floor to roof experimented with this many times good luck

Answer 10

Styrofoam sheets from the hardware store. You can also buy styrofoam ceiling tiles. about 20 for the sheets and they are the PINK ones for insulating and are about 4x8 sheets.