Insulating A Hip Roof Attic

When hvac equipment is in the attic insulation and an air barrier at the roof line brings that equipment within the conditioned enclosure envelope thereby allowing it to operate in more favorable temperature and humidity conditions without air leakage and heat loss gain directly to the exterior.

Insulating a hip roof attic.

These challenges go away if the entire roof is insulated typically by applying spray foam insulation to the underside of the roof deck. Insulating your roof and attic space will help retain energy in your home often leading to cost savings and comfort improvement. Insulating in and around your roof attic space also prevents long term damage from moisture build up or ice damming which results from the warm air trying to escape through the apex of the roof but instead heating up the snow. I would recommend that you install them the full length from the lowest part of the attic to where there is an adequate air space existing.

This brings the entire attic into conditioned space and thus the knee walls do not have to be air sealed or insulated. At the same time the areas below the roof benefit from increased comfort both during the winter and the summer. If only the living space will be insulated wrap the insulation around the room s walls and ceiling and then continue along the floor of the non living space. Insulating the attic floor.

In this case the area behind the knee wall will be uncomfortably hot or cold. In this way you prevent the heat from the rooms below escaping to the attic rooms above. Most codes require a specified minimum amount of headroom and it s tough to meet this requirement when insulating a finished attic especially since most codes require insulation equal to r 38 or more. To meet all three goals insulating your finished attic ventilating the roof and maximizing headroom use a combination of dense batt insulation rigid foam sheeting and air chutes.

But the best solution is actually to insulate both the attic floor and the underside of the roof. Furring down the slopes can often be avoided by using high density closed cell foam.