Hi,

I want to insulate my totally uninsulated attic (I live in Orange
County, CA -- suggested R value in my area is R-38), but my question is
that if I should just buy the krafted fiber insulation from the Home
Depot, which highest R- value is R-30 or get it from somewhere else. I
was interested in PINK fiber Insulation they have batts that are R-38
and are like 12" compared to the 12" for the Home depot's brand for
only R-30. I am thinking that it may be more economical to get the PINK
R-38 for cost reasons, but don't seem to find a place where they sell
them, and I don't know if PINK is a better brand that the stuff that
the home depot sells.

Any suggestions will be great.

Carlos

Carlos wrote:
Hi,

I want to insulate my totally uninsulated attic (I live in Orange
County, CA -- suggested R value in my area is R-38), but my question
is that if I should just buy the krafted fiber insulation from the
Home Depot, which highest R- value is R-30 or get it from somewhere
else. I was interested in PINK fiber Insulation they have batts that
are R-38 and are like 12" compared to the 12" for the Home depot's
brand for only R-30. I am thinking that it may be more economical to
get the PINK R-38 for cost reasons, but don't seem to find a place
where they sell them, and I don't know if PINK is a better brand that
the stuff that the home depot sells.

It's PINK only because the manufacturer, Owens-Corning, wanted to
differentiate their stuff. The pink color is actually part of their
trademark. In other words, it's not the color that makes the difference.

Your R-38 is overkill for Orange County. In San Diego County, about 15 miles
from the ocean, we have 6" of fiberglass insulation, and this is a custom
house. That's about par for houses in this area. Certainly is all the
insulation we need.

Check with other homeowners in your area. You probably waste your money on
anything over 19.

http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/cda/ar...-PRINT,00.html

--
Walter
www.rationality.net
-
"HeyBub" wrote in message
...
Carlos wrote:
Hi,

I want to insulate my totally uninsulated attic (I live in Orange
County, CA -- suggested R value in my area is R-38), but my question
is that if I should just buy the krafted fiber insulation from the
Home Depot, which highest R- value is R-30 or get it from somewhere
else. I was interested in PINK fiber Insulation they have batts that
are R-38 and are like 12" compared to the 12" for the Home depot's
brand for only R-30. I am thinking that it may be more economical to
get the PINK R-38 for cost reasons, but don't seem to find a place
where they sell them, and I don't know if PINK is a better brand that
the stuff that the home depot sells.

It's PINK only because the manufacturer, Owens-Corning, wanted to
differentiate their stuff. The pink color is actually part of their
trademark. In other words, it's not the color that makes the difference.

"Carlos" wrote on 23 Aug 2006:

I want to insulate my totally uninsulated attic (I live in
Orange County, CA -- suggested R value in my area is R-38), but
my question is that if I should just buy the krafted fiber
insulation from the Home Depot, which highest R- value is R-30
or get it from somewhere else.

You're missing a fundamental point about batt insulation. Batts
fit between the joists, so if the batts are higher than the joists,
you'll have gaps between the batts the width of a joist that will
be uninsulated. What you want to do, if you're using batts, is put
just enough down as a first layer to get to the top of the joists
(R-12 if they're 2x4s and R-19 if they're 2x6s), and then put a
second layer (without the kraft paper facing) perpendicular to the
joists on top of the first layer of batts. The second layer should
have a thickness of whatever it takes to get to the R-value you
want. Generally, one inch of batt is R-3.

So unless you have 12" tall joists, R-38 batts would be a total
waste unless you want to squander your time cutting 2" wide strips
of insulation to fit between them.

I also think R-38 is overkill for the Orange County climate, but
insulation is cheap. For a given R-value, as another poster said,
the color and manufacturer make no difference at all unless there's
a special feature you want (foil-faced or non-contact with the
fibers).

--
Doug Boulter

To reply by e-mail, remove the obvious word from the e-mail address

Thanks for the advices. The joist are 2x6, so I will use a lower
krafted R value to fit it just to the level of the joist, and then put
another layer on top. I guess I was vague when saying Orange County, I
live in La Habra, which is fairly inland and in the summer it gets
between 95 to 100.



