How to Beef Up Attic Insulation | This Old House

Cost-effective way to save energy with This Old House general contractor Tom Silva. (See below for a shopping list and tools.)

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Tom helped a homeowner make his house more energy-efficient by adding insulation in the attic. Initially, the attic had only about two inches of "rock wool" insulation between the joists. First, Tom filled up the joist bays with loose "cellulose" insulation and raked it level with the tops of the joists. Tom then added even more insulation by laying fiberglass insulation batts over the cellulose and perpendicular to the joists. To allow the homeowner to store items in the attic, Tom built a raised platform out of framing lumber and insulated underneath the platform with fiberglass batts.

Tools for Beefing Up Attic Insulation:
- tape measure [amzn.to/2FswC14]
- insulation knife [amzn.to/2RptXK4]
- leaf rake [amzn.to/2Ni06Fl], used to spread cellulose insulation
- dust mask [amzn.to/2ISOmDq]
- hammer [amzn.to/2Fp3xU6]
- circular saw [amzn.to/2WRVh4Y]

Shopping List for Beefing Up Attic Insulation:
- cellulose insulation [amzn.to/2Fjt29p]
- un-faced fiberglass insulation [amzn.to/2Y2rMi8]
- 2x10s [amzn.to/2IUGvFC] for framing a storage platform
- 7/16-inch-thick OSB
- 16d nails [amzn.to/2IZcAMC] for nailing together 2x10s
- 6d nails [amzn.to/2RtGJHE] for nailing down the OSB
2-inch-thick polystyrene [amzn.to/2N61kmI], used to cover subfloor

Tom installed 2' x 4' batts of un-faced fiberglass insulation, 9.5 inches thick. It provides an R-value of 30 and is manufactured by Owens Corning (owenscorning.com/en-us).

Both cellulose and fiberglass insulation can be purchased at most home centers and some building supply centers, such as KAMCO Supply Corp. of Boston (kamcoboston.com/)

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How to Beef Up Attic Insulation | This Old House
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