Attic Insulation Batts Vs Blown

Once you ve decided which type is best for you examine the material options and prices to home in on the right product.

Attic insulation batts vs blown.

When insulating an attic space many homeowners ask us which is better blown in or batt insulation. For diy attic insulation you ve got two choices. You can usually obtain an r factor of 3 1 to 4 2 or slightly higher per inch of material with batts. You can hire a contractor carrying relevant business insurance and using skilled and trained workers to install your batt insulation much more quickly than a batt insulation install might take.

Disadvantages of batt insulation. In short there is less chance of error with blown insulation as compared to batts. The answer is it depends. Blown in insulation thickness can vary in an attic space.

The maximum rating of batt insulation is around 4 2. That s because blown insulation is great at filling the gaps and giving you a good complete layer of insulation. We use both blown in and batt insulation depending on the situation at hand. Once installed and expanded to the uniform manufactured thickness batts offer a known r factor.

You ve probably got batts in your attic walls and crawlspace right now. Batts offer a slight advantage. With this method the insulation is simply blown onto the attic floor and no matter what type of joists studs or wiring that may be in play the blown insulation will naturally form itself tight around any of these creating a layer of strong insulation. Blown in varieties however typically reach a peak of around a 2 8 r factor.

When a home is fully finished the scales of batt vs. You also don t see any gaps that allow you to see all the way down to the ceiling drywall. Notice how you don t see any of the ceiling framing down at the ceiling level. The r factor of blown in fiberglass is usually 2 3 to 2 8 per inch of material.

Both can be added to uninsulated attics or layered over existing material. The photo above shows an attic insulated with blown cellulose. Loose fill or batt the common term for blanket insulation. The first difference in blown in vs.

Current energy standards recommend the installation of a first layer of craft faced moisture barrier fiberglass batt. Batt insulation is that it is a form of loose fill insulation as opposed to a flexible blanket. Compared to blown in insulation batts can reach a resistance rating r factor of over 3 1. Blown in insulation clearly lean toward using blown in insulation.

The biggest disadvantage of batt insulation is that it does not fit well in non standard spaces. I don t know about that but it s a common insulation material that works much better in the blown form than in batts. It is sold in bags and made of materials that are of varying degrees of recycled. It comes in rolls and has paper backing on one side.