How To Insulate Attic Doors

In the case of a knee wall door insulate the walls.

How to insulate attic doors.

Despite both of these attic doors being easy to insulate many contractors don t do it. Then add insulation batting to form a pillow and wrap it up like a birthday present as shown. To insulate an attic hatch you need weather stripping rigid foam board and fiberglass batt insulation. First install foam weather stripping on the inside of the trim or directly onto the hatch.

You can check for air leaks with a. Attach foil insulation board to the back of the attic hatch panel. Here s how to do it yourself. Simply cut to size and secure in the areas with a draft.

Insulating the attic hatch here s a real quick solution. Apply weather stripping to the perimeter of opening not the attic door cover. There are different ways to accomplish this. Cut out two pieces of rigid foam board that are 1 4 inch smaller than the hatch so homeowners can slide the attic access panel open easily.

Add foam insulation tape around the edges to seal the perimeter where it rests in the access hole. This ensures a tight seal between the door and the opening. Several layers should be applied. Highly sticky foam tape is a great weather proofing alternative to doors that may be slightly warped and don t have a true and snug fit.

Fortunately there are kits available to insulate these kind of doors. More insulation installation tricks and tips work from the perimeter of the attic toward the door or hatch so that you don t trample all over the insulation you just. I used 1 board which has an r 6 5 insulating value. Once you have the materials you can begin to seal and insulate the knee wall access door through these steps.

The access door is in our closet which is fine except the fact that the crawl space has very little insulation and neither does the door. Always cover the tops of the ceiling joists to make sure the insulation is deep enough to reach your target r value and. Staple long pieces of duct tape sticky side up onto the attic scuttle door. From inside the attic check for any openings holes or fenestrations into the knee wall surrounding area.

Apply weather stripping to the door to create a seal. Step 1 apply weather stripping. Check for air leaks and wood stops. As you can see using the flame test the door is a little crooked which leaves a gap at the top and the bottom which allows cold air to flow into our closet.