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2torial #0562:
Learn2 Weatherize Your Home
 Insulate the attic
We all know heat rises, but not everyone thinks
to insulate the attic. An unfinished attic can be a
heat trap during summer, and it can account for a
great percentage of a home's heat loss during
winter-yet it's the easiest part of the house to
insulate. If you're committed to a more
energy-efficient home, and enjoy working with your
hands, consider doing the job yourself.
Many kinds of insulation are available to the
amateur, including batts, rolls, loose-fill and
rigid foam boards. Batts and rolls, which are
generally sufficient for an attic, are the easiest
to use and require little more than a staple gun, a
sharp cutting knife and rubber gloves. Batts are
made of thick, spongy fiberglass backed with a
material that looks like aluminum foil. They're
purchased in rolls between one and two feet wide
and four feet long. Batts are easy to nail to the
wooden frame of an attic's ceiling and walls, and
can also be cut to fit between joists if necessary.
Rolls, which look very much like thick, insulated
blankets, require almost no effort at all: you
simply roll them out across the attic floor.
Depending on size, you can probably insulate
your attic in a single afternoon. Just follow these
simple steps:
1. Measure your attic's floor, walls and
ceiling, as well as the distance between joists.
2. Go to a good hardware store and ask
how powerful insulation should be in your region.
3. Buy the necessary materials and
equipment, and be sure to ask your salesman for any
last-minute advice on installation (always a good
idea).
4. Go home and install the insulation.
This may sound like a tall task, but it's not. Batt
insulation only needs to be stapled in place,
either to a plat wall or between joists. As long as
you have a stepladder and perhaps a friend to help
you unroll the batts and hold them in place, you
should have no problem at all. Rolls need only be
spread out across the entire extent of an
uninsulated floor.
 Step
5
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