Doug Boulter wrote:
"Carlos" wrote on 23 Aug 2006:

I want to insulate my totally uninsulated attic (I live in
Orange County, CA -- suggested R value in my area is R-38), but
my question is that if I should just buy the krafted fiber
insulation from the Home Depot, which highest R- value is R-30
or get it from somewhere else.

You're missing a fundamental point about batt insulation. Batts
fit between the joists, so if the batts are higher than the joists,
you'll have gaps between the batts the width of a joist that will
be uninsulated. What you want to do, if you're using batts, is put
just enough down as a first layer to get to the top of the joists
(R-12 if they're 2x4s and R-19 if they're 2x6s), and then put a
second layer (without the kraft paper facing) perpendicular to the
joists on top of the first layer of batts. The second layer should
have a thickness of whatever it takes to get to the R-value you
want. Generally, one inch of batt is R-3.

So unless you have 12" tall joists, R-38 batts would be a total
waste unless you want to squander your time cutting 2" wide strips
of insulation to fit between them.

I also think R-38 is overkill for the Orange County climate, but
insulation is cheap. For a given R-value, as another poster said,
the color and manufacturer make no difference at all unless there's
a special feature you want (foil-faced or non-contact with the
fibers).

--
Doug Boulter

To reply by e-mail, remove the obvious word from the e-mail address

On 23 Aug 2006 16:08:16 -0700, "Carlos" wrote:

Hi,

I want to insulate my totally uninsulated attic (I live in Orange
County, CA -- suggested R value in my area is R-38), but my question is
that if I should just buy the krafted fiber insulation from the Home
Depot, which highest R- value is R-30 or get it from somewhere else. I
was interested in PINK fiber Insulation they have batts that are R-38
and are like 12" compared to the 12" for the Home depot's brand for
only R-30. I am thinking that it may be more economical to get the PINK
R-38 for cost reasons, but don't seem to find a place where they sell
them, and I don't know if PINK is a better brand that the stuff that
the home depot sells.

Any suggestions will be great.

Carlos

First install the foam or cardboard "chimneys" to the roof side to
allow for ventilation. Place batts between the rafters with the paper
side toward the living space. Then put unfaced rolls cross-wise to
the batts. Brands are not that important.

Doug,

I realized that there won't be a gap if I use R-30, which they come in
batts of 10 1/4inch by 16 inches, since the space between the joist is
only 14 1/4 inches (roughly), so that means that whatever 'sticks out'
will puff out so it will push right next to the batt right next to it.

Carlos


Doug Boulter wrote:
"Carlos" wrote on 23 Aug 2006:

I want to insulate my totally uninsulated attic (I live in
Orange County, CA -- suggested R value in my area is R-38), but
my question is that if I should just buy the krafted fiber
insulation from the Home Depot, which highest R- value is R-30
or get it from somewhere else.

You're missing a fundamental point about batt insulation. Batts
fit between the joists, so if the batts are higher than the joists,
you'll have gaps between the batts the width of a joist that will
be uninsulated. What you want to do, if you're using batts, is put
just enough down as a first layer to get to the top of the joists
(R-12 if they're 2x4s and R-19 if they're 2x6s), and then put a
second layer (without the kraft paper facing) perpendicular to the
joists on top of the first layer of batts. The second layer should
have a thickness of whatever it takes to get to the R-value you
want. Generally, one inch of batt is R-3.

So unless you have 12" tall joists, R-38 batts would be a total
waste unless you want to squander your time cutting 2" wide strips
of insulation to fit between them.

I also think R-38 is overkill for the Orange County climate, but
insulation is cheap. For a given R-value, as another poster said,
the color and manufacturer make no difference at all unless there's
a special feature you want (foil-faced or non-contact with the
fibers).

--
Doug Boulter

To reply by e-mail, remove the obvious word from the e-mail address

"Carlos" wrote on 02 Sep 2006:

I realized that there won't be a gap if I use R-30, which they
come in batts of 10 1/4inch by 16 inches, since the space
between the joist is only 14 1/4 inches (roughly), so that means
that whatever 'sticks out' will puff out so it will push right
next to the batt right next to it.

Carlos,

I'm not sure you're going to be happy with that because the batts
won't go together tightly above the joists.

I'd still overlay a second set of batts across the first set of
batts, but you can use unfaced R-9 to do that.

But it's your call.

--
Doug Boulter

To reply by e-mail, remove the obvious word from the e-mail address