Step 1 apply weather stripping.
Insulate attic door diy.
Tom silva shows you how to keep cold air from coming through windows and doors.
Here s how to do it yourself.
How to insulate an attic with fiberglass.
Apply weather stripping to the perimeter of opening not the attic door cover.
Pull down stair or ladder.
That will insulate the door itself and reduce transmission heat loss and gain.
Pre made insulated attic stair covers are also available from local home improvement centers or on the web.
Windows doors attic hatches pipes leading outside and regardless if your home is brand new or 100 years old almost every house has a draft.
Affix rigid foam insulation to the attic side of the hatch or door.
Insulating a finished attic there are two basic ways to insulate a finished attic.
Drafts can be found in places such as.
Then to really seal the attic access up tight says olson lay fiberglass batt insulation on the inside of the hatch or door and wrap it up tight like a christmas present photo 3.
Then add insulation batting to form a pillow and wrap it up like a birthday present as shown.
Add foam insulation tape around the edges to seal the perimeter where it rests in the access hole.
Ask this old house general contractor tom silva shares some diy smarts tips for insulating an attic.
In the case of a knee wall door insulate the walls.
How to beef up attic insulation.
This ensures a tight seal between the door and the opening.
If you have pull down attic stairs or an attic door these should be sealed in a similar manner.
Then secure them to the inside of the door.
Add weatherstripping around the perimeter and a sweep to the door of a walk up attic.
To keep the blown in insulation from falling through the attic hatch opening make a 2x12 dam around the hatch perimeter.
Fortunately there are kits available to insulate these kind of doors.
If only the living space will be insulated wrap the insulation around the room s walls and ceiling and then continue along the floor of the non living space.
For additional details and images download the seal and insulate diy guide pdf 12 8 mb.
The next step is to get some type of weatherstripping for door.
By tom silva and kevin o connor host.
Treat the attic door like a door to the outside.
Staple long pieces of duct tape sticky side up onto the attic scuttle door.
Use a zippered insulated tent to keep the enclosure draft free attic tent at 7 attic cover insulator 120.
Cut two or three pieces of insulation the same size as the door on the inside of the attic and use liquid nails to secure them to one another.
Here s one good method.
Despite both of these attic doors being easy to insulate many contractors don t do it.
In this case the area behind the knee wall will be uncomfortably hot or cold.
