How To Seal You Attic Space

Long piece from a batt of fiberglass insulation and place it at the bottom of a 13 gallon plastic garbage bag.

How to seal you attic space.

If you want you can even transform a spray foamed attic into a finished space. Plan to pull up the flooring and layer new insulation on top of the old. Fold the bag over and stuff it into the joist space under the wall. Plug all open joist spaces under insulated side walls.

Use spray foam to air seal these openings if they exist. Air seal your attic for energy savings. Set up traps for the animals in your attic. But if the floor is covered in plywood you can t stuff enough insulation beneath it to do the job sufficiently not even in warm climates.

Set up the traps with a desirable piece of food and the animals will be drawn to it. There are many ways that you can trap animals but live catch and release traps are the best because they re humane and they re available in a wide range of sizes. Most people just add insulation to their attic this will not stop the escaping warm air. When you insulate the top of your attic with spray foam you re bringing your attic into your home s envelope.

Once you have the materials you can begin to seal and insulate the knee wall access door through these steps. From inside the attic check for any openings holes or fenestrations into the knee wall surrounding area. If you live in an area with mild temperatures throughout the year the bats will stay year round. To properly seal your attic hatch also known as an attic door or scuttle hole at a minimum you should apply weather stripping and ensure the attic side of the attic door is insulated.

A combination of air sealing and insulating the attic floor while providing ventilation considerably reduces the potential for condensation as warm moist air is less likely to enter the space and condense on cold surfaces. Apply weather stripping to the door to create a seal. As a result you can reduce the temperature in your attic by a lot anywhere from 120 degrees to around 95 during peak summer. If it gets colder than that the bats in the attic will migrate out allowing you to seal up cracks and other entry points once they leave for the season.

Better yet there are high quality products such as the attic gator designed to both seal and insulate attic access doors and scuttle holes. Because the simplest and cheapest way to insulate an attic is to add material to the floor.