Insulated Attic Soffits

Insulation at least r 38 or more is there for heating and.

Insulated attic soffits.

In looking around the attic i see that the area above the soffits was completely filled in with some extra blown in insulation that was added some years ago by a previous owner. Aluminum or vinyl soffits eaves installed over plywood soffits that don t have venting holes. The rigid insulation was saturated from condensation. Pull down stair or ladder.

I found instead a vintage 3 ton ac unit with 1 rigid insulation taped all over it and insulated flex duct snaking all over the poorly insulated attic. The answer is rafter venting. The photograph at left shows severe mold on the underside of roof sheathing in a 1920 s cape cod attic where there was no under roof ventilation. If there s blown in insulation like ours rake back the fluffy stuff with a 3 or 4 ft long 1 x 6 or use a garden rake or hoe.

She asked me to go into the attic to find the roof leaks or where the snow is blowing in through the soffits. Insulating and venting when there is no roof soffit. In most residential homes the soffit and associated vents is the structural part of the roof that hangs over the side of the home. Install air chutes or clear them if they re clogged photo 1.

Add weatherstripping around the perimeter and a sweep to the door of a walk up attic. Use a zippered insulated tent to keep the enclosure draft free attic tent at 7 attic cover insulator 120. The principle behind soffits is to allow air to circulate in and around the attic. Insulation often clogs the space between the rafters blocking air from traveling to and from the soffit area.

No your soffits should not be insulated and there is a chance that your insulation has been damaged by this. On a positive note congratulations on having 24 inch eaves. Attic hatch or door. Affix rigid foam insulation to the attic side of the hatch or door.

If the attic is insulated with fiberglass batts just pull back any that are blocking the flow of air. Best ventilation is open soffit venting to a open vented ridge vent. Ridge vent must me installed per the manufactures instructions. The soffit vents are now installed but you still need to make sure there s no insulation blocking the new vents.

It can do both. One last thought attic ventilation is not there to get rid of heat it is there to get rid of excess moisture accumulating from the home.