Insulate Attic Bonus Room

This helps keep the supply air coming into the room nice and warm.

Insulate attic bonus room.

In the photo at left the kneewall is the short wall with the door in it. Spray foam insulation creates an air seal that will keep you from losing treated air through the ceiling. When finishing a room above is garage it s important to get the insulation details right. Turning an uninsulated space over the garage into a comfortable office.

This allows at least half of the reflective insulation to do it s job since it requires a 1 or larger air gap on each side to be a radiant barrier and provide some r value. So after we seal up the insulated air barrier for the bonus room knee wall we install a thick blanket of cellulose insulation around the duct. By scott gibson december 2 2013. You could opt for spray foam fiberglass or cellulose.

Cellulose can be either a loose fill or blown in insulation in this application. Bonus rooms are often the least comfortable room in a house and the main reason is that they are the most flawed part of the building envelope especially the attic kneewalls. Now if your bonus room has an attic your options are a little different. A bonus room isn t such a bonus when it lacks insulation.

The problem with many kneewalls is that they have fiberglass batt insulation with nothing covering them on the attic side as shown in the photo below. In any case be sure to provide adequate ventilation in any enclosed attic spaces. Often attic bonus rooms such as my own are above unheated garage or storage space. The solar guard goes over the insulation on the attic side.

Most codes require a specified minimum amount of headroom and it s tough to meet this requirement when insulating a finished attic especially since most. Yes i know radiant barrier r value is controversial. By utilizing spray foam directly to the underside of the floor sheathing cold floors can be minimized. Spray foam provides an air tight thermal boundary between your bonus room and the unconditioned air space in your attic.

The airflow in the ducts suffers from friction losses and the air loses heat to the cold attic space as it makes its way to the room. Depending on the room s exact location commonly in an attic or basement and sometimes over the garage there s likely some insulation. Inappropriate mixture or application can result in suboptimal insulating results and hazardous fumes.