I just had my new home completed and noticed if i look into my attic
there is no insulation on the ceiling of the roof. is this supposed to
be that way? my upstairs in the house is freezing (two storey house)
and was curious as to where to look to find out why? i'd have expected
the upper level to be warmer then the main?

Yes, if the attic space is unfinished. You'd expect insulation between
the floor joists there, with vapor barrier below. And, in most
latitudes, vents at ridge & soffitt.

As to upstairs freezing, can't really help you. Many possible reasons.
First, I'd ask the builder.

HTH,
J

what i am referring to (perhaps i worded it wrong) is the peak
andarches of the roof do not have insulation.. the ceiling on the
second level of the homes does. Should the peak and the roof itself not
be insulated?

If the attic space is vented, the ceiling would be insulated and the
roof would not be insulated.

Venting the attic space with vents at eaves and at ridge is common, but
not always a good idea.
Look at the Building Science Corporation web site for researched
information based on climate.

TB

"Mike Johnston" wrote in message
ups.com...
I just had my new home completed and noticed if i look into my attic
there is no insulation on the ceiling of the roof. is this supposed to
be that way? my upstairs in the house is freezing (two storey house)
and was curious as to where to look to find out why? i'd have expected
the upper level to be warmer then the main?


Where do you live?

Mike Johnston wrote:
what i am referring to (perhaps i worded it wrong) is the peak
andarches of the roof do not have insulation.. the ceiling on the
second level of the homes does. Should the peak and the roof itself not
be insulated?

That is how it supposed to be, the ceilings of the second floor
insulated and the roof not. Unless of course your attic is part of the
living space, which I doubt it is the case.

The idea is to have a cold roof and warm living space. You want to
keep the attic cold so snow on the roof doesn't get melt too quickly to
create ice dam on the roof which may cause leaks. You may want to
evaluate your second floor ceiling to see if there is sufficient
insulation though.

On 3 Nov 2005 08:21:37 -0800, "Mike Johnston"
wrote:

what i am referring to (perhaps i worded it wrong) is the peak
andarches of the roof do not have insulation.. the ceiling on the
second level of the homes does. Should the peak and the roof itself not
be insulated?

That sounds right to me. Is the insulation on the "floor" of the
attic the pink stuff (fiberglass) or the stuff that looks like the
lining filler of a cheap coat. If the latter, that's not as good.

My grandmother's house, built about 1930 had that, and that is what
they gave the first owner of my house. He was from Louisiana and
always cold in Baltimore, and he put fiberglass in the attic, on top
of the brown stuff. Did a good job.

(He also put added walls in the main bedroom. Insulation and extra
sheet rock for two walls, and cork and sheet rock for the third wall
that backs up to the neighboring town house. I guess the room is
warmer because of that, but it wasn't warm enough for him, and he went
back to Louisiana.

Remove NOPSAM to email me. Please let
me know if you have posted also.

if this is an unused attic in buffalo ny, you'll be using it to see
roof leaks and don't want that cluttered up with the view or expense of
insulation that keeps the habitable area comfortable.

other places to think of adding insulation after you've done the attic
floor and all exterior walls might be the interior walls to reduce
room-to-room noise. this would allow less energy waste if closing down
of an extra unused room during your hvac summer or winter season.

If attic is unfinished no insulation goes on the roof deck. You dont
say what zone you live in, where or how cold it gets or present Rvalue
or thickness of insulation. Measure it and find out code. Being cool is
likely a poorly designed Hvac system, your builders fault.