Faced Vs Unfaced Insulation In Attic

Insulation in rolls called batts comes in two varieties.

Faced vs unfaced insulation in attic.

If you live in a humid and wet climate there may be local building codes that require faced insulation over unfaced. You can buy them unfaced or simply remove the paper or foil backing. For many contractors the decision to use one kind of insulation over the other depends solely on preference rather than a by the book decision making process. When local building codes require a vapor retardant faced insulation is one of the best options.

The same applies to faced unfaced and other kinds of insulation products. Faced insulation can be used in several areas of a house such as. Summary of faced vs. What is the right insulation for an attic.

The easiest place to get a gauge on your home s current insulation condition is in the attic. You need up to 19 inches or r 49 for efficiency. Insulation being unfaced doesn t mean it s a bad choice. Now here s a situation where a homeowner what looks like many years ago added insulation they added a three inch layer but.

Unfaced means the insulation lacks a vapor retarder paper or plastic facing. Always use unfaced batts both when laying product for the first time and to prevent moisture from becoming trapped between new and old layers of insulation. Unfaced batt insulation is often used for beefing up the r rating with the r rating being the insulation rating scale that says how much or how effective insulation needs to be in that space. Basement finished exterior walls.

In a nutshell. Place a new layer of unfaced batts perpendicular to the old layer to cover any gaps in the lower layer. Any time you use a faced insulation the paper needs to be facing toward the living space. Faced or the type with paper is typically used in first time applications such as in walls ceilings floors and in crawl spaces.

The facing on faced insulation acts as a vapor retarder. Kraft faced insulation should be installed in exterior walls exterior basement walls and attic ceilings by pressing the product into the wall cavity with the paper side. If you need a vapor barrier and your insulation is unfaced you must cover it with a polyethylene film. Unfaced batts are laid perpendicularly atop existing batts to improve heat retention and beef up the r value on the longer run.

I ve always said adding insulation to your attic is some of the best money you can spend to make your house more energy efficient but whether to use faced or unfaced insulation is a great question. Air migrates from warmer spaces toward colder spaces and insulation is designed to help prevent or at least slow that migration.