On Wednesday, February 26, 2014 11:33:55 AM UTC-5, Mayayana wrote:
You have two general options. One would be to

just load up batts on the floor and make sure there

is venting in the space. That's cheap and easy,

saves on heating costs, but you lose use of the attic.

You can alternatively insulate the walls and ceiling,

then use the room for storage.



The better solution would be to insulate and finish

it off.

Why is that better? Unless he needs the space and the space
can be made into something really usefull, it's pointless.




For that there are a couple of important points:



* Make sure you don't have insulation in the floor.


There is insulation in the "floor" and I don't see any point
in tearing it out.






* Make sure there's a ridge vent in the roof and soffet

vents, as well as space next to the roof. (One can

buy cheap styrofoam panels to achive that, if desired.)

The basic idea is that the wood in the roof needs venting

so that moisture doesn't get trapped in there and rot it.

A little research should make that all clear. The general

design of a cathedral ceiling is that hot air rises out through

the ridge vent, pulling fresh air in through the soffet vents,

providing a flow between the roof structure and the back of

the insulation.



Once you've taken care of the venting, insulate ceiling

and walls, add a vapor barrier, and drywall it.



I'm assuming you don't have any horizontal bracing and

that there are just low kneewalls on the sides. If there

is bracing it needs to stay. Drywall around it.



If the sidewalls are low kneewalls, it might make sense

to move in your finish walls and leave room in the eaves

for storage.



And what about skylights? You probably want to add

some window area and improve venting of the living space.

That's something to plan before closing it up. (A note for

maximizing skylight benefit: If you frame a 4" depth around

the top and bottom of the skylight you can graduate that

up to the 6" or 8" roof depth for a better look and more light.

It's hard to explain. If you look at a typical skylight you'll

see it's set deeply into the roof framing. The glass may be

8" or more from the ceiling plane. Imagine that inset as a

cardboard box. What I'm suggesting is to "fold out the top

and bottom flaps" of the box for a larger opening on the

ceiling side.)



However you do it all, just remember

that you want insulation behind the living space and free

air flow behind that. Vapor barrier is certainly a good idea.

It will help by retaining humidity in the winter. It will also

be required by some codes.


Vapor barrier is universally required today in my experience.


But don't use fiberglass with

foil facing to get a barrier. Staple plastic around the entire

interior for a good seal.



Another issue is building permits. Do you plan to get

a permit? Is there a local building commision? In a typical

old New England house there could be lots of issues that

an inspector is not willing to grandfather in: Narrow stairway

up to the attic, insufficient window surface, etc. Before

you decide to get a permit, make sure there aren't any

problems like that.