"David Combs" wrote

Am a bit confused about how one does insulation in the
attic. I read here that for some attics, you insulate
the roof, and for other types, you do the floor.

Correct.
Funny this thread as I know a little on attics but just had to ask for help
for my Mom on under a trailer (something i know very little about).

Something to do with whether or not it's vented, I think.

So I gather. Case in point. I lived for a time as a college student in an
attic i finished off. It had a casement window on one end and I blocked off
the rest of the attic with blankets (looked better than leaving it open and
no money for better). Insulating the roof side made little difference to
the house proper below the attic due to the windows etc 'other air openings'
for ventilation. Doing the floor would have helped there for the main
floor. Doing *both* made the attic room fairly habitable as living space in
winter while reducing our overall heating bill.

Yours is not a living space so you get most 'bang for the buck' in doing the
floor.

Now, I had mentioned to a self-employed light-construction
guy that I was interested in maybe insulating the house (at THAT
time oil was 100 a barrel or so!)

And he said his brother did insulation.

So, just 30 minutes ago, unannounced, they rang the doorbell.

Although I've had reasonable relations with folks who just dropped by, this
fellow is not reasonable in prices at all.

Not considering the quality of his work (who KNOWS what it
might be!), are those dollar figures in the "ballpark"?

Nope. Not even close.

And, is his statement that you do the roof, not the floor,
correct?

Not in your case. It's not a living space and you seem to have a big
airflow open to outside in the roof if I understand the attic fan design.

(man, that tv show made it look easy!)

It is.

But he said it's a LOT of work -- no, you don't staple
it up, nor those plastic air-flow things -- you must
SCREW THEM IN, CAREFULLY. etc.

BWAHAHA! He's not only a rip off, he doesnt understand the job.

three or so hours -- what, from you guys, do I suggest
to her?

Haven't had time to get alternate bids yet -- will try to
do it via phone-only, asking for any wild-assed guess
they might have.

Get a real professional if you want but this one really is easy to do
yourself. I never even saw a show on it and did my first 'attic' alone when
I was 11 with only my sister to help hand the bales up to me from a ladder.
This a roughly 2,000 square foot home. If I recall correctly, I did it in
about 6 hours and wasnt even remotely rushing. (Mom flipped houses when I
was a kid with us 3 kids to help, though we didnt call it flipping then).