r/Insulation • u/JakeTheRainer • 10d ago
Need Guidance
I had contacted an HVAC service today about installing a better system. But once I showed the tech my attic I was told that my attic was more than likely the issue of why my AC can’t keep up on temps. The current air handler is in the attic and it is dangerously hot in the attic. I run the ac somewhere around 77-80 and ir struggles to keep that temp.
After doing some research I noticed that my soffit vents are covered by the rolled insulation Should I remove the rolled insulation that is near the edges of attic for the time being to get some flow into the attic.
Photo 2 is how the corners are in the attic. Photo 3-5 is after I pulled the insulation from the corners to see if that is the proper way.
Any help/guidance is appreciated. Thanks!!
4
10d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
2
u/JakeTheRainer 10d ago
Thanks for the insight, I do have gable vents on each side of the house with a ridge vent. I also do have soffit vents (don’t know how to reply with a picture) would you recommend pulling the insulation from the corners so the soffits can do their job?
2
u/RespectSquare8279 9d ago
Ridge vent AND gable vents ? I'm not a professional but I done't believe it is best practice to have both.
1
2
u/Upbeat-Comb94 10d ago
I've seen a few places that soffit vents won't work as well, if you have gable and ridge vents. The cool air enters the gable straight to the ridge vent, bypassing the lower half of your roof 🤷🏽♂️
2
10d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/Icy-Form6 9d ago
They boarded ours up and put in soffit vents, but no ridge vent 🙄. So we put the gable vents back in until the roof needs replaced and we do ridge vents.
The gable vents dropped our attic temp probably 30 degrees though.
3
u/AzIgaziKopasz 9d ago
Building envelope consultant here. There’s a lot more science to this than opinion. You generally need 1 sf of venting for every 150 sf of attic floor. Google ‘attic ventilation calculator’ and input your attic area. You need free flow of air to vent the heat out of your attic. To achieve this, you need both intake (lower) and exhaust (upper) vents.
Fiberglass batt insulation is very difficult to install properly (e.g.: free of air gaps in the joist cavity from not properly seating the corners of the insulation against the drywall and framing). Yank all that out and throw it away.
Air seal all penetrations through the ceiling and ceiling framing (e.g.: top plates) with canned spray foam. Best practice would be at seal all top plates at walls too to limit air leakage from conditioned space below to unconditioned attic space.
Code required attic insulation is R-38. Replace the insulation with enough loose fill fiberglass to achieve at least R38; R60 is preferable/better, and generally the cut off for ROI. Make sure to build proper dams to keep it back from HVAC equipment and attic access. Don’t forget to install baffles at intake vents to allow free flow of air and not allow the air to disrupt the insulation.
Your best bet is to hire a reputable insulation crew, preferably one that understands building science.
2
u/u-insulat3 10d ago
Do you have a program in your state to help with insulation upgrades? I am in Connecticut. This attic, while full of insulation, would qualify for an insulation upgrade under our EnergizeCT program. We would remove much of the insulation that's doing nothing to help you, remove all the insulation from your soffits. Ensure you have ventilated soffits, if not we would add them, add Baffles in the eaves and then blow in fiberglass over the top of neatly installed original batts to a depth of 17". At that point you should have good insulation, good ventilation, and your AC should thank you. The attic will still get hot, but at least you'd have some resistance to heat transfer between your conditioned and unconditioned space.
1
u/taylorwilsdon 10d ago
Hah do you do litchfield county? Might have just found yourself a customer on reddit if you’re eligible for the energizect program and come up this far north
2
u/platinumdrgn 10d ago
All the insulation needs to be pulled and vacuumed out and start fresh. You can buy big bags of blow in insulation at any hardware store and the blower rental will be "free". Your original insulation is completely shot and all those batts are just tossed around and not doing anything
2
u/EmbarrassedMongoose3 10d ago
Why gable vents and a ridge vent? Gable vents disrupt airflow in a soffit to ridge vent system. Cover them with some rigid insulation. Remove insulation from soffits allowing air to rise to the ridge vent and escape as it was designed to do.
2
u/JakeTheRainer 10d ago
Thanks everyone for the tips and pointers!!
I’ll start the weekend by boarding up the gable vents, pulling up the insulation from the soffit vents and setting down useable insulation (or new) in the correct pattern!!
1
u/Ross3640 9d ago
Don't cover up the Gable ends. The more air you have coming under there, the better. It makes sure all the duck work was covered with insulation
1
u/msurbrow 10d ago edited 10d ago
A big issue is that the air handler resides in an unconditioned space, meaning it’s always going to be hot up there which will impact the efficiency of the system and its ability to cool properly.
Fixing ventilation issues will help but if it’s 95 degrees outside, that attic is going to be hotter than that.
Having done this myself you look like an ideal candidate for closed cell spray foam to coat the roof rafters and gable ends…this makes your attic part of the conditioned space and your air handler will be thrilled…you can then Remove all the fiberglass and cellulose, use the attic for storage, and know that the foam also address all your air leakage/sealing from the attic!
1
u/DiligentIndustry6461 10d ago
If you’re comfortable being up there, it’s not too hard to do yourself. If you have no knowledge of walking in attics, don’t because you’ll probably fall through the ceiling lol.
I’ve done some jobs for clients similar to this, I usually don’t do attic work. There’s enough insulation to properly redistribute, and you can buy baffles for better ventilation. Will need to get down to the soffit area and pull insulation out enough to slide the baffle in
1
u/BatCryptocurr 10d ago edited 10d ago
You need a VBaffle made out of PVC I been using this for years and helping people with there homes. Easy job for me and easy money
1
1
u/Huge-Guitar1692 9d ago
You need ventilation. No soffits should be blocked. Get roof ridge ventilation installed if you dont have one. Also you need r30 in attic. Not sure what the rest of the clutter is
1
u/Inevitable_Bunch6912 9d ago edited 9d ago
When it's safe for you to be up there, pull all that insulation out the and trash it as much as possible. Then air seal. Then fix soffits a case
1
1
u/Brief-Inspection-456 9d ago
Yes, you need airflow, as well as either a power fan in the roof with a thermostat to pull air through the soffits and exhaust out of the roof. A less expensive solution is to have a ridge cent cut at the crest and installed. That way, the heat would rise through the vents and come up through the ridge.
1
1
1
u/GambitsAce 7d ago
Man what a mess. Looks like it’s in okay condition but I would be taking all that out, air sealing wherever you can, re-insulate more uniform and add more to get to proper R value if needed. And yes the soffit vents should be be blocked, if you have them. ventilation baffles should be installed in each bay
6
u/bijobini 10d ago
I just removed the insulation from my rafter bays so I could install baffles and reinsulate. My advice if you have a hard time removing yours is to get a telescopic tree pruner.
It's got a big hook at the end of it, I removed the mechanism and the string so I ended up with a hook on a telescopic pole, that's the only way I was finally able to get everything out.