How To Insulate An Old Home Attic

Install siding over the insulation.

How to insulate an old home attic.

Homes built before the mid 20th century were not built with the same techniques that we use today. One way to insulate walls of an old house is to focus on the home s exterior. Apply a house wrap vapor barrier to exterior walls. Turn off the power to the outlet.

Add foam to the edges to keep it air sealed. If only the living space will be insulated wrap the insulation around the room s walls and ceiling and then continue along the floor of the non living space. Affix rigid foam insulation to the attic side of the hatch or door. Caulk window trim and use weatherstripping to reduce air leaks.

Measure first before you stick it onto the attic door with tape. Use a zippered insulated tent to keep the enclosure draft free attic tent at 7 attic cover insulator 120. Replace old windows with energy efficient units. You should be able to see if there is insulation in the wall and possibly how thick it is.

You can simply insulate your antique house however below are some considerations which you must keep in mind. While wearing dust mask and gloves carry r 38 batts of unfaced fiberglass insulation into the attic. While insulating your attic make sure to seal off areas where you will be working with old insulation caulk would be ideal for sealing off those spaces and then remove old insulation and install the new cellulose insulation. The best way to insulate attic doors is to make a pillow made of insulation batting.

Pull down stair or ladder. Attic hatch or door. Attach 1 inch foam board insulation. Lay the batts across the ceiling joists covering the existing insulation.

Remove the outlet cover and shine a flashlight into the crack around the outlet box. In this video this old house general contractor tom silva and host kevin o connor explain how to insulate an attic. Inspect the exterior walls by using an electrical outlet. There are two basic ways to insulate a finished attic.