Attics
Attic Ventilation
There are two fundamental benefits of an effective attic ventilation system: (1) a cooler attic in summer, and (2) a dryer attic in winter.
Attics
Attics often are overlooked when it comes to home improvement projects; however, the attic can be a key component to making your home more energy efficient.
Attics & Basements
Prevent Fiberglass Insulation Itch
Adding fiberglass insulation to your attic is a great idea to improve energy efficiency but the process can be very uncomfortable due to the small glass fibers in the insulation.
Attics
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Insulation and Weatherizing (9)Framing (5)Electrical (1)Green Building (1)Inspections and Permits (1) more __Interior Wall Finish (1)Maintenance and Repair (1)Roofing (1) fewer __ ...
Changing Attics and Basements into Children's Rooms
Picking Furniture for Children's Rooms
Transforming Furniture for Children's Rooms
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Refinishing Furniture for Children's Rooms
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Attics
Articles & Advice > All Attics Articles > Detroit Attic Remodeling: How to Fire on all ...
Detroit Attic Remodeling: How to Fire on all Cylinders ...
Attics, along with any other spot that is humid, damp, and enclosed has the potential for mold growth. Mold can be dangerous and the best way to eliminate attic mold is to hire a mold remediation contractor.
Attics
To insulate an attic floor where there is no existing insulation, lay batts or blankets or pour loose fill between the joists.
Attics are no longer just reserved for storage. Ge...
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Many attics don't have finished floors in them. If your attic doesn't, we strongly suggest you take a number of planks or 3/4 inch plywood lengths to walk across.
- Hot attics cause the entire house to be warmer. This gives your cooling system more work to do, wasting power and costing you money.
Not all attics are built to withstand foot traffic or heavy furnishings. If the floor joists aren't thick enough or aren't properly spaced, you won't have the necessary support for a floor.
Converted attics, sunrooms, spare bedrooms, dens and segregated basement areas offer optimal privacy. Alcoves, hallways, mid-level landings and lofts are by nature separated from main activity areas.
Insulating Attics
The attic is the biggest area for energy loss. During heating season, warm air rises and radiates up into the colder attic space.
Ceilings and Attics: Install Insulation and Provide Ventilation (PDF 144 KB). (February 2000). DOE/GO10099-771. U.S. Department of Energy.
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Crawl spaces, attics, furnaces, electric panels... these are a few of the many places where a conscientious home inspector needs to venture, in order to perform a complete and accurate assessment of your house.
Basements and Attics: Attic General Storage
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Foyers, Mudrooms, and Entryways: Seasonal Storage
Basements and Attics: Basement Hazardous Material Storage
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Ventilating Attics in Hot Homes
Exhaust hot attic air in order to cool your living space. Attic ventilation in the form of turbine and pot attic vents work with the wind to remove the heat. read more...
Ventilation ...
*Well-insulated attics, crawl spaces, storage areas, and other closed cavities should be adequately ventilated to prevent excessive moisture buildup.
Use of louvers or attic ventilators will reduce moisture condensation in attics. A vapor barrier under the gypsum lath or dry wall on exposed walls will reduce condensation.
It helps assure airflow from the eave vents in attics and cathedral ceilings.
Balcony: a deck projecting from the wall of a building above ground level.
Blow Insulation - Fiber insulation in loose form and used to insulate attics and existing walls where framing members are not exposed.
Brace - An inclined piece of framing lumber applied to wall or floor to strengthen the structure.
Attics are pre-built for some degree of foot traffic. So, unlike the "build upward" option, you do not have to build in a lot of structural elements.
Are all vents to the outside of the building, not in attics or crawlspaces?
Look for obvious mold growth throughout the house, including attics, basements, and crawlspaces and around the foundation.
The roof rat prefers to live aboveground: indoors in attics, between floors, in walls, or in enclosed spaces; and outdoors in trees and dense vine growth. Contrasted with the roof rat, the Norway rat is at home below the ground, living in a burrow.
Attics can reach temperatures of 150 to 160 degrees F during a summer day, although outside air temperatures are only 95 to 97 degrees F.
Ants often fly into homes through open doors and windows or into crawlspaces and attics, lose their wings and crawl around indoors looking for a place to set up a colony.
Look in attics, look in every closet and cranny, look for unusual odors (which could indicate mold even if you don't see it), look for unusual spots or discolorations (they could indicate water leakage, mold, or other problem areas).
To prevent these problems, the best approach is to treat unfinished attics as outdoor space. Wrap the living areas below with layers of insulation and vapor barriers, but flood the attic with fresh air.
Poke through enough dank crawlspaces and dusty attics, and you gain an encyclopedic store of cautionary tales about ill-conceived DIY plans, bad workmanship and deferred maintenance.
