Faced Or Unfaced Attic Insulation In New York City

When adding more insulation to an attic that already has insulation use unfaced insulation.
Faced or unfaced attic insulation in new york city. Owens corning r 30 ecotouch pink metal framed foil faced fiberglass insulation batt 16 in. The attic is the easiest place to add insulation to improve your comfort and the energy efficiency of your home. Simply peel the facing paper off the top layer of insulation. The reason for this precaution is that the facing on the insulation.
Cover the exposed fiberglass on the attic side with a vapor permeable air bar rier such as housewrap polystyrene foam drywall or similar materi al. Whether you choose faced or unfaced insulation for the attic depends on the. The insulation should be fastened to the sill plate and draped down the wall. For insulating foundation walls of heated crawl spaces use either unfaced insulation where the building code does not require a vapor retarder or insulation with a special facing recommended for exposed applications.
However in the balmy florida panhandle with climate zones 1 and 2 insulating attics from r 30 to r 60 is ideal since good winter insulation isn t critical but insulation is meant to keep homes cool in the scorching summers. Now that you ve air sealed your attic and basement check your attic insulation levels and add more if necessary. The good news is that the solution to your problem isn t that difficult. You can purchase the batts already unfaced which is easier and less expensive or you can peel the facing off of faced batts.
For example an attic should have insulation quality and volume that is rated between r 49 and r 60 in zone 7 regions like buffalo new york where it gets downright icy in the winter. As you ve discovered since you already had insulation in your attic the layer of new insulation you added should have been unfaced to prevent moisture from becoming trapped between the layers. Facing is a thin layer of paper or plastic attached to one side of batting insulation which is sold in a roll. If the attic doesn t have any existing insulation use faced insulation with the paper facing toward the heated living space.