Attic Insulation Batts Vs Blown

When a home is fully finished the scales of batt vs.

Attic insulation batts vs blown.

Disadvantages of batt insulation. Before choosing blown vs. Any existing batt or roll insulation in the attic should have the facing against the attic drywall floor or no facing at all. When blown into attics and wall spaces loose fill fiberglass offers an average r 2 5 thermal value per inch the higher the number the greater the insulating effect.

You also don t see any gaps that allow you to see all the way down to the ceiling drywall. The maximum rating of batt insulation is around 4 2. Fiberglass insulation is available in blown in form and so is cellulose which is referred to as loose fill cellulose. Batt or rolled insulation or blown loose fill insulation fiberglass or cellulose can be installed on top of old insulation.

Batt insulation take time to read this column. The photo above shows an attic insulated with blown cellulose. Batts you must also examine the r values. When insulating an attic space many homeowners ask us which is better blown in or batt insulation.

Blown in insulation clearly lean toward using blown in insulation. Blown in varieties however typically reach a peak of around a 2 8 r factor. I don t know about that but it s a common insulation material that works much better in the blown form than in batts. Notice how you don t see any of the ceiling framing down at the ceiling level.

That s because blown insulation is great at filling the gaps and giving you a good complete layer of insulation. We use both blown in and batt insulation depending on the situation at hand. Blown in insulation requires a professional. In short there is less chance of error with blown insulation as compared to batts.

Insulation should be rolled out perpendicular to the joists and unfaced rolls should be used. Depending on the material of the insulation the installation method may vary slightly. Attic insulation is accomplished with either fiberglass blankets batt or blown in insulation. While the manufacturer will state the actual r value of the insulation that you use according to the department of energy you can expect an r value range between 2 9 and 3 8 per inch of thickness for standard fiberglass batts and between 3 7 and 4 3 for high performance fiberglass batts.

On the negative side blown insulation will normally require a professional who has access to the blowing machine that is needed. Both blown in and batt roll insulation can be installed in different areas of a home including the attic and the walls. When comparing blown in insulation vs. Current energy standards recommend the installation of a first layer of craft faced moisture barrier fiberglass batt.

Batt insulation is available at home centers and lumberyards. You d need a thickness of.