This Ann Arbor Home Needed Some Work in the Attic. And Under the House Too.

We had a job in Ann Arbor recently where the insulation needed attention in two different places.

The attic needed more insulation, and the crawl space had some old material around the rim joists that wasn’t in great shape anymore.

So, we ended up working at both ends of the house.

Our crew at Koala Insulation of Greater Ann Arbor and Brighton used blown-in cellulose for the attic and closed-cell spray foam down in the crawl space.

Two different areas of the house.

Two different insulation products.

And both were important to getting the home better insulated.

Getting the Attic Up to R-49

First up was the attic.

We added blown-in cellulose to bring the insulation level to approximately R-49.

That’s a pretty common type of upgrade for Michigan homes that need more insulation overhead.

But before we finished blowing everything in, we had a couple other things to take care of.

We installed ventilation baffles to keep the soffit areas clear.

You don’t want to blow a bunch of insulation into an attic and end up blocking the ventilation in the process.

Air still needs a path to move through those areas.

We also put in an insulated attic hatch cover.

It’s one of those things homeowners don’t always think about. The attic might have plenty of insulation, but if the hatch isn’t insulated, you’ve still got a spot where heat can move through more easily.

So, we took care of that too.

Then We Went Down to the Crawl Space

The crawl space needed a different approach.

There was old insulation around the rim joists that had worn out over time.

We removed it.

Once that material was out of the way, we could get to the areas around the framing that needed to be sealed.

Rim joists can be a pretty common place for drafts, especially when the insulation isn’t doing much anymore.

And in Michigan, cold air getting into those areas isn’t something you want to ignore.

Instead of replacing the old material with more batts, we went with closed-cell spray foam.

Why We Used Spray Foam Down There

We sprayed the rim joists with closed-cell spray foam.

The nice thing about using foam in those areas is that it helps insulate and seal gaps at the same time.

You don’t have to try to fit pieces of fiberglass around every little opening.

The foam goes directly onto the area we’re insulating and helps create a tighter barrier.

It also helps with moisture control, which is worth paying attention to in a crawl space.

That was the goal here.

Get the old insulation out, seal those rim joist areas and give the crawl space better protection against outside air and moisture.

Two Different Jobs in One House

We see this quite a bit.

A homeowner might think about adding insulation to the attic but never really consider what’s happening underneath the house.

Or they’ll notice cold floors and assume the heating system just isn’t keeping up.

Sometimes the insulation is part of the problem.

For this Ann Arbor home, there were two areas that needed work, so we handled both.

Upstairs, we added cellulose to approximately R-49, installed ventilation baffles and insulated the attic hatch.

Downstairs, we removed the worn rim joist insulation and replaced it with closed-cell spray foam.

Nothing fancy about the approach.

We looked at what each area needed and used the insulation that made sense for that part of the house.

Now Both Areas Are Taken Care Of

With the work finished, the attic has the additional insulation it needed, and the crawl space rim joists are sealed and insulated.

The upgrades are meant to help the home hold its temperature better, cut down on drafts and reduce unnecessary energy loss.

And that’s really what this job was about.

Not every insulation project means tearing everything out or using the same product throughout the house.

Sometimes you add insulation where it’s low and replace it where it’s worn out.

That’s what we did here.

If you’ve got an older home around Ann Arbor and aren’t sure how well your attic or crawl space is