You can go as low as 1/300 of the attic floor area (for attics which have a continuous vapor barrier below) to a high of 1.5 in inches x the floor area in feet. So a 1000 sq. feet of attic floor area would require between 480 sq. inches to 1500 sq.
While blown insulation is preferred for attics, it is also an excellent option for older homes with inadequate wall insulation.
Also, doors and hatchways in attics that are not heated or cooled can be made more energy efficient by adding rigid insulation to backside.
Some energy leaks, such as those through exterior walls, can best be detected using an infra-red camera.
If you want to consider the attic space for an individual room, you will need to determine if the attics height is sufficient for comfortable headroom in most areas. Is there an adequate way to access the attic, or can one be easily created.
Squatting heavily in dank basements, drafty attics, and dusty, cluttered garages, these three-legged hulks from a bygone era wait impatiently to release their treasures. Until then, they are pitted by time and tarnished by neglect.
These cracks can be found around window seals, the homes foundation, attics, and basements. A quick and easy fix for these air leaks is to simply buy some caulk and a caulk gun and fill these holes.
For this report, the following are included: basements, whether or not they contain finished space; finished and/or heated space in attics; and garages, if they have a wall in common with the house.
15 Close heat vents in guest rooms, attics, store rooms and other unused spaces. Why divert heat and up your energy consumption for rooms that aren't in use? Close the vents, then close the doors to these rooms.
Do not store your wooden furniture in damp basement, attics and garages.
Use coasters and high quality mats to protect your wooden table from spills, stains and damage from hot dishes.
1. Effective Insulation Properly installed and inspected insulation in floors, walls, and attics ensures even temperatures throughout the house, reduced energy use, and increased comfort. Learn more about Properly Installed Insulation (PDF) ...
Horizontal Furnace - A type of furnace most often installed in attics or crawl spaces. The furnace is installed on its side and draws air in from one side, heats it and emits warm air out the opposite side.
Mechanical devices used to distribute insulated materials in walls, attics or crawlspaces.
Insulation Fastener
A device used to fasten different types of insulation to floors, walls, roofs, or ceiling surfaces.
Frost Forming in Attic
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Opening with slanted fins (to keep out rain and snow) used to ventilate attics, crawl spaces and wall openings.
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Turning marginal areas into livable spaces such as turning basements into recrooms, home theaters, or home offices - or attics into spare bedrooms.
Fiber insulation in loose form and used to insulate attics and existing walls where framing members are not exposed.
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If you've got an unfinished attic, it can be a practical space for storing items that aren't used that often. The problem with unfinished attics is they usually don't have convenient access.
The problem is that in the typical home there are too many pathways through walls, attics, and crawlspaces for you to block them all. A much more effective method to block access is from the outside of your home.
Device to help achieve a ventilation space between insulation and roof sheathing. It helps assure air flow from the eave vents in attics and cathedral ceilings.
Ballast
A transformer that steps up the voltage in a florescent lamp.
Ridge Vent: An exhaust venting device located at the ridge of a roof that works in conjunction with a starter or under eave soffit vent and is used to ventilate attics.
Blow insulation - Fiber insulation or loose cellulose material in loose form and used to insulate attics and existing walls where framing members are not exposed.
attics. A vapor barrier under the gypsum lath or dry wall on exposed walls will reduce condensation in them. A
plastic vapor barrier over damp subarea soil will help create a dry air space between the damp soil and the floor ...
Loose fill mineral fiber is chopped fiberglass or rock wool, which is generally blown into attics with specialized equipment.
Personalized and individual residential home improvement and remodeling services like exterior painting, interior painting, residential renovations, kitchen & bathroom remodels, wall break outs, basement & attics, porches, power washing, ...
roughing-in (plomberie brute, f.) The plumbing system which is enclosed in the walls, ceilings, attics and under the basement floor.
Fibreboard - A lightweight manufactured board material with little strength, can be used in ceilings or as insulation to attics.
Beads or drops of water (and frequently frost in extremely cold weather) that accumulate on the inside of the exterior covering of a building. Use of louvers or attic ventilators will reduce moisture condensation in attics.
Condensation- Beads or drops of water (and frequently frost in extremely cold weather) that accumulate on the inside of the exterior covering of a building. Use of louvers or attic ventilators will reduce moisture condensation in attics.
The company found that hot water tanks and washing machines were the appliances that caused the most damage, followed by refrigerators with water or ice units, dishwashers and air conditioners located in attics.
of the exterior covering of a building when warm, moisture-laden air from the interior reaches the temperature that no longer permits the air to sustain the moisture it holds. Use of louvers or ventilators will reduce moisture condensation in attics.
 See also: Attic, Home, House, Floor, Walls
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