Faced Vs Unfaced Insulation In Attic

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.

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. Kraft faced insulation includes a paper vapor retarder which helps prevent mold and mildew. The easiest place to get a gauge on your home s current insulation condition is in the attic. When local building codes require a vapor retardant faced insulation is one of the best options.

Unfaced insulation should be used when you re adding insulation to your attic that already has insulation. Place a new layer of unfaced batts perpendicular to the old layer to cover any gaps in the lower layer. Now here s a situation where a homeowner what looks like many years ago added insulation they added a three inch layer but. 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.

It means ensuring that it s the right product for your space. Summary of faced vs. In a nutshell. Insulation in rolls called batts comes in two varieties.

Unfaced batts are laid perpendicularly atop existing batts to improve heat retention and beef up the r value on the longer run. Insulation being unfaced doesn t mean it s a bad choice. The facing on faced insulation acts as a vapor retarder. Any time you use a faced insulation the paper needs to be facing toward the living space.

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. Faced or the type with paper is typically used in first time applications such as in walls ceilings floors and in crawl spaces. 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. If you need a vapor barrier and your insulation is unfaced you must cover it with a polyethylene film.

You can buy them unfaced or simply remove the paper or foil backing. What is the right insulation for an attic. Unfaced means the insulation lacks a vapor retarder paper or plastic facing. 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.

Faced insulation can be used in several areas of a house such as. Air migrates from warmer spaces toward colder spaces and insulation is designed to help prevent or at least slow that migration.