I own a home just outside of Wilmington, DE. My home is apx 35 yrs old
and upstairs of the home is noticiably colder (drafty) in the winter
and warmer/more humid in the summer. Let me explain more about the
attic. On the sides of the attic (let's say the east and west sides of
the house) there are louvers. One side just has the louvers and the
other side has louvers with some type of a thermostatically controlled
fan attached that does not work. The attic is insulated but it has
blown in insulation and there are bare spots I can see. There are also
sections that are noticiably higher than others.

Now that all being said, I have apx 680 sq ft of attic space that needs
to be insulated. I know that I should add insulation but my question is
how to go about adding this insulation. I have read somethings on the
Owens Corning web site but my question has a couple parts. What should
I do with all of the blown insulation? Spread it all out evenly or
dispose of the insulation? Depending on the responses on this question
will help me with the project.

The other part of my question has to do with the louvers that are
locted at the east and west sides of the house. I know I do not have a
ridge vent at the top of the roof but if I am in the attic and look
towards the north or south (front/rear) of the house, there are vents.
I just dont know what they are called. I do know that Owens Corning
sells a product to insure that when you add insulation, you don't cover
these vents. Does anyone have any advice regarding these vents? Are
they necessary? I am going to guess yes but I need to solve the drafts
on the second floor of the house.

All of your advice is greatly appreciated.

Jimson5681 wrote:
I own a home just outside of Wilmington, DE. My home is apx 35 yrs old
and upstairs of the home is noticiably colder (drafty) in the winter
and warmer/more humid in the summer. Let me explain more about the
attic. On the sides of the attic (let's say the east and west sides of
the house) there are louvers. One side just has the louvers and the
other side has louvers with some type of a thermostatically controlled
fan attached that does not work. The attic is insulated but it has
blown in insulation and there are bare spots I can see. There are also
sections that are noticiably higher than others.

Now that all being said, I have apx 680 sq ft of attic space that
needs to be insulated. I know that I should add insulation but my
question is how to go about adding this insulation. I have read
somethings on the Owens Corning web site but my question has a couple
parts. What should I do with all of the blown insulation? Spread it
all out evenly or dispose of the insulation? Depending on the
responses on this question will help me with the project.

The other part of my question has to do with the louvers that are
locted at the east and west sides of the house. I know I do not have a
ridge vent at the top of the roof but if I am in the attic and look
towards the north or south (front/rear) of the house, there are vents.
I just dont know what they are called. I do know that Owens Corning
sells a product to insure that when you add insulation, you don't
cover these vents. Does anyone have any advice regarding these
vents? Are they necessary? I am going to guess yes but I need to
solve the drafts on the second floor of the house.

All of your advice is greatly appreciated.

Those vents are very important to the life of your roof and your home.
You don't want to stop that air circulation. Moisture will collect there and
damage the structure. During the summer the heat will damage the roof
materials.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia 's Muire duit

Joseph Meehan wrote:

Those vents are very important to the life of your roof and your home.
You don't want to stop that air circulation. Moisture will collect there and
damage the structure. During the summer the heat will damage the roof
materials.

Agree. Building codes specify that there must be certain percentage of
vent area to attic space to allow 'cross ventilation'. Interfering
with sataisfactory attic ventlation could/will lead to condensation,
possible roof rot/mould etc.
If that fan/vent etc is defective might be best to analyze your
sitauation and decide if it should be repaired and or additional
ventilation vents added.

Blown in insulation is about the best attic insulation you can get but
it should provide uniform coverage throughout the attic to a minimum of
R-30 rating or whatever is the recommended minimum for your area. The
best advice would be to have additional insulation blown in to provide
a uniform coverage throughout. Trying to redistribut the existing
insulation will probably result in it packing down which will reduce
the effectiveness.

The vents at both ends of the attic are necessary for proper
ventilation of the attic space and will be especially useful in the
summer. The fan was probably controled by a thermostat to turn on when
the attic temperature reached a certain temperature (90 F). If you are
experiencing high summer airconditioning bills the fan might help and
is a lot cheaper to operate than the air conditioner.


Jimson5681 wrote:
I own a home just outside of Wilmington, DE. My home is apx 35 yrs old
and upstairs of the home is noticiably colder (drafty) in the winter
and warmer/more humid in the summer. Let me explain more about the
attic. On the sides of the attic (let's say the east and west sides of
the house) there are louvers. One side just has the louvers and the
other side has louvers with some type of a thermostatically controlled
fan attached that does not work. The attic is insulated but it has
blown in insulation and there are bare spots I can see. There are also
sections that are noticiably higher than others.

Now that all being said, I have apx 680 sq ft of attic space that needs
to be insulated. I know that I should add insulation but my question is
how to go about adding this insulation. I have read somethings on the
Owens Corning web site but my question has a couple parts. What should
I do with all of the blown insulation? Spread it all out evenly or
dispose of the insulation? Depending on the responses on this question
will help me with the project.

The other part of my question has to do with the louvers that are
locted at the east and west sides of the house. I know I do not have a
ridge vent at the top of the roof but if I am in the attic and look
towards the north or south (front/rear) of the house, there are vents.
I just dont know what they are called. I do know that Owens Corning
sells a product to insure that when you add insulation, you don't cover
these vents. Does anyone have any advice regarding these vents? Are
they necessary? I am going to guess yes but I need to solve the drafts
on the second floor of the house.

All of your advice is greatly appreciated.