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briant73 Posted: Sep 19, 2016 01:18 AM	Attic insulation questions New user here hoping for some help and advice on getting Attic better insulation. I live in the NW Pennsylvania region and since buying my house have had ice dams and icicles frequently in the winter on my home. I was told three things may be causing the issues with ice dams at the edges - attic ventilation, insulation, and low pitched roof. So I have asked various contractors and insulation companies their ideas to fix this and most come back with the same two suggestions 1) 7-8" inches of Open cell Spray foam the underside of the roof deck. Allowing the attic to be a conditioned space accessible for storage and easy access if needed. 2) Add soffit vents, foam rafter vents, possibly more roof vents and blown in insulation to the attic. This would take away the attic as storage and make access only when really necessary. All the insulation people said for cost option 2 would be less expensive but all said spray foam would be the best option. I actually did add soffit vents and the foam rafter vents last fall to see what would that do since the cost was minimal and the results weren't much different. My questions are the following: 1) Will open cell spray foam be the best option (performance and longevity) as the insulation contractors suggest? I'm ok with spending the money to do things right. 2) Each contractor uses different open cell products (Foamsulate, SEALECTION 500, ICYNENE ) which all seem similar performance to me , is that actually the case though? 3) Some recommend 7" depth under the roof deck where another say's up to 8" - should I care about the extra inch of foam or doesn't it matter? Would it be worth it to ask for even more than 7-8"? Thanks!
briant73 Posted: Sep 20, 2016 02:57 PM	Bump

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briant73

Posted: Sep 19, 2016 01:18 AM

Attic insulation questions

New user here hoping for some help and advice on getting Attic better insulation. I live in the NW Pennsylvania region and since buying my house have had ice dams and icicles frequently in the winter on my home. I was told three things may be causing the issues with ice dams at the edges - attic ventilation, insulation, and low pitched roof. So I have asked various contractors and insulation companies their ideas to fix this and most come back with the same two suggestions
1) 7-8" inches of Open cell Spray foam the underside of the roof deck. Allowing the attic to be a conditioned space accessible for storage and easy access if needed.
2) Add soffit vents, foam rafter vents, possibly more roof vents and blown in insulation to the attic. This would take away the attic as storage and make access only when really necessary.

All the insulation people said for cost option 2 would be less expensive but all said spray foam would be the best option. I actually did add soffit vents and the foam rafter vents last fall to see what would that do since the cost was minimal and the results weren't much different. My questions are the following:

1) Will open cell spray foam be the best option (performance and longevity) as the insulation contractors suggest? I'm ok with spending the money to do things right.
2) Each contractor uses different open cell products (Foamsulate, SEALECTION 500, ICYNENE ) which all seem similar performance to me , is that actually the case though?
3) Some recommend 7" depth under the roof deck where another say's up to 8" - should I care about the extra inch of foam or doesn't it matter? Would it be worth it to ask for even more than 7-8"?

Thanks!

briant73

Posted: Sep 20, 2016 02:57 PM

Bump

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