The Last Steps a Doozy - Attic Insulation Fail

Where is the ceiling?

That insulation is not doing any good.

Standard picture of the hole.

Thermal picture of the hole. Notice the heat loss?

At a recent home inspection in Palmer Lake Colorado, just outside of Colorado Springs, I was in the attic and noticed a hole near the furnace vent. There are several issues going on here. Safety, heat loss, and lack of effective attic insulation techniques.

Safety First - The first is that it is paramount that inspectors, home owners, ect. use caution when entering an attic. Always use a ladder tall enough that you enter the attic safely. Always know where you feet are and make sure you keep your feet on the truss stringer or bottom. Never step between the stringers. You will know if you are doing this correctly because your foot will not be through the ceiling of the room below you. (Watch National Lampoons Christmas Vacation for good example of what not to do.) Always keep three points of contact on the trusses around you and watch your head avoiding the nails protruding through the roof decking above you. 

Heat Loss - You can see in the third and forth picture that the heat is coming from the hole and furnace vent (hole left side and the furnace vent right side. The heat is from the homes conditioned air that the furnace is continually keeping at at comfortable temperature. What that orange spot represents is wasted money and resources. Furnace vents are naturally warmer than the surrounding area because they are venting the exhaust from the furnace combustion to outside the home. 

Not Effectively Insulated - When the home was brand new and was ready to be insulated, proper building techniques would be for the the hole to have been covered by drywall, backer board, plastic, ect. Then the insulation would be blown in as it was over the other areas. In this case the whole was missed and heat loss is the result. 

Whats the solution? - Luckily the solution is fairly easy. The hole just needs to be covered up and insulation be spread over the area. A few minutes worth will save the current and future home owners heating and cooling costs. 

Pro Tip - A 5 minute inspection of your attic once a year can help you save energy, identify roof leaks, and save you time, money, and frustration. 

My name is Jake Shaw "I am a home inspector and I help people. If you ever have any questions, please give me a call.
970-361-0477
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