Is My Attic Insulation Is Cellulose Or Fiberglass

Rather than trying to meticulously lay fiberglass insulation over the attic homeowners and builders can simply blow cellulose insulation throughout the attic.

Is my attic insulation is cellulose or fiberglass.

If you check with the cellulose insulation manufacturers association they ll assure you that cellulose is definitely your best choice for insulation. Or 7 inches of cellulose. Like cellulose you need a big machine to blow it in. Cellulose cellulose insulation offers many advantages to your home such as its r value of r 2 6 per 100mm metric which is better than glass wool or rock wool.

Cellulose is more difficult to cheat than fiberglass. This problem has been successfully solved by installing fiberglass batt insulation over the top of loose fill or blown insulation. Sources many fiberglass installers fluff the fiber with extra air so you don t get as much insulation as you re supposed to. The trapped air molecules in the insulation are pulled up through the insulation into the colder attic air.

Assuming your current attic insulation is made from fiberglass and has a value of r 13 you d have to add roughly 10 inches of additional fiberglass to hit r 38. Cellulose provides better sound insulation than fiberglass i e homes are less noisy with it. You can get to the same place with either material. Fiberglass is a suspected carcinogen.

First things first you need to go up into your attic inspect the condition of the insulation and calculate the current level of insulation. When comparing blown in insulation both fiberglass and cellulose are nearly identical in price both costing around 0 70to 0 80per square foot for 6 inches of insulation. This allows the insulation to get into the small pockets and crevices that fiberglass wouldn t be able to. Thus creating a more energy efficient home.

Cellulose has 38 better air infiltration than fiberglass. This keeps the air from moving within the insulation and from penetrations between the air conditioned space and the attic. Loose fill fiberglass seems to dominate attic insulation in new construction homes and has an r value of approximately 2 5 per inch. Cellulose forms a dense continuous mat of insulation in your attic.

Inspecting your attic insulation. Unless you opt for spray foam then the insulation choices normally come down to cellulose and fibreglass. Fiberglass batts however are less expensive costing on average 0 30to 0 40a square foot for 6 inches of insulation. In addition to its great r value cellulose also provides sounds insulation by providing mass and dampening.

Pros and cons of loose fill fiberglass attic insulation.