Finishing An Unvented Attic

The same conditions apply for moisture.

Finishing an unvented attic.

The roof deck in an unvented attic must be exceptionally airtight. If your home is smaller than other homes in your area or simply lacks the necessary amount of storage or living space for your family finishing your attic is a relatively inexpensive way to increase your usable space. For unvented attics having the spray foam layer applied continuously from the roof wall intersection to the roof peak at the specified thickness encapsulating the entire interior surface area of the attic will hinder airborne moisture entry while providing an energy efficient environment. The acceptance of unvented conditioned attics continues to grow among builders and building officials.

Converting your attic into usable finished space can increase the value of your home by maximizing the available square footage. The irc has permitted unvented conditioned attics since 2006 with certain requirements. An alternate to spray foam insulation in an unvented attic is plenum trusses which allow you create a reverse bulkhead above the ceiling plane that is insulated. Traditionally we place hvac and ductwork and often storage up there and insulate the floor of the attic.

The entire attic becomes conditioned space eliminating drafts and temperature fluctuations. Residential unvented attics. This allows you to install your bulkheads above the ceiling plane without the need for spray foam insulation. An attic is simply the space between a pitched roof deck and the rest of the house.

By moving the vapor control layer to the roof deck it prevents moisture related problems. This reduces latent air conditioning loads and provides further reductions in energy consumption. Code requirements vary across the country. But according to energy star the average home loses about 20 percent of the air that moves through the hvac system due to.