Attic Insulation help

[Don2222]

I would love to do that but I use a good part of my attic for storage.

Hello mellow

I have alot of storage over the center where the pine boards are over the R19 and R4 foil

The R30 just crisscrosses the R19 close to the eves in the front and back
You cannot store much where the roof comes down to the soffit anyways! See Pic

Believe me that R30 makes a big difference!!

 

[mellow]

Ahh ok, from that one pic it looked like you put insulation down on all the attic floor.

 

[woodgeek]

Ah--I agree with Don that you have R-15 or so over that area. The pink is not from the 1950s, could be a 1980s upgrade. Perhaps the decking/storage was put in at that
time? We disagree about the value of reflectix buried without an airsapce.

Upgrading is marginal. Upgrading an uninsulated space with R-20 pink (or higher) is great bang for the buck, upgrading R-15 not so much. In round figures, the conductive
heat loss is ~1 gal fuel oil /sq ft for R-1 in my climate. If you are R-15, your oil consumption is 1 gal/yr per 15 sq ft. if you were 450 sq ft with pink like in your picture, then
your oil use due to heat loss through the attic would be ~ 30 gal/yr. Upgrading to R-30 (akin to Don's plan) would get save you half of that: 15 gal/yr. If you don't use oil,
figure 1.6 MMBTU or 16 therms of gas/yr in savings.

If your attic is running warm in the winter and melting the snow quickly, you likely have an air leak bypassing the pink. If you can find it, it will be easier to fix than pulling the
decking and upping the batts.