Why Columbia, SC Attics Overheat in Midlands Summers

Every summer we hear the same thing

It usually starts with a phone call.

“My upstairs just won’t cool off.”

Or…

“The AC never seems to stop running.”

Sometimes they’ll say the thermostat is set to 72, but it still feels warm upstairs. Then they apologize because they think it’s probably an HVAC problem.

Maybe.

Maybe not.

We’ve been to plenty of homes around Columbia where the air conditioner was working exactly the way it was supposed to. It was the attic making its job a whole lot harder.

We always look upstairs first

Not every house needs more insulation.

I know…coming from an insulation company, that probably sounds funny.

But it’s true.

We’ve climbed into attics fully expecting to recommend adding insulation and instead found a disconnected bathroom fan blowing hot, humid air into the attic. We’ve found ridge vents blocked by insulation. We’ve found soffit vents packed with leaves.

One attic over in Lexington had a cardboard box sitting over an attic vent.

No idea why.

The homeowner laughed and said, “That box has probably been up there since we moved in.”

Probably.

Columbia summers are just…different

If you’ve lived here long enough, you already know.

You walk outside at eight in the morning and it already feels like somebody turned the heat on. By the afternoon, opening an attic hatch can feel like opening an oven.

Seriously.

You don’t ease yourself into that heat.

It hits you.

Our crew jokes about it sometimes because you can be perfectly comfortable inside the house, then climb into the attic and immediately start wondering why you wore a dark shirt that morning.

Little things like that stick with you after doing this for years.

Heat builds up faster than people think

One thing I’ve noticed is homeowners are always surprised when we tell them how hot attics can actually get during a Midlands summer.

They’re thinking maybe ninety degrees.

Maybe a hundred.

Then we explain that it’s not unusual for attic temperatures to climb well over that on a sunny afternoon.

That’s a lot of heat sitting right above your ceiling.

And if the attic isn’t sealed well, doesn’t have enough insulation, or the ventilation isn’t doing what it’s supposed to…that heat hangs around.

You can usually feel it when you’re working.

The wood framing is warm to the touch. The air feels heavy. Even the insulation underneath your knees feels hot.

It’s hard to describe until you’ve spent an afternoon crawling around up there.

It’s never exactly the same twice

That’s probably my favorite part of this job.

Every attic tells a different story.

One house in Columbia barely needed anything.

The next one over had insulation that looked like somebody had been playing in it for years. Gaps everywhere. Trails through it.

One section almost completely bare because an old HVAC repair had pushed everything aside and nobody ever put it back.

Then we’ll drive over to Irmo or Chapin and find something completely different.

That’s why we don’t like giving answers before we actually see the attic.

Could we guess?

Sure.

But I’d rather spend fifteen minutes looking than give somebody the wrong answer over the phone.

It just makes more sense.

If your upstairs feels hotter every summer, your AC seems like it’s always running, or you’ve never had anyone actually inspect your attic, give Koala Insulation of the Midlands a call or visit our website for your FREE evaluation. We’ll take a look, show you exactly what we find, and give you an honest recommendation. No pressure. Just a real look at what’s going on above your ceiling.