Insulation update

Well, hopefully this fall will see lots of changes to the addition. As of today, all the rough plumbing is finished and inspected, all the electrical is finished and inspected, and the framing was also inspected. So this means that I can start insulating! There is a lot more to this than I originally thought though and it makes me wish we had asked for 2x6 construction. OH well.

So there are four areas that I need to insulate:

1) The second floor ceiling. The ceiling is made with 2X8 lumber so R30 fiberglass bat insulation is bigger than the joists, but I don't really care. I'm going to put in R30 fiberglass bat insulation and then R30 on top of that!

2) The "cathedral" ceilings on the second floor are made with 2x6 lumber so the only way to get close to R30 is to use spray in foam or the Styrofoam boards that they sell. I thought that I would have to put ventilation behind the insulation on the cathedral ceiling but the inspector told me that if I used spray in foam (closed cell) that I could skip it. That's good because it means one more inch of insulation in there!

3) Second floor walls. R13.

4) Garage ceiling. Well, this is also 2X8 joists so I can't go with R30 fiberglass bat insulation. This is where the radiant heat is so it needs a lot of insulation. First I put the reflective paper up (today) and then I'll get R30C. That is made for cathedral ceilings - it fits in a 2x10 space so it will be compressed a bit, but the building inspector told me to go with it so it better pass.

Once this is done we need one last inspection before we can tear down the door, put up the walls, and start finishing the thing up!!