# Insulation advice



## turbomangt (Sep 21, 2009)

I have a huge attic, around 1700SF, pull down stair case, and maybe 40% of that space has plywood flooring for storage, so far I had 2 insulation companies come over and they both said, I should consolidate my storage to a min, so that the majority of the attic can be properaly insulated. I was wondering is I pulled up some of the flooring and put more insulation down and reinstalled the plywood if that would be sufficient to increase R value. one guy even said I could leave the floor down and roll more insulation on the plywood, however I would still be loosing that storage space anyway, so if under insulation does not work, I guess I would be better off removing the plywood, I hate to loose the storage space. suggestions?


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## Grumpy (Oct 29, 2008)

Compacted insulation is useless. You can use as much attic space as you like for storage, but keep in mind that the floow will have to be built up to the thickness of the desired insulation, then that build up filled with insulation, then covered with plywood. Now you have insulation and you have storage. Takes someone with basic carpentry skills though.


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## Canopy (Nov 5, 2010)

If you want to keep the decking down and create a good insulation barrier you should:
1) Remove the decking
2) Remove the insulation under the decking
3) Have a spray foam company come out and put 2 to 3" of foam down on the ceiling to air seal the living space from the attic
4) Put either batt or blow in insulation on top of the foam to bring it even with the joist
5) put decking back down.
We have done this multiple times to very good results. In fact in you foam your entire attic floor you will have greatly reduced utility bills.


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## Nick Tomich (Feb 11, 2010)

No matter which way you go, its always better to have insulation than storage. a typical ceiling joist is a 2x6 or 2x8. Im not sure which climat ezone you are in but a MINIMUM is an r 45 i wouldnt have anything less. Now depending if your going cellulose, blown glass or foam each respectively has their own r value per inch. Cellulose is around 3.8 per inch. Blown glass is around 3. per inch Foam is a little better but the benefit of foam is no air leak/ penetration. All this to say what ever u fit underneath the plywood is or will not be sufficient. Hope this helps.


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## MattAngelly (Oct 29, 2013)

*Insulation*

Insulation is going to be more important to your home than storage, but you should be able to get away with removing the plywood, blowing insulation down, and then covering the insulating back up without any problems.

You can read all about the benefits of insulating your attic here... http://www.solomoncontractingstl.com/solomon-contracting-tips/is-your-home-properly-insulated-for-the-coming-winter

http://www.solomoncontractingstl.com


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## OldPro (Nov 11, 2013)

MattAngelly said:


> Insulation is going to be more important to your home than storage, but you should be able to get away with removing the plywood, blowing insulation down, and then covering the insulating back up without any problems.


This. I've done a LOT of insulation design and construction and I can tell you that pulling the plywood up should only be a two-man job and a good blow-in insulation will do a great job of insulating heat/cold and sound control. Installing the plywood back over the insulation will only increase your R-value and you'll get your storage capacity back. 

While you're at it - spend the extra $$ and skin the rest of the attic space to take advantage of all that great room. It will only increase your insulation as well!


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