Attic insulation next step to properly wood heated home?

Since I only have 7-8" of blown in insulation in the attic I'm thinking this would be my next logical step to getting warmer temps in the rooms farthest from the stove. Moving air flow with fans aready in place but when temps dip under 10 degrees the temperature difference is greater than I would like. So, looking at the HD site they don't recommend rolls of insulation over blown in insulation. I would rather use rolls. Any insulation professionals care to respond?

I blew insulation over roll insulation. I dont know why you would rather put down rolls. It's cheap to blow insualtion and it seals up all the cracks.

It's easier to move when work needs done in attic.

Roll insulation, besides being easier to move if work needs to be done also is less dustier in the house.
My heating and cooling man told me that he commonly sees bits of infiltration from blown in attic insulation that increases dust in the house.

This is in part what helped me decide to put in rolls of R30 insulation over the existing roll insulation in my own attic just a month or so ago.

Also, Owens-Corning has done a run of unfaced wrapped R30 fiberglass insulation.
Reference number E81
I used the 15 in x 9 in x 25 ft lengths of it in my attic.

The light breathable wrapping made it a pleasure to work with because the fiberglass didn't come in contact with my skin, and didn't put a bunch of fibers in the air.

The catch if it is, Owens-Corning only made it available at Home Depot or Lowes.

It's made a noticeable difference in heat retention in my house.

The problem with rolls over blown-in is compression/settling of the blown-in. Once you compress the fluff, you loose R value. One positive of blown in is the ability to add more insulation over the stove room and taper it off over the rest of the house. This would be the most economical and give you the most R value over the hottest room - which is where you need it anyway. Of course if you have the funds, blowing a thick layer over the whole thing is even better.

The blown in will be done in a half hour where rolling out and cutting the rolls is extremely labor intensive in comparison. Consider the edges of the attic near the eaves. There is a taper in that area and you can either stop short with the rolls or cut each one like a wedge. Ugh.

Crazy to think that the blown in insulation will somehow migrate to the living space. Don't you guys have ceilings?

If your blown in is up to the top of the joists at 6 to 8 inches, you're only going to get "compression" of the loose fill at the center between the joists. The batts sure as heck won't be compressing the joists. Not a good idea to use faced in layers.


My ceilings have numerous penetrations. They're all caulked now, but at one time they weren't, as are many homes.
Not everyone has joint compounded sheet-rock, either.
Some people have blown in insultion in the walls and walls have penetrations, too.

If I were in the position I would think about using foam, not only in the attic space but the walls too. Another area where there is a lot of air infiltration is the rim joist, whether its a crawl or basement it should be insulated. Also caulking around windows and joints is a plus.

Don't forget to seal the attic hatch really, really well, and insulate that hatch everywhere to the R evel of the rest of the insulation in the attic.

I just blow 20 in my attic...... I think you'Re best bet would be blow some extra... but putting rolls won't hurt if it'S the way you want to go.....

All good information. Originally, I was thinking of throwing some rolls of insulation over the rooms that were on the back of the house were the heat from the wood burner is furthest from. My thought was if I can retain the heat in the rooms furthest from the stove I might get those temps closer to the stove room.
My blown in insulation has settled and I didn't want a second layer to settle. When it comes time to do my lighting for the kitchen it might be hard to fluff the blown insulation back to it's original configuration.

I bought lots about a month ago - HD had halved the price of the unfaced to $10 a pop

Not that labor intensive - 40x25 attic only took a few hours

It would depend a LOT on the truss system in your attic, the height of the roof, and all of the obstructions.

Completely fair point.

Kinda like the sig of a guy in an outboard motor forum - "any oil is better than no oil at all" Same applies to insulation

I don't care who you......that's funny!

Seriously though, the last statement was probably the most important one. It's just a really good idea to have as much insulation as your application needs. I'm putting in 12" of cellulose on top of 2 layers of fg rolled insulation that is squashed down to about 6 inches. I have no idea how thick it was when they installed it but 12" of cellulose is going to make a HUGE difference. That's my hope anyway....
BTW, I got the 2000 cu ft of cellulose (84 bags) from 84 Lumber for about $200-250 less than HD or Lowes. That includes the rental of the blower ($50/day) and the delivery of the cellulose and blower ($80)! Not to shabby I thought.
np

My advice would be to move all of your wife's good clothes, especially if your bedroom closet is open to the ceiling. Speaking from personal experience it's tough to vaccum cellulose off seqined dresses ! R value or not that job cost me a lot!

What are you supposed to do with the old knob an tube wiring? You cannot pull like a fat worm out of the ground, and your not supposed to cover it with blow in insulation?

I cut it out section by section after it has been disconnected of course from the source. Who told you to leave it in ?

Blown in is half the price and is easier to blow it in every crack and crevice. Fiberglass doesn't do that. Cellulose doesn't loose r value as the temps drop. Not many know that fiberglass looses r value as it gets colder. I just built my house and we put 20" of cellulose for a good r 60. Yes it looses r value if you step on it, so does fiberglass. The walls have 4" of foam and the house is so tight I have to open windows a little and run a bathroom fan once in a while. To each his own, ihookem.

Hey Ihookem, Are you running an air exchanger in your house too ? Did you use open cell or closed cell foam ?

Who told me to take it out???? it still works well.

It would be worth your time to eliminate all air infiltration between the living space and the attic before you add more insulation. Use spray foam to seal holes around wiring, electrical boxes, plumbing, etc. Here is a great book on insulating: http://www.amazon.com/Insulate-Weat...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261573256&sr=1-1

Forgot to thank you for that tip. 4 rolls of that unfaced R30 and a couple cans of greatstuff made a world of difference in keeping our lower walkout level warmer and more airtight. $50 and a couple hours well spent. I'll easily save that in wood processing this year.